Shloka 31
Adhyaya 7 — Harishchandra Tested by Vishvamitra: The Gift of the Kingdom and the Pandava Curse-Backstory
विश्वामित्र उवाच
सर्वस्वं यदि मे दत्तं राज्यमुर्वो बलं धनम् ।
प्रभुत्वं कस्य राजर्षे राज्यस्थे तापसे मयि ॥
viśvāmitra uvāca
sarvasvaṃ yadi me dattaṃ rājyam urvo balaṃ dhanam |
prabhutvaṃ kasya rājarṣe rājyasthe tāpase mayi ||
วิศวามิตรกล่าวว่า “หากราชอาณาจักร โอ้อุรวา ทั้งกำลังและทรัพย์สมบัติทั้งหมดได้ถูกมอบแก่ข้าพเจ้าแล้ว ถ้าเช่นนั้น อำนาจเป็นของผู้ใดเล่า โอ้ราชฤๅษี เมื่อข้าพเจ้าเป็นตบะผู้บำเพ็ญพรตได้ตั้งมั่นอยู่ในราชอาณาจักร?”
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "dharmya (didactic)", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The verse highlights a classic Purāṇic tension: material sovereignty (rājya, bala, dhana) can be transferred by gift, but moral/spiritual authority hinges on who truly upholds dharma. Viśvāmitra’s rhetorical question implies that when tapas (self-discipline and spiritual force) is present within a realm, kingship must recognize and accommodate that superior, non-material power—otherwise political authority becomes hollow.
This verse is primarily within ākhyāna (narrative exemplum) used to teach dharma; it does not directly advance sarga/pratisarga (creation), vaṃśa (genealogies), manvantara (cosmic ages), or vaṃśānucarita (dynastic histories), though it may be embedded in a broader narrative that supports dharmic instruction.
Esoterically, it encodes the idea that true “lordship” (prabhutva) is not merely external control but inner mastery. Tapas represents concentrated will and restraint; when such a force is “established in the kingdom,” it symbolizes the presence of an inner sovereign within the field of worldly life—suggesting that spiritual realization can supersede conventional hierarchies.