Shloka 52
राजवृत्त-रक्षा-प्रणिधि-षाड्गुण्योपदेशः
Royal Conduct, Protection, Intelligence, and Policy Measures
नश्येदभिमृशन् सद्यो मृग: कूटमिव स्पृशन् | आत्मस्वमिव रक्षेत राजस्वमिह बुद्धिमान्
naśyed abhimṛśan sadyo mṛgaḥ kūṭam iva spṛśan | ātmasvam iva rakṣet rājasvam iha buddhimān |
वसुमना उवाच—यथा मृगः कूटं स्पृष्ट्वा सद्य एव नश्यति, तथा राजस्वं स्पृशन् नरः शीघ्रं विनश्यति। तस्माद् बुद्धिमान् इह आत्मस्वमिव राजस्वमपि रक्षेत्।
वसुमना उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not appropriate royal/public wealth; treating the king’s revenue as protected property is a duty, and violating it brings swift ruin—like a deer caught by a hidden snare.
Vasumanā delivers a moral warning using a vivid simile: just as a deer dies upon touching a concealed trap, so too a person who meddles with the king’s wealth meets immediate destruction; hence the wise should safeguard it as their own.