Shloka 9
Rājapurohita-lakṣaṇa and Purūravas–Vāyu Saṃvāda
Varṇa, Sovereignty, and Abhaya-dāna
ऐल उवाच द्विजस्य क्षत्रबन्धोर्वा कस्येयं पृथिवी भवेत् । धर्मत: सह वित्तेन सम्यग वायो प्रचक्ष्व मे,पुरूरवाने पूछा--वायुदेव! धन-धान्यसहित यह पृथ्वी धर्मतः किसकी है? ब्राह्मणकी या क्षत्रियकी? यह मुझे ठीक-ठीक बताइये
aila uvāca: dvijasya kṣatrabandhor vā kasye iyaṃ pṛthivī bhavet | dharmataḥ saha vittena samyag vāyo pracakṣva me ||
ಐಲನು (ಪುರೂರವನು) ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಓ ವಾಯುದೇವ! ಧನಸಂಪತ್ತಿಯೊಡನೆ ಈ ಭೂಮಿ ಧರ್ಮತಃ ಯಾರದು—ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನದೋ, ಅಥವಾ ಕ್ಷತ್ರಿಯನದೋ (ಅವನು ಕೇವಲ ‘ಕ್ಷತ್ರಬಂಧು’ ಆಗಿದ್ದರೂ)? ನನಗೆ ನಿಖರವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳು.
ऐल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-based inquiry into political and economic legitimacy: sovereignty over the earth and its wealth is not treated as mere power or inheritance, but as something that must be justified by dharma—raising the question of who is truly entitled to rule and possess resources.
Purūravas (Aila) addresses Vāyu and asks for a precise ruling: by dharma, who should be regarded as the rightful holder of the earth along with its wealth—brāhmaṇas or kṣatriyas (including the case of an unworthy ‘kṣatra-bandhu’).