Vamana Purana — Ritadhvaja Aids Galava, Shloka 29
Ritadhvaja’s Aid to Galava and Andhaka’s Infatuation with Gauri
किञ्चित् त्वया न श्रुतं दैत्यनाथ गीतं श्लोकं गाधिना पार्थिवेन दृष्ट्वा सैन्यं विप्रधेनुप्रसक्तं तथ्यं पथ्यं सर्वलोके हितं च // वम्प्_33.28 वरं प्राणास्त्याज्या न च पिशुनवादेष्वभिरतिः वरं मौनं कार्यं न च वचनमुक्तं यदनृतम् वरं क्लीबैर्भाव्यं न च परकगलत्राभिगमनं वरं भिक्षार्थित्वं न च परधनास्वादमसकृत्
kiñcit tvayā na śrutaṃ daityanātha gītaṃ ślokaṃ gādhinā pārthivena dṛṣṭvā sainyaṃ vipradhenuprasaktaṃ tathyaṃ pathyaṃ sarvaloke hitaṃ ca // VamP_33.28 varaṃ prāṇāstyājyā na ca piśunavādeṣvabhiratiḥ varaṃ maunaṃ kāryaṃ na ca vacanamuktaṃ yadanṛtam varaṃ klībairbhāvyaṃ na ca parakagalatrābhigamanaṃ varaṃ bhikṣārthitvaṃ na ca paradhanāsvādamasakṛt
Wahai tuan para Daitya, tidakkah engkau pernah mendengar walau sedikit syair yang dinyanyikan Raja Gādhi—yang benar, menyehatkan (pati), dan bermanfaat bagi seluruh dunia—ketika baginda melihat suatu bala tentera bernafsu hendak (merampas) lembu seorang brāhmaṇa? “Lebih baik menyerahkan nyawa daripada bersuka dalam kata fitnah. Lebih baik berdiam diri daripada mengucap kata dusta. Lebih baik disangka lemah daripada mendekati isteri orang lain. Lebih baik hidup dengan meminta sedekah daripada berulang kali menikmati harta orang lain.”
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FAQs
Gādhi functions as an authoritative exemplar of royal nīti: a king who recognizes that social order collapses when the vulnerable (brāhmaṇas) and their livelihood (the cow) are violated. ‘Vipra-dhenu’ is a stock marker of grievous adharma; the verse frames ethics as universally beneficial (sarvaloke hitam), not merely sectarian counsel.
It is a graded rhetorical preference (varaṃ…varaṃ…): it ranks harms to show that certain transgressions—slander, lying, adultery, and repeated appropriation of others’ wealth—are worse than socially painful alternatives. The point is ethical prioritization, not a literal injunction to seek death or beggary.
Prahlāda’s strategy is moral suasion: he confronts Daitya kingship with universally intelligible dharma (truthful speech, restraint, non-violation of others). The narrative tension is that such counsel, though ‘pathya’, provokes the tyrant’s rage rather than reform.