Mahabharata 1.140.72 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 140, Shloka 72
Hiḍimba’s Approach and Hiḍimbā’s Warning to Bhīmasena (हिडिम्बागमनम् / हिडिम्बा-भयवचनम्)
कर्मणा येन केनैव मृदुना दारुणेन च । उद्धरेद् दीनमात्मानं समर्थो धर्ममाचरेत्
karmaṇā yena kenāiva mṛdunā dāruṇena ca | uddhared dīnam ātmānaṃ samartho dharmam ācaret |
Kaṇika sprach: Durch welches Handeln auch immer—sanft oder selbst hart—soll ein König, der in Not geraten ist, sich aus seinem geschwächten Zustand herausretten. Sobald er Kraft und Standfestigkeit wiedergewonnen hat, soll er Dharma üben.
कणिक उवाच
Educational Q&A
In a crisis, a ruler may use any effective means—mild or severe—to save himself and restore stability; only after regaining strength should he fully return to the regular practice of dharma. The verse frames survival and recovery as prerequisites for sustained righteous governance.
Kāṇika is giving counsel in the idiom of rāja-nīti (political strategy). He argues that when a king is endangered or weakened, he should prioritize self-preservation and the restoration of power by whatever workable method, and then, once secure, resume dharmic conduct.
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