Shloka 17
मोक्षोपाय-निर्णयः
Determination of the Means to Liberation
हुमत्सेन उवाच यत्र यत्रैव शक््येरन् संयन्तुं समये प्रजा: । स तावान प्रोच्यते धर्मो यावन्न प्रतिलड्घ्यते
Humatsena uvāca | yatra yatraiva śakyeran saṁyantuṁ samaye prajāḥ | sa tāvān procyate dharmo yāvanna pratilaghyate ||
द्यु मत्सेन ने कहा—पुत्र! जहाँ-जहाँ और जब-जब प्रजा को मर्यादा के भीतर संयमित रखा जा सके, वही उपाय धर्म कहलाता है—जब तक कि उससे स्वयं धर्म का उल्लंघन न हो।
हुमत्सेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Regulation of society is itself dharma only to the extent that it stays within dharma’s limits; governance must not become a pretext for violating righteousness.
Humatsena instructs his son on statecraft and moral governance, defining dharma pragmatically as the permissible scope of social restraint that does not cross into adharma.