Shloka 19
Śaṅkha–Likhita Upākhyāna: Daṇḍa, Confession, and the Purification of Kingship (शङ्ख-लिखितोपाख्यानम्)
अरक्षिता दुर्विनीतो मानी स्तब्धो5भ्यसूयक: । एनसा युज्यते राजा दुर्दान्त इति चोच्यते
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
arakṣitā durvinīto mānī stabdho 'bhyasūyakaḥ |
enasā yujyate rājā durdānta iti cocyate ||
वैशम्पायन बोले—जो राजा प्रजा की रक्षा नहीं करता, जो दुर्विनीत, अभिमानी, अकड़ में जड़ हुआ और दूसरों के दोष खोजने वाला है, वह पाप से संयुक्त हो जाता है; इसलिए लोग उसे ‘दुर्दान्त’—अविनीत और अजेय—कहते हैं।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s primary dharma is protection of the people; when a king neglects this duty and is ruled by pride, arrogance, and fault-finding, he accrues sin and is judged ‘durdānta’—unrestrained and unfit to govern.
Within the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Vaiśampāyana reports a normative statement defining the marks of a bad king: failure to protect subjects combined with moral vices, leading to social condemnation and spiritual demerit.