Shloka 5
Adhyaya 72 — The Reconciliation Rite, Sarasvati Sacrifice, and the Birth of Uttama Manu (Auttama Manvantara Prelude)
राजोवाच न भक्षिताऽऽ मे दयिता श्वापदैः सा हि जीवति ।
अविदूषितचारित्रा कथमेतत्करोम्यहम् ॥
rājovāca na bhakṣitā me dayitā śvāpadaiḥ sā hi jīvati | avidūṣitacāritrā katham etat karomy aham ||
The king said: “My beloved has not been devoured by beasts; she is alive. Her conduct is untainted—how can I do this (i.e., take another wife)?”
FAQs
Dharma is tethered to truth of circumstances: if the wife lives and is chaste, abandoning her becomes ethically untenable. The king appeals to moral constraint rather than convenience.
Anucarita: dharma-case reasoning dramatized through dialogue in a Manvantara narrative.
Unblemished conduct (śīla) represents inner purity; the king’s inability to ‘replace’ it points to the irreplaceability of authentic virtue once recognized.