Sacred Texts
Mahānirvāṇa Tantra cover

॥ श्री ॥tantraFor reading

Mahānirvāṇa Tantra 11.21

Traditional

Ullāsas
14
Verses
2517
Minutes
1258
Level
advanced

Ullāsa 11 · Verse 21

कृतपापस्य राज्ञः दण्डविधानम्The punishment of a king who has sinned

Verse 21

वधार्हं मन्यमानः स्वं कृतपापो नराधिपः । त्यक्त्वा राज्यं वनं प्राप्य तपसाऽऽत्मानमुद्धरेत् ॥ २१ ॥

vadhārhaṁ manyamānaḥ svaṁ kṛtapāpō narādhipaḥ | tyaktvā rājyaṁ vanaṁ prāpya tapasā’’tmānamuddharēt || 21 ||

Translation

A ruler who has sinned and thinks himself worthy of death should give up the kingdom, go to the forest, and raise himself up by austerity.

Word by word

vadha
of death
arhaṁ
worthy
manyamānaḥ
(manyamānaḥ) thinking
svaṁ
himself
kṛta
done
pāpaḥ
(pāpaḥ) sin
narādhipaḥ
(narādhipaḥ) a ruler
tyaktvā
having given up
rājyaṁ
the kingdom
vanaṁ
the forest
prāpya
having gone to
tapasā
by austerity
ātmānam
(ātmānam) himself
uddharēt
should raise up

Meaning

A king guilty of a capital crime must abdicate.

Commentary

Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated

Now he tells the expiation of a king who has done wrong and considers himself deserving of death, with "vadhārham" and the rest. The ruler of men who has sinned, considering himself worthy of death, should give up the kingdom, go to the forest, and raise up, purify, himself by austerity.