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
इष्टापूर्तविनाशाय तद्राज्ञश्चौरधर्मिणः ।
यद्यन्यैः पालयते लोकस्तद्वृत्तयन्तरसंश्रितैः ॥
iṣṭāpūrta-vināśāya tad rājñaś caura-dharmiṇaḥ /
yad yanyaiḥ pālyate lokas tad vṛttay antarasaṃśritaiḥ
盗人のごとく振る舞う王は、自らの iṣṭa と pūrta の功徳を滅ぼす。もし民が他者—別の手段で生きる者—によって守られているなら、王の取り立ては盗みとなるからである。
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A ruler’s moral legitimacy depends on delivering protection. Without that, revenue-taking is equated to theft and destroys the ruler’s accumulated religious merit.
Dharma/nīti instruction within vaṃśānucarita; it also touches the Purāṇic concern with karma (puṇya-kṣaya).
Iṣṭa-pūrta represent ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ capital of dharma. The verse implies adharma governance consumes both spiritual and material reserves, leaving the polity hollow.