Shloka 32
मोक्षोपाय-निर्णयः
Determination of the Means to Liberation
आश्वासयद्धि: सुभृशमनुक्रोशात् तथैव च । एतत् प्रथमकल्पेन राजा कृतयुगे जयेत्
āśvāsayad dhiḥ subhṛśam anukrośāt tathaiva ca | etat prathamakalpena rājā kṛtayuge jayet, pitāji |
Dijo Humatsena: «En verdad, con honda compasión me reconfortaron e instruyeron ampliamente. Por ello, hijo querido, en el Kṛta (Satya) Yuga—cuando el dharma se mantiene firme sobre sus cuatro pies—un rey debe someter a sus súbditos sólo mediante el primer y más alto modo de castigo: el suave, no violento, fundado en la contención y en la persuasión moral.»
हुमत्सेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
In an ideal age where dharma is fully established (Kṛta/Satya Yuga), a ruler should govern primarily through the mildest, ethically superior form of daṇḍa—restraint, persuasion, and compassionate correction—rather than harsh coercion.
Humatsena recalls how elders/forebears compassionately reassured and instructed him, and he transmits that traditional counsel: the king’s control over subjects should match the moral condition of the age, with the Kṛta Yuga calling for the gentlest mode of governance.