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 ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「民を守らぬ王――自制を欠き、驕り高ぶり、傲慢に凝り固まり、他人の瑕疵をあげつらう者――は罪と結びつく。ゆえに人々は彼を『ドゥルダーンタ（durdānta）』、すなわち手に負えぬ暴君と呼ぶのだ。」
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.