Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 72, Shloka 4
Adhyaya 72 — The Reconciliation Rite, Sarasvati Sacrifice, and the Birth of Uttama Manu (Auttama Manvantara Prelude)
ब्राह्मण उवाच नरेन्द्र ! सा हि विपिने भक्षिताऽऽ श्वनापदैर्यदि ।
अलन्तया किमन्यस्या न पाणिर्गृह्यते त्वया ।
क्रोधस्य वशमागम्य धर्मो न रक्षितस्त्वया ॥
brāhmaṇa uvāca narendra! sā hi vipine bhakṣitā śvanāpadair yadi | alantayā kim anyasyā na pāṇir gṛhyate tvayā | krodhasya vaśam āgamya dharmo na rakṣitas tvayā ||
Брахман сказал: «О владыка людей, если бы её растерзали дикие звери в лесу, этого было бы достаточно — почему бы тебе не взять за руку другую? Но, подпав под власть гнева, ты не защитил дхарму».
FAQs
The brāhmaṇa frames anger (krodha) as the real violator of dharma. The passage implies that social/legal remedies (like remarriage) are context-dependent, but rash action driven by anger is adharmic.
Anucarita: didactic dialogue teaching dharma through a concrete domestic-royal dilemma within Manvantara narration.
Forest and beasts can symbolize uncontrolled instincts; the verse suggests that when one believes virtue is ‘devoured,’ one may seek substitution. But when anger rules, discernment is lost—an inner ‘adharma’ regardless of outer justification.
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