Shloka 24
Gārhasthya-Śreṣṭhatā and Kṣatriya-Daṇḍadhāraṇa
Householder Primacy and the Royal Duty of Punishment
सो<ब्रवीद् भ्रातरं ज्येष्ठमुपसृत्याभिवाद्य च । इत एव गृहीतानि मयेति प्रहसन्निव,लिखितने निकट जाकर बड़े भाईको प्रणाम किया और हँसते हुए-से इस प्रकार कहा --“भैया! मैंने ये फल यहींसे लिये हैं”
so 'bravīd bhrātaraṃ jyeṣṭham upasṛtyābhivādya ca | ita eva gṛhītāni mayeti prahasann iva ||
तो ज्येष्ठ भावाकडे जाऊन नमस्कार करून, जणू हलकेसे हसत म्हणाला— “दादा, ही फळे मी इथूनच घेतली आहेत.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when asserting one’s action (“I took these from here”), one should preserve dharma through respectful conduct—approaching elders properly, offering salutations, and speaking truthfully without arrogance.
The speaker describes someone going near his eldest brother, saluting him, and then lightly smiling as he explains that the fruits were taken from that very place.