Adhyaya 74 — King Svarashtra, the Deer-Queen’s Curse, and the Rise of Tamasa Manu
तं वीर्यहीनं निभृतैर्भृत्यैस्त्यक्तं सुदुःखितम् ।
अनन्तरो विमर्दाख्यो राज्याच्च्यावितवांस्तदा ॥
taṃ vīryahīnaṃ nibhṛtair bhṛtyais tyaktaṃ suduḥkhitam / anantaro vimardākhyo rājyāc cyāvitavāṃs tadā
Cuando quedó sin vigor—abandonado por sus servidores sometidos y tímidos, y sumido en gran aflicción—entonces Anantara, llamado Vimarda, lo expulsó del reino.
Power dependent on external support is fragile. The king’s fall illustrates that when inner strength and confidence erode, social and political structures quickly realign—urging reliance on dharma rather than mere authority.
Vaṃśānucarita: a dynastic/royal episode used for moral instruction about kāla and rājya-anityatā (the non-permanence of rule).
The ‘expulsion from the kingdom’ mirrors the soul’s forced detachment from its identifications. The usurper figure can symbolize tamas/inner disorder that takes over when vīrya (inner power) declines.