Adhyaya 28 — Madalasa's Teaching IV
यश्चोल्लङ्घ्य स्वकं धर्मं स्ववर्णाश्रमसंज्ञितम् । नरोऽन्यथा प्रवर्तेत स दण्ड्यो भूभृतो भवेत् ॥
yaś collaṅghya svakaṃ dharmaṃ svavarṇāśramasaṃjñitam | naro 'nyathā pravarteta sa daṇḍyo bhūbhṛto bhavet ||
Dan orang yang, melanggar kewajipannya sendiri—yang ditentukan oleh varṇa dan āśrama—bertindak sebaliknya, patut dihukum; dia menjadi tertakluk kepada hukuman raja.
{ "primaryRasa": "dharma", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
Dharma is treated as publicly enforceable order: persistent deviation from one’s varṇāśrama-defined obligations is not merely personal fault but a civic breach warranting royal correction.
Normative political-ethical teaching (daṇḍa aligned to dharma), ancillary to pancalakṣaṇa narrative categories.
On an inner reading, ‘the king’s punishment’ can symbolize the inevitable corrective force of karma and conscience when one violates one’s true nature (svadharma).