Shloka 13
Cāturāśramya-dharma—Marks of the Four Āśramas (चातुराश्रम्यधर्मः)
मान्धातोवाच यवना: किराता गान्धाराक्षीना: शबरबर्बरा: | शकास्तुषारा: कड्काश्च पह्लवाश्चान्ध्रमद्रका:
māndhātovāca—yavanāḥ kirātā gāndhārāḥ cīnāḥ śabarabarbarāḥ | śakās tuṣārāḥ kaṅkāś ca pahlavāś cāndhramadrakāḥ ||
Māndhātā dit : «Ô Seigneur bienheureux, dans mon royaume demeurent de toutes parts de nombreux peuples mleccha — Yavanas, Kirātas, Gāndhāras, Cīnas, Śabaras et Barbaras ; Śakas, Tuṣāras, Kaṅkas, Pahlavas, ainsi que les Āndhras et les Madrakas. Parmi eux se trouvent aussi des descendants de Brāhmanes et de Kṣatriyas, et même certains Vaiśyas et Śūdras qui sont tombés hors du dharma. Tous vivent du vol et du brigandage. Comment de telles gens pourraient-ils pratiquer le dharma ? Et comment des rois comme moi doivent-ils les établir dans de justes bornes et une discipline convenable ?»
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a classic rāja-dharma problem: when diverse communities—including those seen as outside Vedic norms and those who have ‘fallen’ from proper conduct—live within a kingdom and survive by crime, the king must find a way to bring them under maryādā (disciplined limits) so that social order and dharma can function.
King Māndhātā addresses Indra, describing the presence of many frontier/foreign peoples and socially degraded groups in his realm, noting their reliance on theft and robbery, and asks how they can be made to practice dharma and how a ruler should regulate and reform them.