Shloka 14
Brāhmaṇa-mahattva and Atithi-Dharma
Brahmagītā: Praise of Brāhmaṇas and norms of honor
यदि स्वविषये राजन प्रभुस्त्व॑ं रक्षणे नृणाम् खेचरस्य तृषार्तस्य न त्वं प्रभुरथोत्तम
yadi svaviṣaye rājan prabhus tvaṁ rakṣaṇe nṛṇām | khecarasya tṛṣārtasya na tvaṁ prabhur athottama ||
ນົກເຫຼັ້ມກ່າວວ່າ: «ຖ້າອໍານາດຂອງພະອົງ ໂອ ກະສັດ ມີໄວ້ເພື່ອປົກປ້ອງປະຊາຊົນທີ່ຢູ່ໃນອານາເຂດຂອງພະອົງ ພະອົງກໍເປັນຜູ້ມີອໍານາດໃນການຄຸ້ມຄອງມະນຸດ. ແຕ່ຕໍ່ນົກແຫ່ງຟ້າທີ່ຖືກທໍລະມານດ້ວຍຄວາມຫິວແລະຄວາມກະຫາຍ ພະອົງບໍ່ແມ່ນເຈົ້ານາຍ ໂອ ຜູ້ຂັບລົດຮົບອັນຍິ່ງໃຫຍ່».
श्येन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a boundary of royal authority: a king’s dharma is primarily the protection of human subjects within his realm. The hawk argues that this mandate does not automatically make the king the ‘master’ over every creature’s natural needs, especially a hungry, thirst-stricken bird, thereby raising questions about jurisdiction, duty, and the limits of intervention.
In a disputation involving a hawk (śyena) and a king, the hawk challenges the king’s claim to protect by asserting that the king’s protective authority applies to people of his territory, not to the hawk’s urgent condition as a sky-roaming creature driven by hunger and thirst.