Shloka 12
Rājapurohita-lakṣaṇa and Purūravas–Vāyu Saṃvāda
Varṇa, Sovereignty, and Abhaya-dāna
पत्यभावे यथैव स्त्री देवरं कुरुते पतिम् । आनन्तर्यात् तथा क्षत्रं पृथिवी कुरुते पतिम् । एष ते प्रथम: कल्प आपद्यन्यो भवेत् तत:
aila uvāca | patyabhāve yathaiva strī devaraṃ kurute patim | ānantaryāt tathā kṣatraṃ pṛthivī kurute patim | eṣa te prathamaḥ kalpa āpady anyo bhavet tataḥ |
Aila sprach: „Wie eine Frau, wenn ihr Gatte abwesend ist (oder gestorben), nach der Ordnung den jüngeren Bruder des Gatten zum Gemahl nimmt, so wählt auch die Erde in rechter Folge den Kshatriya erst nach dem Brahmanen zu ihrem Herrn. Dies ist die erste, seit uralter Zeit feststehende Regel, die ich dir kundgetan habe; doch in Zeiten der Not kann danach eine andere Ordnung entstehen.“
ऐल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames political legitimacy as an ordered succession: the Earth accepts Kshatriya rulership after Brahmin precedence, yet it also acknowledges apaddharma—exceptions and altered rules may be permitted in times of crisis.
Aila explains a normative rule using an analogy from marriage custom (a wife taking the devara when the husband is absent/dead) to justify how sovereignty passes in proper sequence, while noting that emergencies can require deviations.