Shloka 8
Book 12, Chapter 93 — Vāmadeva’s Counsel to King Vasumanā on Dharmic Kingship (धर्मप्रधान-राजधर्मोपदेशः)
अधर्मदर्शी यो राजा बलादेव प्रवर्तते । क्षिप्रमेवापयातो5स्मादुभौ प्रथममध्यमौ
adharmadarśī yo rājā balād eva pravartate | kṣipram evāpayāto 'smād ubhau prathamamadhyamau ||
Vāmadeva dit : «Le roi qui fixe son regard sur l’adharma et, par la seule force, s’y engage—de ce souverain s’éloignent bien vite les deux buts de l’existence qui tiennent la première et la place médiane : le dharma et l’artha.»
वामदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler who knowingly embraces adharma and enforces it through power undermines the very foundations of prosperity and legitimacy: dharma (righteous order) and artha (stable wealth and statecraft) abandon him quickly.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and conduct, the sage Vāmadeva warns about the fate of an unrighteous king: coercive commitment to adharma causes the loss of dharma and artha, implying political decay and moral collapse.