Shloka 17
Adhyaya 7 — Harishchandra Tested by Vishvamitra: The Gift of the Kingdom and the Pandava Curse-Backstory
भगवन्नेष धर्मो मे नापराधो मम प्रभो ।
न क्रोद्धुमर्हसि मुने निजधर्मरतस्य मे ॥
bhagavann eṣa dharmo me nāparādho mama prabho | na kroddhum arhasi mune nija-dharma-ratasya me ||
O Blessed One, this is my dharma; it is no offense on my part, O Lord. O sage, you should not be angry with me, for I am devoted to my own rightful duty.
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FAQs
The verse frames an ethical defense: conduct aligned with one’s rightful duty (nija-dharma) should not be misread as personal wrongdoing (aparādha). It also implicitly counsels restraint in judgment—especially for a sage—urging that anger (krodha) be checked when the other’s action is rooted in dharma rather than malice.
This verse aligns most closely with Vaṁśānucarita / Dharma-śikṣā (didactic-ethical instruction within narrative), rather than sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṁśa as a cosmological datum. It functions as normative guidance embedded in dialogue.
On an inner level, ‘the sage’s anger’ can symbolize the punitive force of conscience or karmic reaction, while ‘nija-dharma’ signifies alignment with one’s innate nature and ordained path. The teaching suggests that when action is harmonized with dharma (right order), inner turbulence (krodha) subsides, and apparent conflict is reinterpreted as disciplined necessity rather than guilt.