Shloka 42

Devanagari script

यमो राजा धार्मिकाणां मान्धात: परमेश्वर: । संयच्छन्‌ भवति प्राणानसंयच्छंस्तु पातुक:

Transliteration

yamo rājā dhārmikāṇāṁ māndhātāḥ parameśvaraḥ | saṁyacchan bhavati prāṇān asaṁyacchaṁs tu pātukaḥ ||

Translation

Utathya said: “Yama is the king of the righteous; Māndhātṛ is a supreme lord. One who exercises restraint becomes a protector of life-breaths; but one who does not restrain himself becomes a destroyer.”

Word by Word

यमःYama

राजाking

धार्मिकाणाम्of the righteous

मान्धातःMāndhātṛ

परमेश्वरःthe supreme lord

संयच्छन्restraining (holding back)

भवतिbecomes / is

प्राणान्lives, vital breaths

असंयच्छन्not restraining

तुbut

पातुकःprotector / savior

Speaker

उतथ्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Utathya

Yama

Māndhātṛ

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

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 links moral authority with self-restraint: restraint (saṁyama) preserves and protects life, while lack of restraint leads to ruin and harm. It frames ethical governance and personal conduct as fundamentally protective when disciplined.

What is happening in the narrative?

Utathya is instructing on dharma by invoking exemplars of cosmic and royal order—Yama as judge-king of the righteous and Māndhātṛ as an ideal sovereign—then drawing a practical conclusion about the consequences of restraint versus unrestrained behavior.