Shloka 11
राजवृत्त-रक्षा-प्रणिधि-षाड्गुण्योपदेशः
Royal Conduct, Protection, Intelligence, and Policy Measures
यथा हानुदके मत्स्या निराक्रन्दे विहड़मा: । विहरेयुर्यथाकामं विहिंसन्त: पुनः पुनः:
yathā hānudake matsyā nirākrande vihaṅgamāḥ | vihareyur yathākāmaṃ vihiṃsantaḥ punaḥ punaḥ ||
Vasumanā berkata: “Seperti ikan di air yang cetek, dan burung-burung di rimba tanpa penjaga, yang berkeliaran sesuka hati sambil berulang kali saling mencederakan—kadang-kadang menghancurkan yang lain dengan hentaman mereka, kadang-kadang pula sendiri merana apabila dipukul—demikianlah, wahai raja, dalam waktu singkat mereka terdorong hampir kepada kebinasaan, tanpa syak. Begitu juga, tanpa raja, semua rakyat akan segera terjerumus ke dalam pertengkaran sesama sendiri dan binasa, lalu tenggelam dalam kegelapan ngeri penderitaan seperti ternakan tanpa gembala.”
वसुमना उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse argues that kingship (lawful governance) is necessary to prevent society from collapsing into mutual violence; without a ruler, people—like creatures in constrained or unprotected conditions—harm one another and rapidly decline.
Vasumanā addresses a king and uses vivid analogies (fish in scant water, birds in an unguarded grove) to illustrate how, in the absence of protection and restraint, beings fight repeatedly and become ruined—paralleling what happens to subjects when there is no king.