Shloka 8
प्रतीप उवाच त्वया निवृत्तमेतत् तु यन्मां चोदयसि प्रियम् । अन्यथा प्रतिपन्न॑ मां नाशयेद् धर्मविप्लव:,प्रतीपने कहा--सुन्दरी! तुम जिस प्रिय मनोरथकी पूर्तिके लिये मुझे प्रेरित कर रही हो, उसका निराकरण भी तुम्हारे द्वारा ही हो गया। यदि मैं धर्मके विपरीत तुम्हारा यह प्रस्ताव स्वीकार कर लूँ तो धर्मका यह विनाश मेरा भी नाश कर डालेगा
pratīpa uvāca | tvayā nivṛttam etat tu yan māṃ codayasi priyam | anyathā pratipannaṃ māṃ nāśayed dharma-viplavaḥ ||
Pratīpa said: “What you urge upon me as a dear desire has, in fact, already been set aside by you yourself. If I were to accept it otherwise—contrary to dharma—then that very overthrow of dharma would bring about my own ruin as well.”
प्रतीप उवाच
Educational Q&A
A personal desire must not be pursued at the cost of dharma; violating moral order rebounds upon the violator, bringing self-destruction along with the collapse of righteousness.
King Pratīpa responds to a woman’s urging (a tempting proposal) by refusing it on ethical grounds, stating that accepting something contrary to dharma would lead to his own ruin through the very disruption of dharma.