Shloka 32
मोक्षोपाय-निर्णयः
Determination of the Means to Liberation
आश्वासयद्धि: सुभृशमनुक्रोशात् तथैव च । एतत् प्रथमकल्पेन राजा कृतयुगे जयेत्
āśvāsayad dhiḥ subhṛśam anukrośāt tathaiva ca | etat prathamakalpena rājā kṛtayuge jayet, pitāji |
Humatsena sprach: „Wahrlich, aus tiefem Mitgefühl haben sie mich reichlich getröstet und unterwiesen. Darum, mein Kind, soll im Kṛta (Satya) Yuga—wenn das Dharma fest auf allen vier Füßen steht—ein König seine Untertanen allein durch die erste und höchste Art der Strafe in Zucht halten: die milde, gewaltlose, gegründet auf Selbstzucht und moralische Überzeugung.“
हुमत्सेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
In an ideal age where dharma is fully established (Kṛta/Satya Yuga), a ruler should govern primarily through the mildest, ethically superior form of daṇḍa—restraint, persuasion, and compassionate correction—rather than harsh coercion.
Humatsena recalls how elders/forebears compassionately reassured and instructed him, and he transmits that traditional counsel: the king’s control over subjects should match the moral condition of the age, with the Kṛta Yuga calling for the gentlest mode of governance.