Shloka 23
न च पालयसे धर्म लोकपालसम: कथम् | भ्रातरं राजराजानं महेश्वरसखं प्रभुम्,धनेश्वरं व्यपदिशन् कथं त्विह न लज्जसे । “तुम भी लोकपालोंके समान हो, फिर धर्मका पालन क्यों नहीं करते? महेश्वरके सखा राजराज धनाध्यक्ष प्रभु कुबेरको अपना भाई बता रहे हो, तो भी यहाँ ऐसा बर्ताव करते हुए तुम्हें लज्जा क्यों नहीं आती?”
na ca pālayase dharma lokapālasamaḥ katham | bhrātaraṃ rājarājānaṃ maheśvarasakhaṃ prabhum, dhaneśvaraṃ vyapadiśan kathaṃ tv iha na lajjase |
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “And yet you do not uphold dharma—how can that be, when you claim to be like the guardians of the world? While calling Kubera—lord of wealth, king of kings, a sovereign master, and a friend of Maheśvara—your own brother, how do you not feel shame to behave in this way here?”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Status and lofty associations do not excuse unrighteous conduct. If one claims parity with divine guardians and kinship with exalted beings, one must correspondingly uphold dharma; otherwise, the proper response is shame and self-correction.
Mārkaṇḍeya rebukes the addressed person for failing to follow dharma despite boasting of being like the Lokapālas and claiming Kubera—Śiva’s friend and lord of wealth—as a brother. The speech functions as a moral reprimand grounded in ideals of righteous behavior and accountability.