Shloka 9
अध्याय ५७ — राज्ञः नित्यप्रयत्नः, रक्षा-प्रधानता, तथा त्याग-नीतिः
Chapter 57: Constant Royal Vigilance, Primacy of Protection, and Principles of Dismissal
असमज्जा: सरय्वां स पौराणां बालकान् नृप । न््यमज्जयदत: पित्रा निर्भत्स्य स विवासित:,नरेश्वर! असमंजा पुरवासियोंके बालकोंको पकड़कर सरयूनदीमें डुबा दिया करता था; अतः उसके पिताने उसे दुत्कारकर घरसे बाहर निकाल दिया
Asamañjāḥ Sarayvāṁ sa paurāṇāṁ bālakān nṛpa | nyamajjayad ataḥ pitrā nirbhartsya sa vivāsitaḥ ||
Bhishma said: O king, Asamanja used to seize the townsmen’s young children and drown them in the river Sarayū. Therefore his father, after sternly reproaching him for this cruelty, expelled him from the household. The episode shows that a ruler’s family must restrain violence and protect the innocent, and that paternal authority is exercised to uphold social dharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cruelty toward the innocent is adharma and must be checked even within a royal family; rightful authority (here, the father’s) may impose censure and exile to protect society and uphold dharma.
Bhishma recounts that the prince Asamanja habitually drowned citizens’ children in the Sarayū; as a consequence, his father rebuked him and expelled him from the home/kingdom.