Shloka 16
राजधर्मः—राष्ट्ररक्षणं, दण्डनीतिः, हयग्रीवोपाख्यानम्
Royal Duty: Protection, Penal Policy, and the Hayagrīva Exemplum
हन्तीति मन्यते वक्रिन्न हन्तीत्यपि चापर: । स्वभावतस्तु नियतौ भूतानां प्रभवाप्ययौं
hantīti manyate vākri na hantīty api cāparaḥ | svabhāvatas tu niyatau bhūtānāṃ prabhavāpyayau ||
毗耶娑说道：“有人以为‘它在杀’，也有人以为‘它并不杀’。然而就其本性而言，有身之众生的生起与灭去，乃是既定之法。”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Disputes about whether the self ‘kills’ or ‘does not kill’ miss a deeper point: embodied existence is governed by an inherent, orderly cycle of arising and passing away. The verse encourages steadiness and ethical discernment by recognizing the inevitability of birth and death for the elemental body, rather than clinging to confused notions of personal agency alone.
Vyāsa addresses a listener whose understanding is described as ‘crooked,’ contrasting two common views about killing. He then reframes the issue: regardless of such arguments, the natural law of origination and dissolution operates for beings, setting the stage for a calmer, dharma-oriented reflection on action, responsibility, and the nature of embodied life.