Adhyaya 69 — The King’s Neglect of His Wife and the Restoration of Dharma
प्रतिकूला हि सा पत्नी तस्य विप्रस्य या हृता ।
तथापि धर्मकामोऽसौ त्वामुद्योतितवान् नृप ॥
pratikūlā hi sā patnī tasya viprasya yā hṛtā | tathāpi dharma-kāmo 'sau tvām udyotitavān nṛpa ||
En verdad, la esposa de aquel brāhmaṇa—la que fue llevada—le era desfavorable. Aun así, ese hombre, deseoso de dharma, hizo que tu falta quedara ‘puesta a la luz’ (manifiesta), oh rey.
Even when personally wronged, the dharma-minded person upholds principle over resentment. The brāhmaṇa’s orientation to dharma becomes the instrument by which the king’s lapse is exposed and corrected.
Dharma instruction within Manvantara narrative: exemplary conduct (brāhmaṇa’s dharma-kāmatā) is used to regulate royal behavior, a common Purāṇic didactic strategy.
The ‘unfavorable wife’ and her abduction can be read as the disturbance of one’s inner order; the dharma-seeker still chooses illumination (udyota)—clarity and correction—over reactive darkness.