Shloka 74
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
राजोवाच योद्धव्यं रक्षितव्यं च क्षत्रधर्म: किल द्विज । दातार: क्षत्रिया: प्रोक्ता गृहल्लीयां भवतः कथम्
rājovāca yoddhavyaṃ rakṣitavyaṃ ca kṣatradharmaḥ kila dvija | dātāraḥ kṣatriyāḥ proktā gṛhallīyāṃ bhavataḥ katham ||
بادشاہ نے کہا: اے دوبار جنم لینے والے! کہا جاتا ہے کہ کشتریہ کا دھرم جنگ کرنا اور حفاظت کرنا ہے۔ کشتریہ داتا بھی کہلاتے ہیں؛ پھر آپ کے لیے ‘گھر میں سمٹ جانا’ کیسے ممکن ہے؟
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames kṣatriya-dharma as a triad: to fight when required, to protect people and order, and to practice generosity. It challenges the idea of retreating into private life when one’s social role demands public responsibility.
A king addresses a twice-born interlocutor and argues from traditional duty: since kṣatriyas are obligated to battle, protect, and give, the king questions how a stance of domestic withdrawal or seclusion could be justified in this context.