Shloka 68
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
सुना जाता है कि सत्यपराक्रमी श्रीरामचन्द्रजीसे शम्बूक नामक शूद्रके मारे जानेपर उस धर्मके प्रभावसे एक मरा हुआ ब्राह्मण बालक जीवित हो उठा था ।॥। तथा श्वेतस्य राजर्षे्बालो दृष्टान्तमागत: । श्वेतेन धर्मनिष्तेन मृत: संजीवित: पुन:
śrūyate hi satya-parākramaḥ śrī-rāmacandraḥ śambūka-nāmānaṃ śūdraṃ hatvā tasya dharmasya prabhāvena mṛtaḥ brāhmaṇa-bālakaḥ punar jīvitam āpadyata | tathā śvetasya rājarṣeḥ bālo dṛṣṭāntam āgataḥ | śvetena dharma-niṣṭhena mṛtaḥ saṃjīvitaḥ punaḥ ||
It is heard that the truth-heroic Śrī Rāmacandra, having slain a Śūdra named Śambūka, brought about—through the force of that (kingly) dharma—the revival of a dead Brahmin boy. Likewise, the case of the royal sage Śveta’s child is cited here as an illustrative precedent: by Śveta, steadfast in dharma, the dead one was restored to life again.
जम्बुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse argues that a ruler’s enforcement of dharma is believed to have tangible, world-ordering effects: when social and ascetic norms are upheld (as tradition claims in the Rāma–Śambūka episode), disorder is removed and even extreme misfortune—symbolized by a child’s death—can be reversed. It uses precedent to support a claim about the efficacy of dharma and the king’s responsibility for societal balance.
Jambuka cites two illustrative traditions: (1) the well-known report that after Rāma killed the Śūdra Śambūka, a dead Brahmin boy revived due to the power of that act of dharma; and (2) a parallel example involving the royal sage Śveta, who—being devoted to dharma—is said to have revived a dead child. These are presented as supporting examples (dṛṣṭānta) in an ongoing ethical discussion.