Shloka 4
आपद्-राजनीतिः (Āpad-rājanīti) — Policy Options in Multi-Front Crisis
स हि तेन पुरा विप्रो राज्ञा नात्यर्थमानितः । आशाकृतनश्च राजेन्द्र तपो दीर्घ समाश्रित:
sa hi tena purā vipro rājñā nātyarthamānitaḥ | āśākṛtanaś ca rājendra tapo dīrghaṃ samāśritaḥ ||
Car autrefois ce brahmane n’avait pas été grandement honoré par le roi. Pourtant, soutenu par l’espérance, ô seigneur des rois, il entreprit de rudes austérités et les maintint longtemps.
ऋषभ उवाच
Educational Q&A
External recognition from rulers is unstable; a person committed to dharma may still persevere in tapas, sustained by inner resolve and hope, rather than by public honour.
Ṛṣabha recalls an earlier episode: a brahmin received little honour from a king, yet—motivated by hope—he undertook prolonged austerities, setting up a moral reflection on how kings treat the virtuous and how the virtuous respond.