Shloka 78
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
मन्युप्रहरणा विप्रा न विप्रा: शस्त्रयोधिन: । निहन्युर्मन्युना विप्रा वजपाणिरिवासुरान्,ब्राह्मणोंका क्रोध ही अस्त्र-शस्त्र है। ब्राह्मण लोहेके हथियारोंसे नहीं लड़ा करते हैं। जैसे हाथमें वच्र लिये हुए इन्द्र असुरोंका संहार कर डालते हैं, उसी प्रकार ब्राह्मण क्रोधसे ही अपराधीको नष्ट कर देते हैं
manyupraharaṇā viprā na viprāḥ śastrayodhinaḥ | nihanyur manyunā viprā vajrapāṇir ivāsurān ||
Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Para sa mga brāhmaṇa, ang poot mismo ang sandata; ang mga brāhmaṇa ay hindi mga mandirigmang umaasa sa sandatang bakal. Sa lakas ng makatarungang galit, kaya nilang lipulin ang may sala—gaya ni Indra na may hawak na vajra, na bumabagsak sa mga asura.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa modes of power: brāhmaṇas do not typically fight with physical weapons; their potency lies in moral-spiritual force—especially the destructive efficacy of righteous indignation expressed through tapas and speech (e.g., curse), which can punish wrongdoing.
Yudhiṣṭhira is emphasizing the extraordinary, non-martial power attributed to brāhmaṇas in the epic world: when provoked by adharma, their anger can bring ruin upon offenders, comparable to Indra’s thunderbolt destroying the asuras.