Shloka 8
Nahuṣa Abhiṣeka and the Crisis of Restraint (नहुषाभिषेकः—दमभ्रंशः)
तेज आदास्यसे पश्चन् बलवांश्व भविष्यसि । धर्म पुरस्कृत्य सदा सर्वलोकाधिपो भव
teja ādāsyase paścān balavāṁś ca bhaviṣyasi | dharmaṁ puraskṛtya sadā sarvalokādhipo bhava ||
Śalya dit : «Ensuite tu t’empareras de l’éclat des autres et tu deviendras puissant. En plaçant toujours le dharma au premier rang, deviens le souverain suprême de tous les mondes.» Cette parole présente la puissance non comme une simple conquête, mais comme une autorité qui doit sans cesse être soumise à la droiture.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even if one gains extraordinary power and the ability to overpower others, legitimate rule must be grounded in dharma; righteousness is presented as the governing principle that should precede and restrain sovereignty.
Śalya is giving counsel, forecasting that the addressee will become powerful by appropriating others’ tejas, and urging that such ascendancy be exercised with dharma placed foremost, culminating in universal lordship.