Shloka 2
Vāmadeva’s Rājadharma: Norm-Setting, Counsel, and the Prevention of Rāṣṭra-Vināśa (वामदेव-प्रोक्तं राजधर्मम्)
राजानमनुवर्तन्ते तं॑ पापाभिप्रवर्तकम् | अविनीतमनुष्यं तत् क्षिप्रं राष्ट्र विनश्यति,वे उस पापप्रवर्तक राजाका ही अनुसरण करते हैं; अतः उद्दण्ड मनुष्योंसे भरा हुआ वह राष्ट्र शीघ्र ही नष्ट हो जाता है
rājānam anuvartante taṁ pāpābhipravartakam | avinītamanuṣyaṁ tat kṣipraṁ rāṣṭra vinaśyati ||
Rakyat mengikuti raja—terutama bila sang raja mendorong mereka kepada perbuatan dosa. Karena itu, negeri yang dipenuhi manusia tanpa tata-krama dan tanpa disiplin segera jatuh ke dalam kebinasaan.
वामदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s character shapes the moral direction of society: when a king promotes wrongdoing, people imitate him, and the resulting lack of discipline and virtue causes the state to collapse.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on governance (rājadharma), Vāmadeva states a warning principle: subjects tend to follow their king, so a sinful, disorder-promoting ruler leads the entire realm toward rapid destruction.