Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 7: King Daśaratha’s Ministers
Text 1.7.12
वीराश्च नियतोत्साहा राजशास्त्रमनुष्ठिताः।
शुचीनां रक्षितारश्च नित्यं विषयवासिनाम्॥
vīrāś ca niyatotsāhā rāja-śāstram anuṣṭhitāḥ
śucīnāṁ rakṣitāraś ca nityaṁ viṣaya-vāsinām
vīrāḥ ca = they were capable of restraining enemies; niyata-utsāhāḥ = always enthusiastic about conquering the enemies; rāja-śāstram = the scriptures on political science; anuṣṭhitāḥ = and following; śucīnām = the good; rakṣitāraḥ ca = [therefore,] they protected; nityam = always; viṣaya-vāsinām = residents of the kingdom.
They were capable of restraining enemies, always enthusiastic about conquering the enemies, and following the scriptures on political science. Therefore, they always protected the good residents of the kingdom.
1 More commonly known as Artha-śāstra.
Rāja-śāstram refers to scriptures on political science, Nīti-śāstra.1 The ministers carried out the instructions of these scriptures. Ca indicates that they destroyed the evil residents of the kingdom.