Shloka 48
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
(क्षत्रियास्तु ततो देवि द्विजानां पालने स्मृता: । यदि न क्षत्रियो लोके जगत् स्यादधरोत्तरम् ।।
kṣatriyās tu tato devi dvijānāṃ pālane smṛtāḥ | yadi na kṣatriyo loke jagat syād adharottaram || rakṣaṇāt kṣatriyair eva jagad bhavati śāśvatam || samyag guṇahito dharmo dharmaḥ paurahitakriyā | vyavahārasthitir nityaṃ guṇayukto mahīpatiḥ || prajāḥ pālayate yo hi dharmeṇa manujādhipaḥ | tasya dharmārjitā lokāḥ prajā-pālana-saṃcitāḥ ||
Mahādeva bersabda: “Maka, wahai Dewi, para kṣatriya dikenang sebagai mereka yang tekun melindungi golongan dua kali lahir (dvija). Jika tiada kṣatriya di dunia, tertib alam akan terbalik dan kacau-bilau pun melanda. Dengan perlindungan kṣatriya-lah dunia ini terus bertahan. Bagi seorang raja, dharma ialah memupuk dengan tepat sifat-sifat mulia serta melakukan tindakan yang menjamin kebajikan warga kota; pemerintah yang berbudi hendaklah sentiasa teguh dalam perilaku yang adil dan menurut undang-undang. Penguasa manusia yang melindungi rakyatnya menurut dharma akan mencapai alam-alam yang unggul—diperoleh melalui dharma dan terkumpul melalui pahala menjaga rakyat.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage defines rājadharma: the Kṣatriya’s essential role is protection—especially safeguarding the social-religious order represented by the twice-born—and the king’s dharma is to cultivate virtues, act for public welfare, and uphold just legal conduct; such protection yields spiritual merit and higher realms.
Śrī Mahādeva addresses Devī, explaining why Kṣatriyas are indispensable to the stability of the world and then specifying what counts as dharma for a ruler: welfare-oriented action, virtue, and consistent justice in public dealings, culminating in the reward gained by a king who protects his subjects righteously.