"Yudhishthira said, 'How should a righteous king, who is desirous of
adhering to a course of righteousness, behave? I ask thee this, O
foremost of men! Answer me, O Grandsire!'
"Bhishma said, 'In this connection is cited the old story of what
Vamadeva gifted with great intelligence and acquainted with the true
import of everything sang in ancient time. Once upon a time, king
Vasumanas, possessed of knowledge and fortitude and purity of behaviour,
asked the great Rishi Vamadeva of high ascetic merit, saying, 'Instruct
me, O holy one, in words fraught with righteousness and of grave impart,
as to the conduct to be observed by me so that I may not fall away from
the duties prescribed for me.' Unto him of a golden complexion and seated
at his ease like Yayati, son of Nahusha, that foremost of ascetics, viz.,
Vamadeva, of great energy, said as follows:
"Vamadeva said, 'Do thou act righteously. There is nothing superior to
righteousness. Those kings that are observant of righteousness, succeed
in conquering the whole earth. That king who regards righteousness to be
the most efficacious means for accomplishing his objects, and who acts
according to the counsels of those that are righteous, blazes forth with
righteousness. That king who disregards righteousness and desires to act
with brute force, soon falls away from righteousness and loses both
Righteousness and Profit. That king who acts according to the counsels of
a vicious and sinful minister becomes a destroyer of righteousness and
deserves to be slain by his subjects with all his family. Indeed, he very
soon meets with destruction. That king who is incompetent to discharge
the duties of state-craft, who is governed by caprice in all his acts,
and who indulges in brag, soon meets with destruction even if he happens
to be ruler of the whole earth. That king, on the other hand, who is
desirous of prosperity, who is free from malice, who has his senses under
control, and who is gifted with intelligence, thrives in affluence like
the ocean swelling with the waters discharged into it by a hundred
streams. He should never consider himself to have a sufficiency of
virtue, enjoyments, wealth, intelligence, and friends. Upon these depends
the conduct of the world. By listening to these counsels, a king obtains
fame', achievements, prosperity, and subjects. Devoted to virtue, that
king who seeks the acquisition of virtue and wealth by such means, and
who begins all his measures after reflecting upon their objects, succeeds
in obtaining great prosperity. That king who is illiberal, and without
affection, who afflicts his subjects by undue chastisements, and who is
rash in his acts, soon meets with destruction. That king who is not
gifted with intelligence fails to see his own faults. Covered with infamy
here, he sinks into hell hereafter. If the king gives proper honour to
them that deserve it, makes gifts, and recognises the value of sweet
speeches by himself uttering them on all occasions, his subjects then
dispel the calamities that overtake him, as if these had fallen upon
themselves. That king who has no instructor in the ways of righteousness
and who never asks others for counsels, and who seeks to acquire wealth
by means that caprice suggests, never succeeds in enjoying happiness
long. That king, on the other hand, who listens to the instructions of
his preceptors in matters connected with virtue, who supervises the
affairs of his kingdom himself, and who in all his acquisitions is guided
by considerations of virtue, succeed in enjoying happiness for a long
time.'"
