Shloka 11
Book 12, Chapter 93 — Vāmadeva’s Counsel to King Vasumanā on Dharmic Kingship (धर्मप्रधान-राजधर्मोपदेशः)
अथाददान: कल्याणमनसूयुर्जितिन्द्रिय: । वर्धते मतिमान् राजा स्रोतोभिरिव सागर:
athādadānaḥ kalyāṇam anasūyur jitendriyaḥ | vardhate matimān rājā srotobhir iva sāgaraḥ ||
ಆದರೆ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣಕರ ಗುಣಗಳನ್ನು ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸುವ, ಅಸೂಯೆ-ದೋಷಾರೋಪಣೆಯಿಂದ ಮುಕ್ತ, ಇಂದ್ರಿಯಜಯಿ ಮತ್ತು ಬುದ್ಧಿವಂತನಾದ ರಾಜನು—ನದಿಗಳ ಪ್ರವಾಹದಿಂದ ಸಾಗರವು ಹೇಗೆ ವೃದ್ಧಿಯಾಗುತ್ತದೋ ಹಾಗೆಯೇ—ವೃದ್ಧಿಯನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಾನೆ।
वामदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s true growth comes from adopting welfare-producing virtues: accepting what is good (kalyāṇa), avoiding fault-finding and envy (anasūyā), mastering the senses (jitendriya), and applying wise judgment (matimān). These qualities steadily enlarge a king’s power and well-being.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, the sage Vāmadeva describes the traits that make a king flourish, using a simile: as the ocean increases by the inflow of many river-currents, so a king increases by continually taking in and practicing beneficial qualities.