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 ||
Dyumatsena berkata: “Anakku, di mana pun dan kapan pun rakyat dapat ditahan dalam batas-batas tata tertib yang patut, sejauh itulah tindakan itu disebut dharma—selama ia tidak melanggar dharma itu sendiri.”
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.