Shloka 21

वाली–रामसंवादः

Rama’s Justification to Vali on Rājadharma

Devanagari script

न हि धर्मविरुद्धस्य लोकवृत्तादपेयुषः।दण्डादन्यत्र पश्यामि निग्रहं हरियूथप।

Transliteration

na hi dharmaviruddhasya lokavṛttādapeyuṣaḥ | daṇḍād anyatra paśyāmi nigrahaṃ hariyūthapa ||

Translation

اے ہری یوتھپ! جو دھرم کے خلاف چلے اور لوگوں کی مروجہ مر्यادا سے ہٹ جائے، اسے روکنے کے لیے میں سزا کے سوا کوئی اور بندش نہیں دیکھتا۔

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; negation

• hi: indeed
• hi: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; emphatic particle

• dharma-viruddhasya: of one opposed to dharma
• dharma-viruddhasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + viruddha (कृदन्त; √rudh/√rudh? actually viruddha from √rudh रुध्/√rudhir? standard ‘viruddha’ as PPP of √rudh ‘to obstruct’, meaning ‘opposed’)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana; samāsa: tatpuruṣa ‘dharmasya viruddhaḥ’

• loka-vṛttāt: from the practice of the world
• loka-vṛttāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛtta (कृदन्त; √vṛt वृत्)
• Form: Napुंसakliṅga, Pañcamī, Ekavacana; samāsa: tatpuruṣa ‘lokasya vṛttam’ = accepted worldly practice

• apeyuṣaḥ: of one who has swerved
• apeyuṣaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: apa-√i इ (धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: perfect participle/kvip-like form ‘peyuṣ’ (from √i with prefix apa-), Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana; ‘of one who has gone away/swerved’

• daṇḍāt: from punishment
• daṇḍāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Pañcamī, Ekavacana

• anyatra: elsewhere/other than
• anyatra: Apavāda (अपवाद/Exclusion)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb ‘elsewhere/other than’

• paśyāmi: I see
• paśyāmi: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paś पश्य् (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra, Uttama-puruṣa, Ekavacana; parasmaipada

• nigraham: restraint, punishment
• nigraham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nigraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• hari-yūthapa: O leader of monkey-troops
• hari-yūthapa: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक) + yūthapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana, Ekavacana; samāsa: tatpuruṣa ‘harīṇāṃ yūthapaḥ’

Context

'O lord of monkeys! I do not see any other way of controlling a person excepting punishing the one who has acted against dharma and swerved from the accepted code of conduct.

Characters & Entities

• Rama
• Vali
• hariyūthapa (monkey troop-leader epithet)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

Dharma is upheld through social and royal restraint: when someone violates dharma and accepted conduct, lawful punishment (daṇḍa) becomes the recognized means of correction.

What is the narrative situation?

After Vali challenges Rama’s act of shooting him, Rama answers by grounding his action in principles of dharma and the necessity of punishment for transgression.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Rama’s commitment to rajadharma: impartial enforcement of moral and social order through appropriate punishment.