Shloka 22
Adhyaya 19 — Kartavirya Arjuna at Dattatreya’s Ashram: Boons, Sovereignty, and Vaishnava Praise
अद्यप्रभृति यः शस्त्रं मामृतेऽन्यो ग्रहीष्यति ।
हन्तव्यः स मया दस्युः परिहंसारतोऽपि वा ॥
adyaprabhṛti yaḥ śastraṃ māmṛte 'nyo grahīṣyati / hantavyaḥ sa mayā dasyuḥ parihaṃsārato 'pi vā
“Từ hôm nay trở đi, bất cứ ai ngoài ta mà cầm vũ khí—người ấy phải bị ta giết, dù là kẻ cướp hay thậm chí là kẻ du hành tu khổ hạnh, chuyên giữ hạnh không hại (ahiṃsā).”
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FAQs
The verse asserts the king’s duty to monopolize coercive force to prevent private violence. Even socially ‘respectable’ identities are not shields if they violate public safety; dharma here is framed as protection through firm, impartial enforcement.
Vaṃśānucarita with Rajadharma instruction: the king’s policy becomes a didactic example embedded in dynastic narrative.
Weapons symbolize unregulated ego-force. ‘Except me’ can be read as the principle that only the rightful ‘sovereign’ (disciplined higher self / dharmic authority) should wield force; otherwise force becomes banditry, even if cloaked in piety.