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:
rājñāṃ hi viṣaye yeṣām avasīdanti sādhavaḥ | hīnāste svaguṇaiḥ sarvaiḥ pretya conmārgagāminaḥ ||
Ваю сказал: «Те цари, в чьих владениях добродетельные терпят бедствие, утрачивают все свои царские достоинства. И после смерти они падают в низкую участь, ибо сошли с правого пути.»
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.