Shloka 73

Devanagari script

धर्म विनश्यमानं हि यो न रक्षेत्‌ स धर्महा । इसके विपरीत आचरण करनेवाला राजा पापका भागी होता है, जो नष्ट होते हुए धर्मकी रक्षा नहीं करता, वह राजा धर्मका घात करनेवाला है

Transliteration

dharma vinaśyamānaṃ hi yo na rakṣet sa dharmahā |

Translation

Siapa yang tidak melindungi dharma ketika ia sedang dihancurkan, dialah pembunuh dharma. Raja yang bertindak berlawanan dengan kewajiban ini menanggung dosa; tidak membela kebenaran yang terancam berarti mencederai dharma itu sendiri.

Word by Word

धर्मम्dharma, righteousness

विनश्यमानम्perishing, being destroyed

हिindeed, for

यःwho

नnot

रक्षेत्should protect

सःhe

धर्महाdestroyer of dharma

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is not merely to be admired but actively protected. When righteousness is under threat, inaction becomes culpable: failing to defend dharma is treated as harming dharma, and for a king this negligence is a direct source of sin.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on conduct and governance, Vyāsa delivers a normative maxim: when dharma is collapsing, one must intervene to preserve it. The statement frames royal duty (rājadharma) as protective and corrective, condemning passive or contrary rule.