ये तिष्ठंति द्विजश्रेष्ठ सर्वे विश्वासघातकाः । असिपत्रवने घोरे भिद्यन्ते ये तु खण्डशः । ते नष्टाः स्वामिनं त्यक्त्वा संग्रामे समुपस्थिते
ye tiṣṭhaṃti dvijaśreṣṭha sarve viśvāsaghātakāḥ | asipatravane ghore bhidyante ye tu khaṇḍaśaḥ | te naṣṭāḥ svāminaṃ tyaktvā saṃgrāme samupasthite
ข้าแต่พราหมณ์ผู้ประเสริฐ ผู้ใดทรยศต่อความไว้วางใจทั้งปวง ผู้นั้นถูกฉีกเป็นชิ้น ๆ ในป่าอสิปัตรอันน่าสะพรึงกลัว และผู้ใดละทิ้งนาย/ผู้นำเมื่อศึกได้เริ่มขึ้นแล้ว ผู้นั้นย่อมพินาศฉันนั้น
Unspecified (Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narrative voice addressing a brāhmaṇa)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: dvija-śreṣṭha (addressed brāhmaṇa interlocutor)
Scene: A terrifying Asipatravana: razor-leafed trees and a dark forest where oath-breakers and betrayers are shown being cut and scattered, while a distant sacred horizon hints at Prabhāsa’s redeeming light.
Trust is sacred in dharma; betrayal and disloyalty—especially abandoning one’s duty in crisis—lead to grave downfall.
Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the Māhātmya’s sacred setting reinforces dharma through vivid moral consequence.
None; the focus is on ethical duties: fidelity to trust and steadfastness in one’s responsibility (svadharma).