Shloka 29
Chapter 78: Royal Responsibility for Wealth, Social Order, and the Protection of Dvijas
Kekaya Exemplum
राक्षस उवाच (नारीणां व्यभिचाराच्च अन्यायाच्च महीक्षिताम् । विप्राणां कर्मदोषाच्च प्रजानां जायते भयम् ।। राक्षसने कहा--स्त्रियोंके व्यभिचारसे, राजाओंके अन्यायसे तथा ब्राह्मणोंके कर्मदोषसे प्रजाको भय प्राप्त होता है ।। अवृष्टिमरिको रोग: सतत क्षुद्धयानि च । विग्रहश्चन सदा तस्मिन् देशे भवति दारुण: ।। जिस देशमें उक्त दोष होते हैं, वहाँ वर्षा नहीं होती। महामारी फैल जाती है, सदा भूखका भय बना रहता है और बड़ा भयानक संग्राम छिड़ जाता है ।। यक्षरक्ष:पिशाचेभ्यो नासुरेभ्य:ः कथउ्चन । भयमुत्पद्यते तत्र यत्र विप्रा: सुसंयता: ।।) जहाँ ब्राह्मण संयमपूर्ण जीवन बिता रहे हों वहाँ यक्ष, राक्षस, पिशाच तथा असुरोंसे किसी प्रकार भय नहीं प्राप्त होता ।। यस्मात् सर्वास्ववस्थासु धर्ममेवान्ववेक्षसे । तस्मात् प्राप्रुहि कैकेय गृहं स्वस्ति व्रजाम्पहम्,केकयनरेश! तुम सभी अवस्थाओंमें धर्मपर ही दृष्टि रखते हो, इसलिये कुशलपूर्वक घरको जाओ। तुम्हारा कल्याण हो। मैं अब जाता हूँ
rākṣasa uvāca—
nārīṇāṁ vyabhicārāc ca anyāyāc ca mahīkṣitām |
viprāṇāṁ karmadoṣāc ca prajānāṁ jāyate bhayam ||
avṛṣṭi-mariko rogaḥ satataṁ kṣud-bhayāni ca |
vigrahaś ca na sadā tasmin deśe bhavati dāruṇaḥ ||
yakṣa-rakṣaḥ-piśācebhyo nāsurebhyaḥ kathaṁcana |
bhayam utpadyate tatra yatra viprāḥ susaṁyatāḥ ||
yasmāt sarvāsv avasthāsu dharmam evānvavekṣase |
tasmāt prāpruhi kaikeya gṛhaṁ svasti vrajāmy aham ||
The Rākṣasa said: “From women’s adultery, from the injustice of kings, and from the ritual and moral faults of Brahmins, fear arises among the people. In a land where such defects prevail, rains fail, epidemics spread, hunger is ever to be feared, and dreadful conflict breaks out again and again. But where Brahmins live with firm self-restraint, no fear arises from Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Piśācas, or Asuras. Since in every condition you keep your gaze fixed upon dharma alone, O Kaikeya king, return safely to your home—may you be well. I now depart.”
राक्षस उवाच
Educational Q&A
Collective security is tied to moral order: sexual misconduct, unjust rule, and corrupted religious-ethical practice generate social fear and calamities (drought, disease, hunger, conflict), while disciplined, self-restrained Brahmins are portrayed as a stabilizing force that removes even supernatural threats.
A Rākṣasa addresses the Kaikeya king, explaining why a realm becomes afflicted by disasters and fear, contrasting it with a land protected by the self-restraint of Brahmins, and then blesses the king—praising his steadfast attention to dharma—and takes leave.