Shloka 12
राजोवाच पूर्वाह्न ते दास्यामि यो मे5द्य बलिरागमिष्यति | यो हन्यते कशया कथं मोघं क्षेपणं तस्य स्थात्,राजा बोले--ब्रह्मन! आज जो भी राजकीय कर मेरे पास आयेगा, उसे कल पूर्वज्षिमें ही आपको दे दूँगा। जिसे कोड़ेसे पीटा जाय, उसे खाली हाथ कैसे लौटाया जा सकता है?
rājovāca pūrvāhne te dāsyāmi yo me 'dya balir āgamiṣyati | yo hanyate kaśayā kathaṃ moghaṃ kṣepaṇaṃ tasya sthāt ||
The king said: “O brāhmaṇa, whatever royal levy (tribute) comes to me today, I will give to you tomorrow in the forenoon. If a man is struck with a whip, how could he be sent away empty-handed? How could my promise become futile?”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s dharma includes keeping one’s word and ensuring that a supplicant is not dismissed fruitlessly; the king frames generosity and promise-keeping as ethical necessities, not optional favors.
The king responds to a brāhmaṇa by pledging that the tribute collected that day will be handed over the next morning, justifying the pledge with the idea that one who has been ‘driven’ or compelled (likened to being whipped) should not be turned back empty-handed.