Shloka 7
Adhyaya 18 — Arjuna Declines the Throne; Garga Directs Him to Dattatreya; The Gods Defeat the Daityas through Dattatreya’s Vision and the Movement of Lakshmi
गृह्णतो बलिषड्भागं नृपतेर्नरको ध्रुवम् ।
निरूपितमिदं राज्ञः पूर्वै रक्षणवेतनम् ॥
gṛhṇato bali-ṣaḍbhāgaṃ nṛpater narako dhruvam /
nirūpitam idaṃ rājñaḥ pūrvair rakṣaṇa-vetanam
Bagi raja yang mengambil bali dan bagian seperenam tanpa melindungi sebagaimana mestinya, neraka adalah pasti. Para leluhur telah menetapkannya sebagai upah raja atas perlindungan; yakni pungutan sah hanya sebagai imbalan penjagaan.
{ "primaryRasa": "dharma", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The verse defines taxation as remuneration for protection; extracting revenue without fulfilling that duty is not merely inefficient but gravely sinful with assured negative afterlife consequences.
Dharma (especially rājadharma) embedded in vaṃśānucarita; it supports Purāṇic moral governance as part of societal maintenance.
‘Rakṣaṇa-vetana’ encodes a dharmic economy: authority must circulate benefit. When circulation stops (taking without giving), the ruler’s spiritual trajectory collapses (naraka as the symbol of that collapse).