Shloka 9
अध्याय ५७ — राज्ञः नित्यप्रयत्नः, रक्षा-प्रधानता, तथा त्याग-नीतिः
Chapter 57: Constant Royal Vigilance, Primacy of Protection, and Principles of Dismissal
असमज्जा: सरय्वां स पौराणां बालकान् नृप । न््यमज्जयदत: पित्रा निर्भत्स्य स विवासित:
Asamañjāḥ Sarayvāṁ sa paurāṇāṁ bālakān nṛpa | nyamajjayad ataḥ pitrā nirbhartsya sa vivāsitaḥ ||
Bhishma dit : Ô roi, Asamañjā avait coutume de saisir les jeunes enfants des habitants et de les noyer dans la rivière Sarayū. C’est pourquoi son père, après l’avoir sévèrement blâmé pour cette cruauté, le chassa de la maison. L’épisode montre que la famille d’un souverain doit réfréner la violence et protéger les innocents, et que l’autorité paternelle s’exerce pour maintenir le dharma social.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cruelty toward the innocent is adharma and must be checked even within a royal family; rightful authority (here, the father’s) may impose censure and exile to protect society and uphold dharma.
Bhishma recounts that the prince Asamanja habitually drowned citizens’ children in the Sarayū; as a consequence, his father rebuked him and expelled him from the home/kingdom.