Shloka 53
Adhyaya 7 — Harishchandra Tested by Vishvamitra: The Gift of the Kingdom and the Pandava Curse-Backstory
आनृशंस्यं परो धर्मः क्षत्रियाणां विशेषतः ।
किं दारैः किं सुतैर्नाथ धनैर्धान्यैरथापि वा ॥
ānṛśaṃsyaṃ paro dharmaḥ kṣatriyāṇāṃ viśeṣataḥ / kiṃ dāraiḥ kiṃ sutair nātha dhanair dhānyair athāpi vā
اہنسا (رحمت بھرا ضبط) سب سے اعلیٰ دھرم ہے—خصوصاً کشتریوں کے لیے۔ اے پروردگار، اس دھرم کو چھوڑ کر بیویاں کس کام کیں، بیٹے کس کام کے، اور دولت و غلہ بھی کس کام کا؟
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FAQs
The verse asserts that the warrior-ruler’s true excellence is not mere valor but compassionate restraint. For a kṣatriya—who holds power over life, punishment, and protection—ānṛśaṃsya (non-cruel, humane conduct) is proclaimed the supreme duty. The rhetorical dismissal of wife, children, wealth, and grain underscores that social status and prosperity are hollow if dharma is violated; protection and governance must be rooted in mercy and justice rather than brutality.
This verse aligns most closely with "Vaṃśānucarita" in the broad sense of social-ethical norms tied to the kṣatriya role within dynastic life, and secondarily with Purāṇic "Dharma-śikṣā" (instruction on righteous conduct), which often accompanies genealogical and narrative material. It is not a direct instance of Sarga/Pratisarga/Manvantara in this standalone line.
Esoterically, the verse treats power (kṣatra) as a test of inner mastery: the true "victory" is conquest of cruelty within oneself. Wives, sons, wealth, and food symbolize the supports of embodied life; the teaching implies that without dharma these supports become binding and ultimately meaningless. Compassion is thus presented as the inner royal consecration—an ethical tapas that sanctifies worldly authority.