Shloka 18
Brahmopadeśa: Adhipatitva-kathana, Dharma-lakṣaṇa, and Kṣetra–Kṣetrajña Viveka
Book 14, Chapter 43
राज्ञां हि विषये येषामवसीदन्ति साधव: । हीनास्ते स्वगुणै: सर्व: प्रेत्य चोन््मार्गगामिन:,जिन राजाओंके राज्यमें श्रेष्ठ पुरुषोंको कष्ट होता है, वे अपने समस्त राजोचित गुणोंसे हीन हो जाते और मरनेके बाद नीच गतिको प्राप्त होते हैं
rājñāṃ hi viṣaye yeṣām avasīdanti sādhavaḥ | hīnāste svaguṇaiḥ sarvaiḥ pretya conmārgagāminaḥ ||
Vāyu berkata: “Raja-raja yang dalam wilayahnya orang-orang berbudi dibawa kepada kesusahan akan kehilangan segala keunggulan seorang raja. Dan selepas mati, mereka jatuh ke takdir yang hina, kerana telah tersasar daripada jalan yang benar.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s legitimacy is measured by how the righteous fare under his rule: if the virtuous are oppressed or made to suffer, the king’s own royal virtues collapse, and he incurs grave posthumous consequences for deviating from dharma.
Vāyudeva delivers a moral judgment within a discourse on conduct and kingship, warning that a kingdom where good people are distressed indicates adharma in governance, leading to the ruler’s loss of merit and a degraded fate after death.