Shloka 9
Vāmadeva’s Rājadharma: Norm-Setting, Counsel, and the Prevention of Rāṣṭra-Vināśa (वामदेव-प्रोक्तं राजधर्मम्)
मृषावादं परिहरेत् कुर्यात् प्रियमयाचित: । न कामाज्न च संरम्भान्न द्वेषाद् धर्ममुत्सूजेत्
mṛṣāvādaṃ pariharet kuryāt priyam ayācitaḥ | na kāmāj ca saṃrambhān na dveṣād dharmam utsṛjet ||
Vāmadeva sprach: „Meide die Lüge. Ohne erst darum gebeten zu werden, tue für andere, was ihnen angenehm und zuträglich ist. Und gib das Dharma niemals preis — weder aus Begierde, noch aus ungestümer Wut, noch aus Hass.“
वामदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cultivate truthfulness and proactive kindness, and do not forsake dharma under the pressures of desire, anger, or hatred—these inner impulses are presented as primary causes of moral collapse.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, the sage Vāmadeva delivers a concise ethical rule: reject falsehood, do good without being asked, and remain steadfast in dharma despite emotional or desire-driven provocations.