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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.7.9

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 7: The ministers who sustain the Kingdom. Ministers and priests advise Daśaratha, gather intelligence, maintain the treasury and army, and administer justice without favour

In the sequence: they punish wrongdoing even in their own sons but will not harm an enemy who has committed no offense → they maintain the treasury and army while weighing circumstances before imposing punishment

1.7.9

vīrāṃś ca niyatotsāhā rāja śāstram anuṣṭhitāḥ
śucīnāṃ rakṣitāraś ca nityaṃ viṣayavāsinām

Valiant and of steadfast zeal, versed in the science of statecraft, they were ever the protectors of the honest dwellers in the realm.

Words: vīrāṃś — valiant, heroic; ca — and; niyatotsāhā — of steadfast zeal; rāja śāstram — the science of statecraft; anuṣṭhitāḥ — versed in, practising; śucīnāṃ — of the honest, pure; rakṣitāraś — protectors; ca — and; nityaṃ — always, constantly; viṣayavāsinām — of the dwellers in the realm

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.