Shloka 27
Jaradkāru Encounters the Pitṛs
Jaratkāru-Pitṛdarśana
अराजके जनपदे दोषा जायन्ति वै सदा | उद्वृत्तं सततं लोकं राजा दण्डेन शास्ति वै,जिस देशमें राजा न हो वहाँ अनेक प्रकारके दोष (चोर आदिके भय) पैदा होते हैं। धर्मकी मर्यादा त्यागकर उच्छुंखल बने हुए लोगोंको राजा अपने दण्डके द्वारा शिक्षा देता है
arājake janapade doṣā jāyante vai sadā | udvṛttaṁ satataṁ lokaṁ rājā daṇḍena śāsti vai ||
Dijo Śamīka: “En un reino sin gobernante, los defectos y el desorden surgen inevitablemente—como el temor a los ladrones y otros males. Cuando la gente abandona los límites del dharma y se vuelve continuamente indómita, es el rey quien los contiene y corrige mediante el instrumento del castigo.”
शमीक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that political authority is ethically necessary to uphold dharma in society: without a king, disorder naturally grows, and the ruler’s daṇḍa (punitive power) functions as a corrective force to restrain lawlessness and protect communal life.
Śamīka is articulating a principle of governance (rājadharma), explaining why a ruler is required: in a rulerless realm social evils arise, and the king maintains order by disciplining those who become unruly and disregard dharmic limits.