What is the relevance of "Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah" in Kaliyuga? How is it justified now?

Question

This world is divided on dharma and all are involved in fighting for their respective dharmas. In this fight of dharmas, many people lose their lives, families and sometimes get punished in this world. How does dharma protect these people as per the sloka dharmo rakshati rakshitaha? I understand what shloka means but what is its relevance in this kaliyuga, how is this justified in this yuga.

Answer 1

The verse of which " Dharmo rakshita rakshitah" is a part is found in Manu Smriti.

We need to understand the context in which it was said.

The following is the translation of the full verse.

Manu Smriti 8.15. ’Justice, being violated, destroys; justice, being preserved, preserves: therefore justice must not be violated, lest violated justice destroy us.

This verse and the adjoining verses are discussing how the king's judgement should be impeccable in the court of justice. So, it's basically about courts, witnesses, judges, justice and the king.

The following verses should give you an idea about the context:

8.12. But where justice, wounded by injustice, approaches and the judges do not extract the dart, there (they also) are wounded (by that dart of injustice).

8.13. Either the court must not be entered, or the truth must be spoken; a man who either says nothing or speaks falsely, becomes sinful.

8.14. Where justice is destroyed by injustice, or truth by falsehood, while the judges look on, there they shall also be destroyed.

So, it is so easy to misinterpret the verse without knowing in which context it was said.

Coming to fights and deaths that result from inter-religion clashes, then those in no way prove this verse to be false.

Those people might be fighting for their own Dharma but what's the guaranty that such a Dharma is the one which is defined in Manu Smriti as Dharma? It is not actually.

Answer 2

As Vālmīki notes in his Rāmāyaṇa, the notion "dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ" (dharma protects its protector) in its traditional sense doesn't always hold true.

Rāma himself realizes this when Sītā was abducted and feels helpless. Speaking to Lakṣmaṇa, he says:

sughora hṛdayaiḥ saumya rākṣasaiḥ kāma rūpibhiḥ || 3-64-51
hṛtā mṛtā vā sītā hi bhakṣitā vā tapasvinī |
na dharmaḥ trāyate sītām hriyamāṇām mahāvane || 3-64-52

The highly stony-hearted demons that are guise-changers by their wish have either abducted, or killed or gluttonised saintly Seetha... but, they say that rectitude saves such saintly persons... yet that rectitude has not saved Seetha while she is being abducted in great forest... [3-64-51b, 52]

---

Commentary: Dharma or Righteousness does not go on safeguarding either its adherents or antagonists, everyone, everywhere, everlastingly. dharmo rakshati rakshitaH and suchlike sayings are also time-bound and when the time is negative, aapatsu raksha ko dharmaH, 'in difficulties which rightness safeguards?' is the ensuing dilemma.

Alternate translation and commentary from valmiki.iitk.ac.in:

O handsome one, those demons can change their form at will and are of dreadful nature. Have they abducted or devoured or killed her in this great forest. Even her righteousness could not protect the helpless Sita.

---

Commentary (Tattva-dīpikā): There is a maxim "apatsu raksako dharmah" (Dharma is the saviour in a calamity). Rama says that even Dharma did not save Sita when she was kidnapped.

(In the Critical Edition, this verse belongs to Araṇya-Kāṇḍa, Sarga 60)

Answer 3

According to me, we may also interpret this verse as a standalone verse, just like we have the famous Vedic-Mahāvākyas.

Similarly, this may be treated as an equivalent Smṛti-Mahāvākya (for a lack of a better word).

The verse occurs in Manu-Smṛti Verse 8.15

धर्म एव हतो हन्ति धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः । तस्माद् धर्मो न हन्तव्यो मा नो धर्मो हतोऽवधीत् ॥ १५ ॥

15. Justice, blighted, blights; and justice, preserved preserves; hence justice should not be blighted, lest blighted justice blights us.

An exact similar verse, with slight changes, is spoken by Yuddhisthira to the Yamaraja in Yaksha's disguise.¹

युधिष्ठिर उवाच

धर्म एव हतो हन्ति धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः । तस्माद्धर्म न त्यजामि मा नो धर्मो हतोऽवधीत् ॥ १२८ ॥

Hindi Translation:

युधिष्ठिर बोले - यदि धर्म का नाश किया जाय, तो वह नष्ट हुआ धर्म ही कर्ता को भी नष्ट कर देता है और यदि उसकी रक्षा की जाय, तो वही कर्ता की भी रक्षा कर लेता है। | इसी से मैं धर्म का त्याग नहीं करता कि कहीं नष्ट हो कर वह धर्म मेरा ही नाश न कर दे ॥ १२८ ॥

English Translation of the above Hindi by Self

Yudhishthira Said - If dharma is destroyed, then such a destroyed Dharma destroys the destroyer too, and if Dharma is protected, then such a Dharma will protect the protector too. Therefore, I don't relinquish my Dharma, lest it would destroy me too.

• So, we can also interpret 'dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ' to mean, that whosoever identifies themselves as a follower of the Sanātan Dharma, must, to the best of their abilities, try to sustain and protect Dharma from insiders or outsiders, or anyone who is trying to destroy and desecrate it, if danger seems imminent and unavoidable.

The above statement become more clear in the light of a very relevant verse from the Kularnava Tantra (Ekadasha Ullāsa)

Chapter 11, Kularnava Tantram

गुर्वर्थ देवतार्थं वा कौलिकार्थ कुलेश्वरि । कुलागमार्थमथवा कुलधर्मार्थमेव वा ॥ ७६ ॥
देवि निन्दाकरं हत्वा बाधितः स्वयमेव वा । यस्त्यजेहुस्त्यजप्राणान् स परे लीयते शिवे ॥ ७७ ॥

77. O Kulesvari! For the protection of Guru, Devata, Kaulika, Kulāgama and Kuladharma one who dies after killing a reproacher, merges in Parama Siva.

English Translation by Ram Kumar Rai (Prachya-Prakashan, Varanasi, 1999 Ed.)

• The general implication is to protect our Dharma and gods from imminent dangers and reproachers, if present.

---

Conclusion:

• Therefore, as a standalone maxim-statement, the statement, 'dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ' ( धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः), may be interpreted to mean that if one's Dharma is in danger (mortal-peril) from someone, then raising arms against the danger, to protect Dharma (dharmo rakṣati), is also Dharma, and such protection of Dharma leads to our protection (rakṣitaḥ), since as per tantra and various other scriptures, the protector gets Moksha itself, and what can be greater than Moksha?

---

Footnote 1: Based on the Mahabharata Version, Published by Gita Press Gorakhpur, Hindi Translation by Ramanarayanadatta Astri