Shloka 15
Cāturāśramya-dharma—Marks of the Four Āśramas (चातुराश्रम्यधर्मः)
कथं धर्माक्षरिष्यन्ति सर्वे विषयवासिन: । मद्विधैश्व कथं स्थाप्या: सर्वे वै दस्युजीविन:
indra uvāca | kathaṃ dharmācariṣyanti sarve viṣayavāsinaḥ | madvidhaiś ca kathaṃ sthāpyāḥ sarve vai dasyujīvinaḥ |
Indra disse: “Como poderão praticar o dharma todos os que habitam no reino? E como deverão ser contidos e assentados dentro de limites apropriados, por reis como eu, todos esses que vivem de furto e banditismo?”
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a central problem of rājadharma: when a population includes people habituated to lawless livelihoods, the king must find means to bring them under ethical and legal restraint so that dharma can function in society.
Indra, as the speaker, raises a practical governance question: in a realm containing many inhabitants, including those living by robbery, how can they be made to follow dharma, and by what methods should rulers establish them within proper limits.