Shloka 9
Rājapurohita-lakṣaṇa and Purūravas–Vāyu Saṃvāda
Varṇa, Sovereignty, and Abhaya-dāna
ऐल उवाच द्विजस्य क्षत्रबन्धोर्वा कस्येयं पृथिवी भवेत् । धर्मत: सह वित्तेन सम्यग वायो प्रचक्ष्व मे
aila uvāca: dvijasya kṣatrabandhor vā kasye iyaṃ pṛthivī bhavet | dharmataḥ saha vittena samyag vāyo pracakṣva me ||
Aila sprach: „Sage mir richtig, o Vāyu: Wem gehört diese Erde samt ihrem Reichtum nach dem Recht des Dharma? Dem Brāhmaṇa oder dem Kṣatriya (selbst wenn er nur ein ‘kṣatra-bandhu’ ist)? Erkläre es mir genau.“
ऐल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-based inquiry into political and economic legitimacy: sovereignty over the earth and its wealth is not treated as mere power or inheritance, but as something that must be justified by dharma—raising the question of who is truly entitled to rule and possess resources.
Purūravas (Aila) addresses Vāyu and asks for a precise ruling: by dharma, who should be regarded as the rightful holder of the earth along with its wealth—brāhmaṇas or kṣatriyas (including the case of an unworthy ‘kṣatra-bandhu’).