Shloka 216
Rājapurohita-lakṣaṇa and Purūravas–Vāyu Saṃvāda
Varṇa, Sovereignty, and Abhaya-dāna
राजन्येवास्य धर्मस्य योगक्षेम: प्रतिष्ठित: । देवता और पितर भी इस मर्त्यलोकसे ही दिये गये यज्ञ और श्राद्धसे जीवन यापन करते हैं। अतः इस धर्मका योगक्षेम राजापर ही अवलम्बित है
rājanyeva asya dharmasya yogakṣemaḥ pratiṣṭhitaḥ | devatāś ca pitaro 'pi asmin martyaloke eva dattaiḥ yajñaiḥ śrāddhaiś ca jīvanaṃ yāpayanti | ataḥ asya dharmasya yogakṣemaḥ rājāpary eva avalambitaḥ |
Aiḷa disse: “Ó rei, a estabilidade e a continuidade segura deste dharma repousam sobretudo no governante. Até mesmo os deuses e os ancestrais (pitṛ) sustentam sua existência por meio dos sacrifícios (yajña) e das oferendas de śrāddha dadas neste mundo mortal. Portanto, a preservação e o bem-estar deste dharma dependem, em última instância, do rei.”
ऐल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dharma’s stability and welfare (yogakṣema) depend on righteous kingship: when the ruler protects order and enables proper giving and ritual, both human society and the cosmic recipients of offerings (gods and ancestors) are sustained.
In Śānti Parva’s discourse on governance and dharma, Aiḷa addresses a king and argues that the ruler is the main support of dharma because sacrifices and śrāddha performed in the human realm sustain the gods and ancestors, making royal protection of social-ritual life essential.