Shloka 18
Brahmopadeśa: Adhipatitva-kathana, Dharma-lakṣaṇa, and Kṣetra–Kṣetrajña Viveka
Book 14, Chapter 43
राज्ञां हि विषये येषामवसीदन्ति साधव: । हीनास्ते स्वगुणै: सर्व: प्रेत्य चोन््मार्गगामिन:
rājñāṃ hi viṣaye yeṣām avasīdanti sādhavaḥ | hīnāste svaguṇaiḥ sarvaiḥ pretya conmārgagāminaḥ ||
Vāyu dit : «Les rois dans le royaume desquels les vertueux sont accablés de détresse perdent toutes leurs qualités royales. Et après la mort, ils tombent dans une destinée basse, s’étant écartés de la voie droite.»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s legitimacy is measured by how the righteous fare under his rule: if the virtuous are oppressed or made to suffer, the king’s own royal virtues collapse, and he incurs grave posthumous consequences for deviating from dharma.
Vāyudeva delivers a moral judgment within a discourse on conduct and kingship, warning that a kingdom where good people are distressed indicates adharma in governance, leading to the ruler’s loss of merit and a degraded fate after death.