Shloka 25
कण्वोपदेशः—नश्वरबलविवेकः तथा मातलिगुणकेश्याः आख्यानारम्भः
Kaṇva’s Counsel on Impermanent Power; Opening of the Mātali–Guṇakeśī Narrative
ततो नरस्त्विषीकाणां मुष्टिमादाय भारत,(संनहास्व च वर्माणि यानि चान्यानि सन्ति ते ।) अहं हि ते विनेष्यामि युद्धश्रद्धामित: परम् । (यदाद्वयसि दर्पेण ब्राह्मणप्रमुखाउ्जनान् ।।
tato naras tviṣīkāṇāṃ muṣṭim ādāya bhārata (saṃnahāsvā ca varmāṇi yāni cānyāni santi te) ahaṃ hi te vineṣyāmi yuddhaśraddhām itaḥ param (yadādvayasi darpeṇa brāhmaṇapramukhān janān)
ثم إنّ راما، وقد قبض قبضةً من القصب بيده، خاطبه قائلاً: «يا سليلَ بهاراتا، تهيّأ—البس ما لديك من دروع، واجمع كلَّ ما تملكه من وسائل وعُدّة. فإني من هذه الساعة سأضع حدًّا لإرادتك في الحرب. إذ إنك، وقد انتفختَ كبراً، أخذتَ تتحدّى الناس مبتدئاً بالبراهمة؛ فلذلك سأجرّدك من عزمك الحربي من هذا اليوم فصاعداً».
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arrogant aggression—especially against those deserving protection and respect, such as Brahmins—is portrayed as adharma. True strength includes restraint: pride-driven belligerence is to be checked, and the impulse toward unjust war is something a righteous authority may rightly suppress.
Rama confronts a boastful warrior who has been issuing challenges in pride. Holding a fistful of reeds as a symbolic gesture, Rama tells him to prepare fully for battle, yet declares that he will nullify the man’s very appetite for war because of his arrogant provocation of Brahmins and others.