Shloka 70
Adhyaya 3 — The Dharmapakshis’ Past-Life Curse and Indra’s Test of Truthfulness
रिपुभिर्लब्धविवरः स नृपो नाशमृच्छति ।
एवं रागस्तथा मोहः लोभः क्रोधस्तथैव च ॥
ripubhir labdha-vivaraḥ sa nṛpo nāśam ṛcchati |
evaṃ rāgas tathā moho lobhaḥ krodhas tathaiva ca ||
Un rey en quien los enemigos han hallado una abertura llega a la ruina. Del mismo modo, la pasión (apego), la ilusión, la codicia y la ira también arruinan cuando encuentran una abertura en la mente.
{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The verse teaches that downfall begins with a ‘breach’: external foes succeed when they detect a vulnerability, and the same logic applies inwardly—when rāga (attachment), moha (delusion), lobha (greed), and krodha (anger) find entry, they destabilize judgment and lead to self-destruction. It is a warning to guard the mind as carefully as a kingdom’s fortifications.
This is primarily Dharmānucarita/Nīti instruction rather than the Purāṇic cosmological pillars. It does not directly present sarga (creation), pratisarga (re-creation), vaṃśa (genealogies), manvantara, or vaṃśānucarita (dynastic histories), though it supports the Purāṇic aim of teaching dharma through ethical counsel.
‘Vivara’ (the opening) can be read as a lapse in vigilance (apramāda). The “enemies” are both outer and inner: once attention loosens, the kleśa-like forces—attachment, delusion, greed, anger—invade and overthrow inner sovereignty. The king symbolizes the governing intellect; preserving rule means sealing the subtle breaches where impulses enter and commandeer decision-making.