Shloka 4
Adhyāya 12: Devas’ Petition to Nahūṣa; Bṛhaspati on Śaraṇāgata-Dharma; Indrāṇī’s Strategic Delay
निवर्तय मन: पापात् परदाराभिमर्शनात् | देवराजो5सि भद्ठं ते प्रजा धर्मेण पालय
nivartaya manaḥ pāpāt paradārābhimarśanāt | devarājo 'si bhadraṃ te prajā dharmeṇa pālaya ||
Śalya admonished him: “Turn your mind away from sin—above all from the wrongful touching or pursuit of another man’s wife. You are the king of the gods; may good be upon you. Protect and govern your subjects in accordance with dharma.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches self-restraint and sexual ethics: approaching or touching another man’s wife is sinful, and a ruler—especially one as eminent as the king of the gods—must turn away from such conduct and uphold dharma through righteous governance.
Śalya addresses a figure identified as Devarāja (Indra), warning him against the sin of engaging with another’s wife and redirecting him toward his proper royal duty: protecting and ruling his subjects in accordance with dharma.