Shloka 24
राजवृत्त-रक्षा-प्रणिधि-षाड्गुण्योपदेशः
Royal Conduct, Protection, Intelligence, and Policy Measures
त्रस्तमुद्विग्नहददयं हाहाभूतमचेतनम् । क्षणेन विनशेत् सर्व यदि राजा न पालयेत्,यदि राजा रक्षा न करे तो सारा जगत् भयभीत, उद्विग्नचित्त, हाहाकारपरायण तथा अचेत हो क्षणभरमें नष्ट हो जाय
trastam udvignahṛdayaṁ hāhābhūtam acetanam | kṣaṇena vinaśet sarvaṁ yadi rājā na pālayet ||
രാജാവ് സംരക്ഷിച്ച് ഭരിക്കാതിരുന്നാൽ, എല്ലാം ഭീതിയോടെ വിറച്ച്, ഉത്കണ്ഠാഭരിതഹൃദയമായി, ഹാഹാകാരത്തിലാഴ്ന്ന്, അചേതനമായതുപോലെ, ക്ഷണത്തിൽ തന്നെ നശിക്കും।
वसुमना उवाच
Educational Q&A
The king’s primary dharma is protection (पालन/रक्षा). Without active royal guardianship, fear, disorder, and collapse spread rapidly; thus political authority is ethically justified by its duty to secure safety and stability for all.
Vasumanā is explaining the consequences of a ruler’s failure in rajadharma: if the king does not govern and protect, the realm becomes panic-stricken and disoriented, and society quickly deteriorates toward destruction.