Shloka 4
Vāmadeva’s Rājadharma: Norm-Setting, Counsel, and the Prevention of Rāṣṭra-Vināśa (वामदेव-प्रोक्तं राजधर्मम्)
साहसप्रकृतिर्यत्र किंचिदुल्बणमाचरेत् । अशास्त्रलक्षणो राजा क्षिप्रमेव विनश्यति
sāhasaprakṛtir yatra kiñcid ulbaṇam ācaret | aśāstralakṣaṇo rājā kṣipram eva vinaśyati ||
Vāmadeva sprach: „Wo ein König von Natur aus verwegen ist und auch nur eine geringe Überschreitung oder Gewalttat begeht, ohne die leitenden Merkmale des Śāstra und rechter Staatsführung, da geht jener Herrscher rasch zugrunde.“
वामदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must be guided by śāstra and disciplined judgment; even minor acts of reckless excess, when rooted in a rash temperament, undermine legitimacy and stability and lead swiftly to ruin.
In the Śānti Parva’s rājadharma instruction, the sage Vāmadeva warns about a king’s character: a rash, unregulated ruler who acts outside śāstric norms quickly destroys himself and his rule.