Shloka 27
Vāmadeva’s Rājadharma: Norm-Setting, Counsel, and the Prevention of Rāṣṭra-Vināśa (वामदेव-प्रोक्तं राजधर्मम्)
दातारं संविभक्तारं मार्दवोपगतं शुचिम् | असंत्यक्तमनुष्यं च तं जना: कुर्वते नृपम्
dātāraṃ saṃvibhaktāraṃ mārdavopagataṃ śucim | asaṃtyaktamanuṣyaṃ ca taṃ janāḥ kurvate nṛpam ||
People choose as their king the man who is generous, who distributes necessities to all with proper and fair allotment, who is gentle in disposition, pure in conduct and thought, and who does not abandon his people. Such virtues, rather than mere power, are presented as the ethical basis of rightful kingship.
वामदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Legitimate kingship rests on ethical qualities: generosity, fair distribution of resources, gentleness, purity of conduct, and steadfast care for one’s people. A ruler is ‘made’ by public recognition of these virtues, not merely by force or birth.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Vāmadeva states the criteria by which people accept someone as king: he must give, distribute justly, be mild and pure, and never abandon his subjects.