Vāmadeva Gītā

The Vāmadeva Gītā is a teaching on rājadharma, the duty of a king. In three chapters of the Śānti Parva, the ṛshi (seer) Vāmadeva teaches King Vasumana how to stay fixed in dharma. Bhīshma tells it to Yudhishṭhira. It speaks of dharma and artha (wealth and power), of the king as the pattern for his whole kingdom, of what makes a king last or fall, and of the right balance between severity and gentleness.

The question

Yudhishṭhira asks Bhīshma: “A king who wishes to remain always in dharma, what qualities must he have and how must he behave?”

Bhīshma answers with the Vāmadeva Gītā, an ancient teaching. The ṛshi Vāmadeva gave it to King Vasumana. Vasumana was wise (jñānavān), steady (dhṛtimān) and devout, and he asked how to keep his conduct in dharma. The teaching is called a gītā because Vāmadeva “sang” it (gītam).

Dharma comes before artha

Vāmadeva’s first teaching is that dharma is higher than artha. The king must put dharma first and artha second. When he reverses this order, he loses both.

Vāmadeva tells Vasumana: “Follow only dharma. There is nothing greater than dharma. Kings who are established in dharma conquer this earth.”

A king who looks only at artha, and chases wealth and power as his main aims, is left by both dharma and artha. A king who does not keep dharma loses the trust and loyalty of his people.

How a king without dharma falls

If a king lets pāpa (sin) grow in his kingdom, his people copy his conduct. The whole rāshṭra (kingdom) becomes dharma-bhrashṭa (fallen from dharma). Such a kingdom falls quickly and completely.

Vāmadeva says a king who has adharmic ministers (pāpī mantriṇas) deserves to be killed by his own people.

The king as the pattern

Vāmadeva says: “Whatever conduct the king follows in his kingdom, the people follow that same conduct.” The king’s own dharma spreads outward and becomes the standard of the whole kingdom. A reckless king sets a pattern of recklessness. A careful and just king sets a pattern of careful justice.

What destroys a king

Vāmadeva lists the conduct that destroys a king.

  • Recklessness (sāhasya), acting without proper thought. A king who acts with reckless eagerness and does not follow the marks laid down in the śāstras (śāstra-lakshaṇas) falls at once.
  • Self-praise. A king who praises himself, instead of letting his deeds speak, loses his dignity and soon falls.
  • Failing to protect. A king who cannot protect those in trouble (āpanna) who have come to him for shelter breaks his basic duty as a kshatriya.
  • Acting without gurus. A king who has no teacher of dharma, and does not ask the wise, will not prosper for long.

What keeps a king strong

These qualities make a king last.

  • Openness (śubha-grāhitva): being open to what is good and auspicious, and willing to learn from the śāstras and from wise counsel.
  • No envy (asūyā-hīnatā): freedom from envy.
  • Mastery of the senses (indriya-jaya): winning over the senses. Vāmadeva says: “The king who conquers his senses grows like the ocean that receives the rivers, always increasing.”
  • Never becoming satisfied with himself, thinking “I have enough dharma, enough allies.”
  • Asking for guidance. A king who keeps going to the wise for counsel, and checks his own understanding against theirs, stays on the right path.

Severity and gentleness

One of the most practical teachings of the Vāmadeva Gītā is that a king must balance severity (tīkshṇatā) and gentleness (mṛdutā). A king who is only gentle is taken advantage of and in the end killed. Vāmadeva says: “People will slay him as they slay a mouse.” A king who is only severe drives his people away and brings rebellion. The king who finds the right balance, gentle when it is fitting and severe when it is needed, always guided by buddhi (clear understanding), endures.

Svadharma and paradharma

Vāmadeva speaks of the pull to leave one’s own duty (svadharma) for another’s duty (paradharma). A kshatriya who gives up his own dharma, which is to fight with courage, protect the people and keep justice, and takes up the duty of another varṇa, loses his standing as a kshatriya.

A king may also give up the hard work of ruling, which means making enemies, using daṇḍa (punishment) and guarding boundaries, in favour of an easier way that people praise more. That too is leaving svadharma. Kshatriya dharma asks a king to do what is difficult, not what is comfortable.

Summary of the teaching

  1. Dharma ranks above artha. Both are lost when this order is reversed.
  2. The king’s conduct is the pattern for the whole kingdom.
  3. Recklessness, self-praise, failing to protect and having no teachers of dharma destroy a king.
  4. Openness to good counsel, freedom from envy, conquest of the senses and a balance of severity and gentleness keep a king strong.
  5. A king must keep svadharma even when paradharma seems easier or is praised more.

Sources

  • Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva, Chapters 92–94