Shloka 30
आदि पर्व — अध्याय ८३: ययाति-इन्द्र-संवादः तथा अष्टक-प्रश्नः
Yayāti–Indra Dialogue and Aṣṭaka’s Inquiry
धर्मज्ञ इति विख्यात एष राजा भृगूद्वह । अकिक्रान्तश्न मर्यादां काव्यैतत् कथयामि ते,भुगुश्रेष्ठ ये महाराज धर्मज्ञके रूपमें प्रसिद्ध हैं; किंतु इन्होंने ही मर्यादाका उल्लंघन किया है। कविनन्दन! यह आपसे यथार्थ कह रही हूँ
dharmajña iti vikhyāta eṣa rājā bhṛgūdvaha | akikrāntaś ca maryādāṃ kāvyaitat kathayāmi te ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Este rey, oh el más excelso de los Bhṛgu, es célebre como conocedor del dharma; y, sin embargo, ha traspasado los límites de la conducta recta. Oh hijo del poeta (Kāvya), te relataré este hecho con veracidad».
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral reputation is not sufficient: even one famed as a knower of dharma can violate maryādā (proper limits). The verse highlights the ethical demand that conduct must match proclaimed righteousness.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana introduces a story about a king who is celebrated for dharma yet has crossed a boundary of propriety, and he signals that he will recount the matter truthfully to his listener addressed as ‘foremost of the Bhṛgus’ and ‘poet’s son’.