Shloka 37
Gārhasthya-Śreṣṭhatā and Kṣatriya-Daṇḍadhāraṇa
Householder Primacy and the Royal Duty of Punishment
स गत्वा भ्रातरं शंखमार्तरूपो<ब्रवीदिदम् | धृतदण्डस्य दुर्बुद्धेर्भवांस्तत् क्षन्तुमहति,अपने भाई शंखके पास जाकर लिखितने आर्त होकर कहा--'भैया! मैंने दण्ड पा लिया। मुझ दुर्बुद्धिके उस अपराधको आप क्षमा कर दें”
sa gatvā bhrātaraṃ śaṅkham ārtarūpo 'bravīd idam | dhṛtadaṇḍasya durbuddher bhavāṃs tat kṣantum arhati ||
Having gone to his brother Śaṅkha, he spoke in a distressed state: “Brother, I have received punishment. Please forgive that offense of mine, committed through foolishness.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Acceptance of just punishment and sincere repentance are presented as ethical steps toward restoring dharma; the offender seeks forgiveness without excuses, acknowledging his own faulty judgment.
A person, having been punished, goes to his brother Śaṅkha in distress and asks him to forgive the wrongdoing, emphasizing that the act arose from his own foolishness.