सुवाससः सुवेषाश्च ते सर्वे सुशीलिनः।
हितार्थं च नरेन्द्रस्य जाग्रतो नयचक्षुषा॥
गुरौ गुणगृहीताश्च प्रख्याताश्च पराक्रमे।
विदेशेष्वपि विज्ञाताः सर्वतो बुद्धिनिश्चयात्॥
अभितो गुणवन्तश्च न चासन्गुणवर्जिताः।
सन्धिविग्रहतत्त्वज्ञाः प्रकृत्या सम्पदान्विताः।
मन्त्रसंवरणे शक्ताः श्लक्ष्णाः सूक्ष्मासु बुद्धिषु॥
नीतिशास्त्रविशेषज्ञाः सततं प्रियवादिनः।
ईदृशैस्तैरमात्यैश्च राजा दशरथोऽनघः।
उपपन्नो गुणोपेतैरन्वशासद्वसुन्धराम्॥
suvāsasaḥ suveṣāś ca te sarve suśīlinaḥ
hitārthaṁ ca narendrasya jāgrato naya-cakṣuṣā
gurau guṇa-gṛhītāś ca prakhyātāś ca parākrame
videśeṣv api vijñātāḥ sarvato buddhi-niścayāt
abhito guṇavantaś ca na cāsan guṇa-varjitāḥ
sandhi-vigraha-tattvajñāḥ prakṛtyā sampadā anvitāḥ
mantra-saṁvaraṇe śaktāḥ ślakṣṇāḥ sūkṣmāsu buddhiṣu
nīti-śāstra-viśeṣajñāḥ satataṁ priya-vādinaḥ
īdṛśais tair amātyaiś ca rājā daśaratho ’naghaḥ
upapanno guṇopetair anvaśāsad vasundharām
suvāsasaḥ = wore splendid clothes; suveṣāḥ = excellent ornaments; ca = and; te = of them; sarve = all of them; suśīlinaḥ = their activities were very good; hita-artham ca = for the welfare; nara-indrasya = of their master, the king; jāgrataḥ = they were alert; naya-cakṣuṣā = with the eye of prudence; guroḥ = in their gurus; guṇa-gṛhītāḥ ca = they only saw the good; prakhyātāh ca = they were famous; parākrame = for their prowess; videśeṣu = other countries; api = even; vijñātāḥ = they were well known; sarvataḥ = about all that had happened and that had not yet happened; buddhi-niścayāḥ = for their intelligence to ascertain about; abhitaḥ = they were always; guṇavantaḥ ca = filled with good qualities; ca āsan = there were; na = never; guṇa-varjitāḥ = devoid of good qualities; sandhi-vigraha-tattvajñāḥ = they knew the principles of truce and war; prakṛtyā = naturally; sampadā = with opulences; anvitāḥ = they were endowed; mantra-saṁvaraṇe = of concealing their thoughts about the functioning of the country; śaktāḥ = and hence capable; ślakṣṇāḥ = they were not harsh; sūkṣmāsu = in their detailed; buddhiṣu = assessments; nīti-śāstra-viśeṣajñāḥ = they were specialists in governance on the basis of Artha-śāstra; satatam = always; priya-vādinaḥ = their counsel was pleasing to the king; īdṛśaiḥ taiḥ = the above; amātyaiḥ = with ministers; ca = and more; rājā = king; daśarathah = Daśaratha; anaghaḥ = was free from vices that result in grief; upapannaḥ= who possessed; guṇa-upetaiḥ = excellences; anvaśāsat = he ruled; vasundharām = the earth.
All of them wore splendid clothes and excellent ornaments. Their activities were very good. With the eye of prudence, they were alert for the welfare of their master, the king. They only saw the good in their gurus. They were famous for their prowess. They were well known even in other countries for their intelligence to ascertain about all that had happened and that had not yet happened. They were always filled with good qualities; they were never devoid of good qualities. They knew the principles of truce and war. They were naturally endowed with opulence and hence capable of concealing their thoughts about the functioning of the country. They were not harsh in their detailed assessments. They were specialists in governance on the basis of Artha-śāstra.1 Their counsel was always pleasing to the king. King Daśaratha was free from vices that result in grief. With ministers who possessed the above excellences and more, he ruled the earth.
[3] yadā tv evālpikā pīḍā tadā sandhiṁ samāśrayet / abhyucchrayo yadātmānaṁ tadā manyeta vigraham.
[4] daśa kāma-samutthāni tathāṣṭau krodhajāni ca / vyasanāni durantāni prayatnena vivarjayet; mṛgayākṣo divā svāpaḥ parivādaḥ striyo madaḥ / tauryatrikaṁ vṛthāṭyā ca kāmajo daśako guṇaḥ; paiśunyaṁ sāhasaṁ droha īrṣyāsūyārtha-dūṣaṇe / vāg-daṇḍanaṁ ca pāruṣyaṁ krodhajo ’pi guṇo ’ṣṭakaḥ.
1 Nīti is the original Sanskrit word here and in this context refers to the Artha-śāstra, the scripture that teaches governance.
He characterizes the ministers once again. The ministers were always attentive to the affairs of the government. “They only saw the good in their gurus” means that they did not take the defects of their gurus into consideration. They knew the principles of truce and war, that is, they knew which time, place and circumstances are appropriate for truce or war with the neighboring kings, in accordance with Manu-smṛti [3].
They were naturally endowed with opulence. The implication is that in the absence of such opulence, being agitated about it, they might act otherwise. They were not harsh in their detailed assessments for they had immediate presence of mind. Their counsel was always pleasing to the king because they only spoke to him for his benefit.
King Daśaratha was free from vices that result in grief. These have been enlisted by Manu (7.45, 47-48) as eighteen: ten stemming from lust and eight stemming from anger. The ten vices stemming from lust are: (1) hunting, (2) gambling, (3) sleeping during the day, (4) criticism of others, (5) associating with women, (6) drinking liquor, (7) being absorbed in music, (8) being absorbed in song, (9) being absorbed in dance, and (10) useless travel. The eight vices stemming from anger are: (1) slander, (2) audacity, (3) betrayal, (4) envy, (5) resentment, (6) theft, (7) verbal abuse, and (8) physical abuse [4].