Shloka 13
Aṣṭāvakra–Kahoda Upākhyāna: Śvetaketu’s Āśrama, Sarasvatī, and the Origin of Aṣṭāvakra
गुरुलाघवमादाय धर्माधर्मविनिश्चये । यतो भूयांस्ततो राजन् कुरुष्व धर्मनिश्चयम्
gurulāghavam ādāya dharmādharmaviniścaye | yato bhūyāṁs tato rājan kuruṣva dharmaniścayam ||
हे राजन्! धर्म-अधर्माचा निर्णय करताना पुण्य-पापाचे गुरु-लाघव ध्यानात घे; आणि जिथे पुण्य अधिक आहे, तोच धर्म ठरवून आचरण कर।
श्येन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When faced with competing options that mix right and wrong, one should judge by comparative moral weight: choose and enact the course in which dharma (merit) is greater and adharma (sin) is lesser.
Śyena (the hawk) addresses a king and offers a principle for ethical judgment: in deciding between dharma and adharma, the ruler should weigh consequences and adopt the option that yields the greater good/merit.