Adhyaya 26 — Madālasa Names Alarka and Reorients Him Toward Kshatriya Duty
राज्यं कुर्वन् सुहृदो नन्दयेथाः साधून् रक्षंस्तात ! यज्ञैर्यजेथाः ।
दुष्टान्निघ्रन् वैरिणश्चाजिमध्ये गोविप्रार्थे वत्स ! मृत्युं व्रजेथाः ॥
rājyaṃ kurvan suhṛdo nandayethāḥ sādhūn rakṣaṃs tāta! yajñair yajethāḥ | duṣṭān nighran vairiṇaś cājimadhye goviprārthe vatsa! mṛtyuṃ vrajethāḥ ||
治理王国之时,当使友人欢悦;护持正法之士,爱子啊,当行祭祀。摧伏恶人,并于战阵之中直面仇敌——若为护牛与护婆罗门之故,孩子啊,纵至于死亦当往。
{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "dharma", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
Ideal kingship is measured by: alliance-building (suhṛt), protection of the righteous, ritual maintenance of order, and firm suppression of wrongdoing. The climactic vow—dying for ‘cows and Brahmins’—signals the king’s duty to protect sustenance (go) and sacred learning/ritual order (vipra).
Normative rājadharma within an instructive lineage-story setting (vaṃśānucarita-adjacent). Not a direct pancalakṣaṇa enumeration, but a behavioral charter for rulers in purāṇic historiography.
‘Go’ can symbolize vital nourishment and dharmic prosperity; ‘vipra’ symbolizes discriminative wisdom and sacred speech. To ‘die for them’ implies total ego-sacrifice to preserve life-force and truth.