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 ||
风神伐由说道：“凡其国土之中使贤善之士陷于困厄的君王，必失尽其王者之德。其身后亦将堕入卑下之趣，因其已偏离正道而行。”
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.