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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.94.23

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 94: Rāma questions Bharata’s governance. He asks after the family, advisers, spies, troop provisions, water, revenue and impartial justice, still unaware of Daśaratha’s death

In the sequence: he asks about trustworthy appointments, military leadership, treatment of officers, and timely food and pay for troops

2.94.23

upāyakuśalaṃ vaidyaṃ bhṛtyasaṃdūṣaṇe ratam
śūram aiśvaryakāmaṃ ca yo na hanti sa vadhyate

Whoever fails to strike down a physician cunning in stratagems who is bent on corrupting his servants, and a bold man greedy for power, is himself struck down.

Words: upāyakuśalaṃ — skilled in stratagems; vaidyaṃ — a physician; bhṛtyasaṃdūṣaṇe — in corrupting the servants; ratam — intent; śūram — a bold man; aiśvaryakāmaṃ — greedy for power; ca — and; yo — who; na — not; hanti — slays, strikes down; sa — he; vadhyate — is (himself) slain

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.