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 said: “One should renounce false speech. Without waiting to be asked, one should do what is pleasing and beneficial to others. And one should never abandon dharma—whether driven by desire, by rash anger, or by hatred.”
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.