Shloka 33
उतथ्योपदेशः—राजधर्मः, दर्पनिग्रहः, प्रजारक्षणम्
Utathya’s Instruction: Royal Dharma, Restraint of Pride, Protection of Subjects
अविज्ञातासु च स्त्रीषु क्लीबासु स्वैरिणीषु च । परभार्यासु कन्यासु नाचरेन्मैथुनं नृप:
avijñātāsu ca strīṣu klībāsu svairiṇīṣu ca | parabhāryāsu kanyāsu nācaren maithunaṁ nṛpaḥ ||
Utathya sprach: „O König, man soll keinen Beischlaf vollziehen mit Frauen, die einem unbekannt sind (außerhalb des familiären und gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhangs), mit Frauen, die impotent oder sexuell ungeeignet sind, mit zügellosen Frauen, mit der Frau eines anderen Mannes oder mit unverheirateten Jungfrauen. Ein solches Tun ist zu meiden, denn es widerspricht der rechten Selbstzucht.“
उतथ्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches sexual restraint as a component of dharma: a ruler (and by extension any person) should avoid illicit or socially harmful sexual relations—especially with another’s wife and with vulnerable or socially unprotected categories—so that personal conduct supports social order and moral discipline.
In Shanti Parva, Utathya is instructing a king on righteous conduct (rājadharma and general dharma). Here he gives a specific rule of personal ethics, warning against prohibited sexual relations as part of maintaining virtue and stability in society.