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Shloka 24

वाली–रामसंवादः

Rama’s Justification to Vali on Rājadharma

गुरूर्धर्मव्यतिक्रान्तं प्राज्ञो धर्मेण पालयन्।।भरतः कामवृत्तानां निग्रहे पर्यवस्थितः।

gurur dharmavyatikrāntaṃ prājño dharmeṇa pālayan | bharataḥ kāmavṛttānāṃ nigrahe paryavasthitaḥ ||

Bharata, weise und ehrwürdig, regiert gemäß dem Dharma und steht fest entschlossen, jene zu zügeln und zu bestrafen, die aus lüsterner Regung den Dharma übertreten.

guruḥthe venerable one/elder
guruḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootguru (प्रातिपदिक)
FormPuṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana
dharma-vyatikrāntamone who has transgressed dharma
dharma-vyatikrāntam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootdharma (प्रातिपदिक) + vyatikrānta (कृदन्त; vi-ati-√kram क्रम्)
FormPuṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; samāsa: tatpuruṣa ‘dharmam vyatikrāntaḥ’ used as object of ‘pālayan’ (one who has transgressed dharma)
prājñaḥthe wise man
prājñaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootprājña (प्रातिपदिक)
FormPuṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; apposition to ‘guruḥ’
dharmeṇaby/with dharma
dharmeṇa:
Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
TypeNoun
Rootdharma (प्रातिपदिक)
FormPuṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana
pālayanwhile governing/protecting
pālayan:
Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रिया-विशेषण)
TypeVerb
Root√pāl पाल् (धातु)
FormVartamāna-kṛdanta (Present active participle/शतृ), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; agrees with ‘bharataḥ’/‘prājñaḥ’
bharataḥBharata
bharataḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootbharata (प्रातिपदिक)
FormPuṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana
kāma-vṛttānāmof those addicted to lust
kāma-vṛttānām:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeNoun
Rootkāma (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛtta (कृदन्त; √vṛt वृत्)
FormPuṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Bahuvacana; samāsa: tatpuruṣa ‘kāme vṛttaḥ’ used collectively = ‘those of lustful conduct’
nigrahein punishment/restraint
nigrahe:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootnigraha (प्रातिपदिक)
FormPuṃliṅga, Saptamī, Ekavacana
paryavasthitaḥis firmly determined
paryavasthitaḥ:
Kriyā (क्रिया; predicate)
TypeVerb
Rootpari-ava-√sthā स्था (धातु)
FormKta (Past participle), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; predicate of ‘bharataḥ’ meaning ‘is firmly resolved/established’

'Wise Bharata being a respectable king rules by dharma. By the command of Bharata, we are bent upon punishing those who have strayed from dharma by being addicted to sensual pleasures.

R
Rama
V
Vali
B
Bharata

FAQs

Good governance requires active restraint of desire-driven wrongdoing; dharmic rule is not passive tolerance but principled enforcement.

Rama continues his defense by invoking Bharata’s dharmic kingship as the normative standard for punishing moral transgression.

Bharata’s wisdom and firmness in rajadharma; Rama’s alignment with that standard.