Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 27, Shloka 11
Adhyaya 27 — Madālasa’s Instruction to King Alarka: Royal Ethics, Self-Conquest, and Statecraft
यस्त्वेतानविजित्यैव वैरिणो विजिगीषते ।
सोऽजितात्मा जितामात्यः शत्रुवर्गेण बाध्यते ॥
yas tv etān avijityaiva vairiṇo vijigīṣate /
so 'jitātmā jitāmātyaḥ śatruvargeṇa bādhyate
But he who, without first conquering these inner factors, wishes to conquer enemies—his own self remaining unconquered though his ministers are subdued—becomes oppressed by the host of enemies.
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "bhaya", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Ambition without self-mastery is self-defeating: even if administrative machinery is forced into obedience, the ruler’s own ungoverned impulses create vulnerabilities that enemies exploit.
Ancillary nīti; not pancalakṣaṇa.
A mind that subdues externals but not itself is ‘split’; such inner incoherence invites ‘enemy forces’—stress, confusion, and reactive patterns—to dominate.