Shloka 73
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
मनु: प्रजानां रक्षार्थ क्षुपाय प्रददावसिम् | क्षुपाज्जग्राह चेक्ष्वाकुरिक्ष्वाकोश्व पुरूरवा:
manuḥ prajānāṃ rakṣārthaṃ kṣupāya pradadāv asim | kṣupāj jagrāha cekṣvākur ikṣvākoś ca purūravāḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : Pour la protection des êtres vivants, Manu remit l’épée à Kṣupa. De Kṣupa, Ikṣvāku la reçut, et d’Ikṣvāku, Purūravas l’obtint. Le sens est que, lorsque les hommes transgressent le dharma, le souverain doit, selon la juste mesure, employer des châtiments validés par l’épée — l’autorité de contrainte — afin de préserver le dharma et l’ordre du monde; ainsi l’instrument de la discipline royale se transmet-il de roi en roi.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is preserved not only by moral instruction but also by measured royal enforcement (daṇḍa). When dharma is violated, the ruler must apply proportionate punishment to protect society and uphold order.
Bhishma recounts a lineage-story of royal authority: Manu hands over the sword (symbol of punitive power) to Kṣupa; it then passes to Ikṣvāku and onward to Purūravas, illustrating the inherited duty of kings to protect subjects through just discipline.