Shloka 11
Book 12, Chapter 93 — Vāmadeva’s Counsel to King Vasumanā on Dharmic Kingship (धर्मप्रधान-राजधर्मोपदेशः)
अथाददान: कल्याणमनसूयुर्जितिन्द्रिय: । वर्धते मतिमान् राजा स्रोतोभिरिव सागर:,परंतु जो कल्याणकारी गुणोंको ग्रहण करनेवाला, अनिन्दक, जितेन्द्रिय और बुद्धिमान् होता है, वह राजा उसी प्रकार वृद्धिको प्राप्त होता है, जैसे नदियोंके प्रवाहसे समुद्र
athādadānaḥ kalyāṇam anasūyur jitendriyaḥ | vardhate matimān rājā srotobhir iva sāgaraḥ ||
Vāmadeva said: A king who takes up what is truly beneficial, who is free from fault-finding and envy, who has mastered his senses, and who is wise—such a ruler grows in prosperity and stature, just as the ocean swells when fed by the many currents of rivers.
वामदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s true growth comes from adopting welfare-producing virtues: accepting what is good (kalyāṇa), avoiding fault-finding and envy (anasūyā), mastering the senses (jitendriya), and applying wise judgment (matimān). These qualities steadily enlarge a king’s power and well-being.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, the sage Vāmadeva describes the traits that make a king flourish, using a simile: as the ocean increases by the inflow of many river-currents, so a king increases by continually taking in and practicing beneficial qualities.