Shloka 17
Viṣṇor Māhātmya and Indriya-saṃyama (विष्णोर्माहात्म्यं तथा इन्द्रियसंयमः)
सतु धर्मो मृगो भूत्वा बहुवर्षोषितो वने । तस्य निष्कृतिमाधत्त न त्वसौ यज्ञसंविधि:
sa tu dharmo mṛgo bhūtvā bahuvarṣoṣito vane | tasya niṣkṛtim ādatta na tv asau yajñasaṃvidhiḥ ||
Nārada said: “In truth it was Dharma himself, who had assumed the form of a deer and lived for many years in the forest. He undertook the means of expiation and deliverance for that man, for such an act was not in accordance with the proper ordinance of sacrifice—violence toward a creature here stood opposed to the true sacrificial rule.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
True dharma is not merely ritual performance; an act that involves wrongful violence cannot be justified as proper sacrifice. When conduct conflicts with the genuine ordinance of yajña, righteousness requires correction and expiation.
Nārada reveals that the deer living long in the forest was actually Dharma in disguise. Dharma takes up the task of arranging expiation/relief for a person involved in an act deemed contrary to correct sacrificial procedure, highlighting the moral limits of ritualized violence.