ये न रक्षन्ति विषयमस्वाधीना नराधिपाः।
ते न वृद्ध्या प्रकाशन्ते गिरयः सागरे यथा॥
ye na rakṣanti viṣayam asvādhīnā narādhipāḥ
te na vṛddhyā prakāśante girayaḥ sāgare yathā
ye = who; na = not; rakṣanti = [and who] do secure; viṣayam = their territory; asva-adhīnāḥ = are not self-controlled; nara-adhipāḥ te = kings; na = not; vṛddhyā = even with their existing prosperity; prakāśante = do shine; girayaḥ = mountains; sāgare = [submerged] within an ocean; yathā = like.
Kings who are not self-controlled [and who] do not secure their territory do not shine even with their existing prosperity, like mountains [submerged] within an ocean.1
1 Mountains are undoubtedly valuable in several ways. But when they are submerged within the waters of an ocean, people are deprived of the benefits that they could get from these mountains.