Shloka 9
Adhyāya 160: Dikpāla-Cosmography and the Sun’s Kālacakra (दिक्पाल-विश्ववर्णनम् तथा आदित्यस्य कालचक्रम्)
यथा मानिता: कच्चित् त्वया नन्दन्ति साधव: । वनेष्वपि वसन् कच्चिद् धर्ममेवानुवर्तसे,“क्या तुमसे यथायोग्य सम्मानित होकर साधु पुरुष तुमपर प्रसन्न रहते हैं? क्या तुम वनमें रहते हुए भी सदा धर्मका ही अनुसरण करते हो?
yathā mānitāḥ kaccit tvayā nandanti sādhavaḥ | vaneṣv api vasan kaccid dharmam evānuvartase |
Waiśampāyana berkata: “Apakah orang-orang saleh, setelah engkau muliakan sebagaimana patut, benar-benar berkenan kepadamu? Dan meski tinggal di rimba, apakah engkau tetap mengikuti dharma semata?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in hardship (forest-dwelling), one should adhere to dharma, and one’s relationship with the virtuous should be grounded in proper respect; ethical conduct is measured both by personal discipline and by how one treats the righteous.
Vaiśampāyana poses a concerned, evaluative question to a principal figure: whether the good people around him are satisfied due to being duly honored, and whether he continues to live by dharma despite residing in the forest—an implicit check on moral steadiness during exile.