Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 34
The Birth of King Pṛthu: Vena’s Fall, the Sages’ Churning, and Earth’s Surrender
कुरु धर्मं महाराज सत्यं पुण्यं समाचर । प्रजाहं पालयिष्यामि इति ते समयः कृतः
kuru dharmaṃ mahārāja satyaṃ puṇyaṃ samācara | prajāhaṃ pālayiṣyāmi iti te samayaḥ kṛtaḥ
ਹੇ ਮਹਾਰਾਜ, ਧਰਮ ਕਰ; ਸਤ੍ਯ ਦਾ ਆਚਰਨ ਕਰ ਅਤੇ ਪੁੰਨ ਕਰਮ ਕਰ। ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਤੂੰ ਇਹ ਪ੍ਰਤਿਗਿਆ ਕੀਤੀ ਹੈ: ‘ਮੈਂ ਪ੍ਰਜਾ ਦੀ ਰੱਖਿਆ ਕਰਾਂਗਾ।’
Unspecified (contextual exhortation to a king within the chapter’s dialogue)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
Type: city
Sandhi Resolution Notes: प्रजाहं = प्रजाः + अहम् (विसर्ग-लोप/सन्धि).
FAQs
It summarizes rāja-dharma: a ruler must practice dharma, uphold truth, cultivate merit, and protect the people as a binding vow of kingship.
It places satya alongside dharma and puṇya as essential virtues of rule, implying that legitimate protection of subjects rests on truthful and ethical conduct.
Any leader who accepts responsibility implicitly makes a ‘samaya’ (pledge) to safeguard those under their care; ethical action and truthful conduct are presented as non-negotiable foundations of that duty.