Shloka 29
Vāmadeva’s Rājadharma: Norm-Setting, Counsel, and the Prevention of Rāṣṭra-Vināśa (वामदेव-प्रोक्तं राजधर्मम्)
यो<र्थकामस्य वचन प्रातिकूल्यान्न मृष्यते । शृणोति प्रतिकूलानि सर्वदा विमना इव,जो मनके प्रतिकूल होनेके कारण अपने ही प्रयोजनकी सिद्धि चाहनेवाले सुहृदकी बात नहीं सहन करता और अपनी अर्थसिद्धिके विरोधी वचनोंको भी सुनता है, सदा अनमना- सा रहता है, जो बुद्धिमान् शिष्ट पुरुषोंद्वारा आचरणमें लाये हुए बर्तावका सदा सेवन नहीं करता एवं पराजित या अपराजित व्यक्तियोंको उनके परम्परागत आचारका पालन नहीं करने देता, वह क्षत्रिय-धर्मसे गिर जाता है
yo 'rthakāmasya vacanaṃ prātikūlyān na mṛṣyate | śṛṇoti pratikūlāni sarvadā vimanā iva | yaḥ śiṣṭaiḥ puruṣair ācaraṇe nītam ācāraṃ sadā na sevate tathā parājitān aparājitāṃś ca sva-paramparāgatam ācāraṃ na pālayituṃ dadāti sa kṣatriya-dharmāt patati |
ผู้ใดเพราะขัดใจตน จึงทนฟังถ้อยคำของมิตรผู้หวังประโยชน์แท้ให้ตนมิได้ แต่กลับยอมฟังวาจาที่ขัดต่อความรุ่งเรืองของตนเองอยู่เสมอ—ผู้นั้นย่อมเป็นดุจผู้หดหู่และไม่สงบตลอดกาล
वामदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must be able to accept corrective counsel from true well-wishers, consistently follow the exemplary conduct of the cultured, and uphold traditional codes of behavior for all—victors and vanquished alike. Rejecting good advice and undermining established ācāra leads to a fall from kṣatriya-dharma.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous governance and conduct, Vāmadeva describes traits that disqualify a kṣatriya: intolerance toward a friend’s beneficial advice, mental instability born of self-will, neglect of śiṣṭa-ācāra, and refusal to let people maintain their customary duties and traditions regardless of victory or defeat.