Shloka 31
Vāmadeva’s Rājadharma: Norm-Setting, Counsel, and the Prevention of Rāṣṭra-Vināśa (वामदेव-प्रोक्तं राजधर्मम्)
निगृहीतादमात्याच्च स्त्रीभ्यश्नैव विशेषतः । पर्वताद् विषमाद् दुर्गाद्धस्तिनो 5श्वात् सरीसृपात् । एतेभ्यो नित्ययुक्त: सन् रक्षेदात्मानमेव तु
nigṛhītād amātyāc ca strībhyaś caiva viśeṣataḥ | parvatād viṣamād durgād hastino 'śvāt sarīsṛpāt | etebhyo nityayuktaḥ san rakṣed ātmānam eva tu ||
Vāmadeva dit : Un roi doit se garder sans cesse—surtout d’un ministre qui a déjà été arrêté, et des femmes ; et il doit demeurer toujours vigilant face aux montagnes périlleuses et aux forteresses difficiles d’accès, ainsi que face aux éléphants, aux chevaux et aux serpents. Par une vigilance constante envers ces sources de danger, il protège sa propre personne et, par là même, la stabilité de son règne.
वामदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches rājadharma as disciplined vigilance: a ruler must proactively guard his person against predictable sources of danger—political resentment (a previously arrested minister), personal vulnerabilities (especially involving women), hazardous terrain (treacherous mountains and difficult forts), and physical threats (elephants, horses, serpents). Self-protection is framed as a prerequisite for stable governance.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on kingship and governance, the sage Vāmadeva delivers practical counsel to a king. Here he lists specific categories of threats—human, situational, and animal—and urges continuous alertness so that the king preserves his life and, by extension, the order of the realm.