Shloka 43
Gārhasthya-Śreṣṭhatā and Kṣatriya-Daṇḍadhāraṇa
Householder Primacy and the Royal Duty of Punishment
लिखित उवाच किं तु नाहं त्वया पूतः पूर्वमेव महाद्युते । यस्य ते तपसो वीर्यमीदृशं द्विजसत्तम
Likhita uvāca: kiṁ tu nāhaṁ tvayā pūtaḥ pūrvam eva mahādyute | yasya te tapaso vīryam īdṛśaṁ dvijasattama ||
Likhita thưa: “Nhưng vì sao ngài không thanh tẩy cho tôi từ trước, hỡi bậc rực rỡ đại quang? Nếu sức mạnh khổ hạnh của ngài quả thật như thế, hỡi bậc tối thượng trong hàng Bà-la-môn, sao ngài không gột sạch tôi ngay lập tức?”
लिखित उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse probes the ethical expectation that spiritual power (tapas) should be used responsibly and promptly for purification and restoration of dharma, raising the question of why corrective grace or expiation was not applied earlier when it was evidently possible.
Likhita addresses a highly radiant Brahmin-ascetic, acknowledging the extraordinary potency of his austerities and questioning why, if such power exists, Likhita was not purified beforehand—implying a situation involving impurity, fault, or the need for expiation.