Shloka 16
Purohita-Niyoga and the Brahma–Kṣatra Concord
Aila–Kaśyapa Saṃvāda
स्त्रियं हत्वा ब्राह्मणं वापि पाप: सभायां यत्र लभते5नुवादम् । राज्ञ: सकाशे न बिभेति चापि ततो भयं विद्यते क्षत्रियस्थ
kaśyapa uvāca |
striyaṁ hatvā brāhmaṇaṁ vāpi pāpaḥ sabhāyāṁ yatra labhate ’nuvādam |
rājñaḥ sakāśe na bibheti cāpi tato bhayaṁ vidyate kṣatriyastha ||
Kaśyapa dit : Lorsqu’un homme pécheur, après avoir tué une femme ou même un brahmane, reçoit l’assentiment et les louanges publiques dans l’assemblée, et que, même en présence du roi, il ne ressent ni crainte ni honte de son forfait, alors un péril redoutable s’élève pour le roi kshatriya. Car lorsque la société applaudit l’atrocité et que l’autorité royale ne la réfrène pas, ce sont les fondements mêmes du règne selon le dharma qui sont menacés.
कश्यप उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king’s greatest danger arises when grave sins (like killing a woman or a Brahmin) are socially applauded and go unpunished. Public endorsement of adharma and the ruler’s failure to inspire fear of wrongdoing undermine righteous order and threaten the stability of the realm.
Kashyapa is instructing on rājadharma: he describes a scenario where an evildoer commits heinous murder yet receives praise in an assembly and feels no fear even before the king. Kashyapa warns that such a breakdown of moral and legal restraint becomes a serious peril for the Kshatriya king and his rule.