Shloka 48
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
(क्षत्रियास्तु ततो देवि द्विजानां पालने स्मृता: । यदि न क्षत्रियो लोके जगत् स्यादधरोत्तरम् ।।
kṣatriyās tu tato devi dvijānāṃ pālane smṛtāḥ | yadi na kṣatriyo loke jagat syād adharottaram || rakṣaṇāt kṣatriyair eva jagad bhavati śāśvatam || samyag guṇahito dharmo dharmaḥ paurahitakriyā | vyavahārasthitir nityaṃ guṇayukto mahīpatiḥ || prajāḥ pālayate yo hi dharmeṇa manujādhipaḥ | tasya dharmārjitā lokāḥ prajā-pālana-saṃcitāḥ ||
Mahādeva said: “Therefore, O Goddess, the Kṣatriyas are remembered as those devoted to protecting the twice-born. If there were no Kṣatriya in the world, the order of the world would be overturned and thrown into chaos. It is by the protection provided by Kṣatriyas that this world endures continually. For a king, dharma consists in the proper cultivation of noble qualities and in actions that secure the welfare of the townspeople; a virtuous ruler should always remain established in fair and lawful conduct. The human sovereign who protects his subjects in accordance with dharma attains excellent worlds—won by dharma and accumulated through the merit of safeguarding his people.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage defines rājadharma: the Kṣatriya’s essential role is protection—especially safeguarding the social-religious order represented by the twice-born—and the king’s dharma is to cultivate virtues, act for public welfare, and uphold just legal conduct; such protection yields spiritual merit and higher realms.
Śrī Mahādeva addresses Devī, explaining why Kṣatriyas are indispensable to the stability of the world and then specifying what counts as dharma for a ruler: welfare-oriented action, virtue, and consistent justice in public dealings, culminating in the reward gained by a king who protects his subjects righteously.