Shloka 3.41.9
मारीचस्य रावणं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः (Maricha’s Counsel on Kingship and Ruin to Ravana)
विपर्यये तु तत्सर्वं व्यर्थं भवति रावण।व्यसनं स्वामिवैगुण्यात्प्राप्नुवन्तीतरे जनाः।।।।
viparyaye tu tat sarvaṃ vyarthaṃ bhavati rāvaṇa | vyasanaṃ svāmivaiguṇyāt prāpnuvantītare janāḥ ||
But if it turns otherwise, O Rāvaṇa, all that becomes fruitless; and because of the master’s faults, other people fall into calamity.
Otherwise evrything will become useless, O Ravana ! Others will suffer calamities on account of their master's vices.
Dharma stresses the ruler’s accountability: a king’s moral defects do not remain private; they spread suffering through the polity.
Mārīca warns that Rāvaṇa’s flawed decision-making will not only ruin goals like fame and prosperity but will also bring disaster to others under his power.
Accountable kingship: the virtue of governing oneself so that one does not become the cause of others’ suffering.