Shloka 216

Devanagari script

राजन्येवास्य धर्मस्य योगक्षेम: प्रतिष्ठित: । देवता और पितर भी इस मर्त्यलोकसे ही दिये गये यज्ञ और श्राद्धसे जीवन यापन करते हैं। अतः इस धर्मका योगक्षेम राजापर ही अवलम्बित है

Transliteration

rājanyeva asya dharmasya yogakṣemaḥ pratiṣṭhitaḥ | devatāś ca pitaro 'pi asmin martyaloke eva dattaiḥ yajñaiḥ śrāddhaiś ca jīvanaṃ yāpayanti | ataḥ asya dharmasya yogakṣemaḥ rājāpary eva avalambitaḥ |

Translation

Aiḷa said: “O king, the stability and secure continuance of this dharma rests chiefly upon the ruler. Even the gods and the ancestors sustain their existence through the sacrifices and śrāddha offerings given in this mortal world. Therefore, the preservation and welfare of this dharma ultimately depend upon the king.”

Word by Word

राजनिin the king

एवindeed/only

अस्यof this (dharma)

धर्मस्यof dharma

योगक्षेमःacquisition and protection (welfare/security)

प्रतिष्ठितःis established/grounded

Speaker

ऐल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Aiḷa (speaker)

rājā (king)

devatāḥ (gods)

pitaraḥ (ancestors)

martyaloka (mortal world)

yajña (sacrifice)

śrāddha (ancestral offering)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that dharma’s stability and welfare (yogakṣema) depend on righteous kingship: when the ruler protects order and enables proper giving and ritual, both human society and the cosmic recipients of offerings (gods and ancestors) are sustained.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s discourse on governance and dharma, Aiḷa addresses a king and argues that the ruler is the main support of dharma because sacrifices and śrāddha performed in the human realm sustain the gods and ancestors, making royal protection of social-ritual life essential.