Shloka 2
Adhyaya 72 — The Reconciliation Rite, Sarasvati Sacrifice, and the Birth of Uttama Manu (Auttama Manvantara Prelude)
ब्राह्मण उवाच राजवर्य ! कृतार्थोऽस्मि यतो धर्मो हि रक्षितः ।
धर्मज्ञेह भवता भार्यामानयता मम ॥
brāhmaṇa uvāca rājavarya! kṛtārtho ’smi yato dharmo hi rakṣitaḥ | dharmajñeha bhavatā bhāryām ānayatā mama ||
ब्राह्मण बोला—हे राजश्रेष्ठ, मैं कृतकृत्य हुआ; क्योंकि धर्म की रक्षा हुई है—तुम जैसे धर्मज्ञ द्वारा मेरी पत्नी को लौटा देने से।
FAQs
Dharma is not abstract: it is ‘protected’ through concrete acts—here, restoring a lawful marital bond. The king is praised not for power but for dharma-jñāna expressed as action.
Anucarita: exemplary interaction between brāhmaṇa and king demonstrating dharmic kingship within the Manvantara narrative.
‘Bringing back the wife’ can be read as restoring śraddhā (faith/steadfastness) to the ritual life; when śraddhā returns, dharma flourishes.