Adhyaya 18 — Arjuna Declines the Throne; Garga Directs Him to Dattatreya; The Gods Defeat the Daityas through Dattatreya’s Vision and the Movement of Lakshmi
इष्टापूर्तविनाशाय तद्राज्ञश्चौरधर्मिणः ।
यद्यन्यैः पालयते लोकस्तद्वृत्तयन्तरसंश्रितैः ॥
iṣṭāpūrta-vināśāya tad rājñaś caura-dharmiṇaḥ /
yad yanyaiḥ pālyate lokas tad vṛttay antarasaṃśritaiḥ
O rei que procede como ladrão ocasiona a destruição de seus méritos de iṣṭa e pūrta; pois, se o povo é protegido por outros—os que vivem por outros meios—então o que o rei toma é roubo.
{ "primaryRasa": "dharma", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
A ruler’s moral legitimacy depends on delivering protection. Without that, revenue-taking is equated to theft and destroys the ruler’s accumulated religious merit.
Dharma/nīti instruction within vaṃśānucarita; it also touches the Purāṇic concern with karma (puṇya-kṣaya).
Iṣṭa-pūrta represent ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ capital of dharma. The verse implies adharma governance consumes both spiritual and material reserves, leaving the polity hollow.