Shloka 40
Adhyaya 7 — Harishchandra Tested by Vishvamitra: The Gift of the Kingdom and the Pandava Curse-Backstory
प्रतिश्रुत्य च दातव्यं योद्धव्यं चाततायिभिः ।
रक्षितव्यास्तथा चार्तास्त्वयैव प्राक् प्रतिश्रुतम् ॥
pratiśrutya ca dātavyaṃ yoddhavyaṃ cātatāyibhiḥ | rakṣitavyās tathā cārtās tvayaiva prāk pratiśrutam ||
ਵਚਨ ਦੇ ਕੇ ਦਾਨ ਜ਼ਰੂਰ ਦੇਣਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ, ਅਤੇ ਹਿੰਸਕ ਆਤਤਾਈਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਯੁੱਧ ਕਰਨਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ। ਇਸੇ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਪੀੜਤਾਂ ਦੀ ਰੱਖਿਆ ਕਰਨੀ ਚਾਹੀਦੀ ਹੈ— ਇਹੀ ਗੱਲ ਤੂੰ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਆਪ ਪ੍ਰਤਿਗਿਆ ਕੀਤੀ ਸੀ।
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FAQs
Dharma is framed as obligation arising from one’s word and one’s role: a promise creates a binding moral duty (dātavyam), and social order is upheld by resisting predatory violence (ātatāyin). Compassion is not merely sentiment; it becomes a concrete mandate to protect the ārtas (the afflicted), especially when one has already pledged to do so.
This verse aligns most closely with Dharma/ācāra-style instruction rather than the Purāṇic pañcalakṣaṇa categories (sarga, pratisarga, vaṃśa, manvantara, vaṃśānucarita). It is best classified as ethical guidance embedded within narrative, not as cosmology or genealogy.
On a symbolic level, ‘ātatāyin’ can represent disruptive forces (inner impulses such as anger, greed, cruelty) that assault the moral self; ‘protecting the afflicted’ points to safeguarding one’s vulnerable faculties—discernment (viveka) and conscience—from such invasions. The reminder of an earlier vow emphasizes saṅkalpa-śakti: spiritual integrity depends on honoring one’s consciously made commitments.