Shloka 10
Sūrya-stava: Dhaumya’s Counsel and the Aṣṭaśata-nāma of Sūrya
राजानो हि महात्मानो योनिकर्मविशोधिता: । उद्धरन्ति प्रजा: सर्वास्तप आस्थाय पुष्कलम्,जो जन्म और कर्म दोनों ही दृष्टियोंसे परम उज्ज्वल हैं, ऐसे महात्मा राजा भारी तपस्याका आश्रय लेकर सम्पूर्ण प्रजाजनोंका संकटसे उद्धार करते हैं
rājāno hi mahātmāno yonikarmaviśodhitāḥ | uddharanti prajāḥ sarvāstapa āsthāya puṣkalam ||
For truly great-souled kings—made pure and illustrious by both their lineage and their deeds—take up abundant austerity and disciplined self-restraint, and by that power they lift their entire people out of distress.
धौग्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ideal kingship rests on moral purity and disciplined self-restraint: when rulers are refined by noble birth and, more importantly, by righteous conduct, their tapas becomes a force that protects and rescues the whole community from संकट (distress).
Dhaumya is describing the qualities and responsibilities of great kings, emphasizing that such rulers undertake substantial tapas and thereby deliver their subjects from dangers and hardships—framing governance as a dharmic duty rather than mere power.