Shloka 16

राजधर्मः—राष्ट्ररक्षणं, दण्डनीतिः, हयग्रीवोपाख्यानम्

Royal Duty: Protection, Penal Policy, and the Hayagrīva Exemplum

Devanagari script

हन्तीति मन्यते वक्रिन्न हन्तीत्यपि चापर: । स्वभावतस्तु नियतौ भूतानां प्रभवाप्ययौं,“एक मानता है कि आत्मा मारता है।” दूसरा ऐसा मानता है कि “नहीं मारता है।' पाज्चभौतिक शरीरोंके जन्म और मरण स्वभावत: नियत हैं

Transliteration

hantīti manyate vākri na hantīty api cāparaḥ | svabhāvatas tu niyatau bhūtānāṃ prabhavāpyayau ||

Translation

ഒരാൾ ‘ഇത് വധിക്കുന്നു’ എന്നു കരുതുന്നു; മറ്റൊരാൾ ‘ഇത് വധിക്കുന്നില്ല’ എന്നും കരുതുന്നു. എന്നാൽ സ്വഭാവതഃ ജീവികളുടെ ഉദ്ഭവവും ലയവും നിശ്ചിതമാണ്.

Word by Word

हन्तिkills

इतिthus

मन्यतेthinks, considers

वक्रिa certain person (name/epithet: Vakri)

नnot

हन्तिkills

इतिthus

अपिalso

चand

अपरःanother (person)

स्वभावतःby nature, naturally

तुbut

नियतौfixed, determined (two)

भूतानाम्of beings

प्रभवorigin (as one of a pair)

अप्ययौdissolution, passing away (as one of a pair)

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Disputes about whether the self ‘kills’ or ‘does not kill’ miss a deeper point: embodied existence is governed by an inherent, orderly cycle of arising and passing away. The verse encourages steadiness and ethical discernment by recognizing the inevitability of birth and death for the elemental body, rather than clinging to confused notions of personal agency alone.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa addresses a listener whose understanding is described as ‘crooked,’ contrasting two common views about killing. He then reframes the issue: regardless of such arguments, the natural law of origination and dissolution operates for beings, setting the stage for a calmer, dharma-oriented reflection on action, responsibility, and the nature of embodied life.