Shloka 30
Vāmadeva’s Rājadharma: Norm-Setting, Counsel, and the Prevention of Rāṣṭra-Vināśa (वामदेव-प्रोक्तं राजधर्मम्)
अग्राम्यचरितां वृत्ति यो न सेवेत नित्यदा | जितानामजितानां च क्षत्रधर्मादपैति सः
agrāmyacaritāṁ vṛttiṁ yo na seveta nityadā | jitānām ajitānāṁ ca kṣatradharmād apaiti saḥ ||
Vāmadeva said: He who does not constantly adhere to a refined, non-vulgar mode of conduct—one practiced by the cultured—and who, whether dealing with the defeated or the undefeated, causes them to fall away from their established codes of behavior, such a man departs from the dharma of a kṣatriya. In ethical terms, kṣatriya-duty is sustained not merely by power, but by disciplined conduct and by upholding rightful norms even toward opponents.
वामदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A kṣatriya’s dharma depends on disciplined, cultured conduct and on maintaining rightful norms in society; abandoning refined behavior and disrupting established codes—whether for the defeated or the undefeated—constitutes a fall from kṣatriya-duty.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and governance, the sage Vāmadeva lays down a criterion for true kṣatriya conduct: constant adherence to dignified behavior and the upholding of proper customary discipline for all parties, not only for one’s own side.