Shloka 48
त्रिवर्गमूलनिश्चयः — Determining the Roots of Dharma, Artha, and Kāma
Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 123
पितामहान्महादेवो जागर्ति भगवान् शिव: । विश्वेदेवा: शिवाच्चापि विश्वेभ्यश्व॒ तथर्षय:
pitāmahān mahādevo jāgarti bhagavān śivaḥ | viśvedevāḥ śivāc cāpi viśvebhyaś ca tatharṣayaḥ |
Vasuharoma berkata: “Daripada Sang Pitāmaha (Brahmā), Tuhan Yang Agung—Bhagavān Śiva—tetap berjaga. Daripada Śiva lahir para Viśvedevas; daripada Viśvedevas lahir para Ṛṣi. Melalui susur galur suci ini, kewenangan menghukum dan melindungi diterima dan dipikul demi menjaga segala alam. Fahamilah dengan jelas: kuasa mengekang kejahatan dan melindungi makhluk bukanlah sewenang-wenangnya—ia amanah ilahi, demi loka-rakṣā, perlindungan dunia.”
वसुहरोम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames political-ethical power—especially the authority to punish and protect—as a sacred trust transmitted through a divine lineage. True governance is vigilant, restrained, and aimed at loka-rakṣā (protecting the world), not personal gain.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and rule, Vasuharoma explains a hierarchy of beings beginning with Brahmā and Śiva, describing how responsibility for maintaining order and safeguarding beings is passed down through divine and sage lineages.