Shivaji & Suraaj by Anil Madhav Dave

• The king (ruler or administrator) should fix a time for his meals. Normally, he should not alter them. A king (administrator) must not consume intoxicants. He should also not permit persons close to him to indulge in such substances. If a king is without a weapon, he must not stare at the ground for too long.
• What was the size of the personal treasury (of the leader) and the royal one while taking oath before the commencement of his task? What was the difference between both treasuries when he finally quit the scene? The difference is the measure of his financial probity and character.
• Shivaji — “Kanhoji, I had promised you not to award him the sentence of death, which I have kept. But had I not punished him (Khandoji Khopda), the message that would have been conveyed to the people is that influence and contacts can trump even a crime as grave as treason. Would that have been proper for Swarajya?
• It is therefore the duty of every leader to detect and isolate traitors from his system, punish him and remorselessly prevent the tendency of betrayal from developing.
• Jungles in Swarajya also have plenty of mango and jackfruit trees, whose wood can be used in the building of ships, but these should not be touched, as these aren’t tress that can grow to their fullest in only a couple of years. The people have planted those trees and looked after them like their own children.