The Finishing Touches

Verse 18 (in the 4th sarga) completes Kāmandaka's catalogue of ātmasampad, a ruler's personal excellence. After strategy, money and vice, it turns to things that look small: how a leader learns, carries himself, regards others and speaks.

वृद्धोपदेशसम्पन्नः श्लक्ष्णो मधुरदर्शनः । गुणानुरागी मितवागात्मसम्पत् प्रकीर्त्तिता॥ १८ ॥

vṛddhopadeśasampannaḥ ślakṣṇo madhuradarśanaḥ | guṇānurāgī mitavāg ātmasampat prakīrtitā || 18 ||

Endowed with the instruction of elders, refined, pleasant in appearance, attached to virtue and measured in speech: such is proclaimed to be personal excellence.

The Upādhyāya-Nirapekṣā closes the list with a count. Twenty-five qualities, it says, make up ātmasampad as earlier teachers conceived it. These five small traits are what make the larger ones bearable to live under.

Taught by Elders, and Still Learning

Vṛddhopadeśasampannaḥ is one endowed with the instruction of elders. The Jayamaṅgalā says this comes from following their teaching. The Upādhyāya-Nirapekṣā adds a word that matters: he is constantly enriched by their counsel.

That makes it a lifelong habit, not a stage of education. The Arthaśāstra gives a chapter to the...