Shloka 12
Rājapurohita-lakṣaṇa and Purūravas–Vāyu Saṃvāda
Varṇa, Sovereignty, and Abhaya-dāna
पत्यभावे यथैव स्त्री देवरं कुरुते पतिम् । आनन्तर्यात् तथा क्षत्रं पृथिवी कुरुते पतिम् । एष ते प्रथम: कल्प आपद्यन्यो भवेत् तत:
aila uvāca | patyabhāve yathaiva strī devaraṃ kurute patim | ānantaryāt tathā kṣatraṃ pṛthivī kurute patim | eṣa te prathamaḥ kalpa āpady anyo bhavet tataḥ |
阿伊拉说道：“正如女子在丈夫不在（或已亡）之时，依次以夫之幼弟为夫；大地亦复如是，循其相承之序，唯在婆罗门之后，方择刹帝利为主。这是我告知于你的第一条古来成法；然而在困厄之际，其后亦可能出现别样的安排。”
ऐल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames political legitimacy as an ordered succession: the Earth accepts Kshatriya rulership after Brahmin precedence, yet it also acknowledges apaddharma—exceptions and altered rules may be permitted in times of crisis.
Aila explains a normative rule using an analogy from marriage custom (a wife taking the devara when the husband is absent/dead) to justify how sovereignty passes in proper sequence, while noting that emergencies can require deviations.