Shloka 65
“इन्द्रदेवताका जो पालनरूप धर्म है, वही क्षत्रियोंका भी है और अग्निदेवका जो सर्वभक्षित्व नामक गुण है, वह ब्राह्मणोंका है। मेरा बल वेदरूपी अग्नि है; अतः मैं क्षुधाकी शान्तिके लिये सब कुछ भक्षण करूँगा ।। यथा यथैव जीवेद्धि तत् कर्तव्यमहेलया । जीवितं मरणाच्छेयो जीवन् धर्ममवाप्लुयात्
indradevatākā yo pālanarūpa dharmaḥ, sa eva kṣatriyāṇām api; agnidevasya ca yaḥ sarvabhakṣitva-nāmā guṇaḥ, sa brāhmaṇānām. mama balaṃ veda-rūpo 'gniḥ; ataḥ kṣudhā-śāntyai sarvaṃ kiñcid bhakṣayiṣyāmi. yathā yathaiva jīved dhi tat kartavyam ahelayā; jīvitaṃ maraṇāc chreyo jīvan dharmam avāpnuyāt.
Er sagte: „Die schützende Pflicht, die Indra eigen ist, ist auch das Dharma der Kṣatriyas; und die Eigenschaft Agnis — alles verzehren zu können — gehört den Brāhmaṇas. Meine Kraft ist das Feuer, das der Veda ist; darum werde ich, um meinen Hunger zu stillen, essen, was immer da ist. Auf welche Weise man auch am Leben bleiben kann, das soll man ohne Zögern tun; Leben ist besser als Tod, denn im Leben kann man noch Dharma erlangen.“
घपच उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse argues for a pragmatic ethic: preserving life is preferable to death because continued living keeps open the possibility of practicing and attaining dharma. It frames this within varṇa-based ideals—kṣatriyas protect like Indra, brāhmaṇas are linked to Agni’s consuming sacrificial power—and uses that logic to justify action taken to relieve hunger.
A speaker (as given in the citation) defends an intention to consume whatever is available to end hunger, grounding the justification in traditional associations: Indra’s protective dharma aligns with kṣatriya duty, and Agni’s all-consuming nature aligns with brāhmaṇas through the Veda and sacrifice. The conclusion is that one should do what is necessary to survive, without wavering, since life enables the pursuit of dharma.