Adhyāya 16 — Daiva, Kṣatriya-dharma, and Public Reassurance to Dhṛtarāṣṭra
यूयमिन्द्रसमा: सर्वे देवतुल्यपराक्रमा: । मा परेषां मुखप्रेक्षा: स्थेत्येव॑ तत् कृतं मया
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
yūyam indrasamāḥ sarve devatulyaparākramāḥ |
mā pareṣāṃ mukhaprekṣāḥ sthety eva tat kṛtaṃ mayā ||
毗湿摩耶那说道:“你们众人皆有与因陀罗等同的威力,勇武堪比诸天。莫要依人而立——莫要为衣食而仰人鼻息。正因如此,我才做了我所做的一切。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Those endowed with strength and noble capacity should not live in humiliating dependence; ethical agency includes ensuring one’s livelihood and dignity without servile reliance on others.
The narrator reports a justification: someone explains that their earlier action was undertaken so that the addressed group—praised as Indra-like and godlike in valor—would not have to depend on others for sustenance.