Duty first.....

नृशंसमनृशंसंवा प्रजारक्षणकारणात्।

पातकम् वा सदोषं वा कर्तव्यं रक्षतां सदा॥ 

राज्यभारनियुक्तानामेष धर्मः सनातनः। २५--१८

श्रीमद्वाल्मीकिरामायणे बालकाण्डे 

nṛśaṁsamanṛśaṁsam vā prajārakṣaṇakāraṇāt|

pātakam vā sadoṣam vā kartavyam rakṣatām sadā||

rājyabhāraniyuktānāmeṣa dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ| 25--18 

śrīmadvālmīkirāmāyaṇe bālakāṇḍe 

Ostensibly to protect a Yajna or fire sacrifice being conducted by him, sage Visvaamitra takes the boys Rama and Lakshmana with him to the forest.. 

Various stories and anecdotes are explained to the boys during their sojourn with the sage.. 

In the first lap of their journey into the forest by foot, they enter the forest called Taatakaavanam, where the fierce demoness Tataka was residing.. She was a nightmare to all living beings in the forest as also the inhabitants of the human settlements around the forest.. 

She was extremely cruel and killed and destroyed others without any scruples, but she had terrible strength which could not be matched by others around in any sort of combat.. 

The sage, in the company of Princes Rama and Lakshmana comes face to face with the demoness, and, as usual the massive lady starts her threats and abuses, now directed at the sage and the princes.. 

Vishvamitra without any hesitation instructs Rama to send an arrow at her and finish her off.. 

Rama knows that the task is very easy for him.. But He is in a dilemma because He was facing a woman in combat, and killing a woman was abhorrent for a warrior.. 

Then Visvamitra reminds Rama of His duties as an enforcer of law, a representative of the King who is duty bound to protect his own subject.. 

The above sloka in Valmikiramayanam, Balakandam, comes as an advise and strict instruction by sage Visvamitra to Rama 

" When a duty is cast on a King or his representative in the interest of protection of the Subjects of the Kingdom, such person is bound to act irrespective of the fact whether that act is virtuous or contemptible, whether it is a grave sin in public eye, or whether it is likely to attract a lot of criticism. 

This is the eternal Dharma or rule of conduct for a king who is interested and dutybound to protect the subjects dependent on him' 

Rama followed the instruction and slayed Tatakaa.. and the rest in legend. 

Vishvamitra's advice would sound Machiavellian, but when the defence and protection of the State and the citizens are concerned, all other scruples should be relegated to the background.. 

I think this happens in realpolitik ..irrespective of political systems, and time-frames in history..

Dhruva sooktham..The Vedic Dream ... who should be our king.

Dhruva sooktham

Rigvedam Mandalam 10 sooktham 173 

आ त्वाहार्षमन्तरेधि ध्रुवस्तिष्ठाविचाचलिः ।विशस्त्वा सर्वा वाञ्छन्तु मा त्वद्राष्ट्रमधि भ्रशत् ॥१॥ इहैवैधि माप च्योष्ठाः पर्वत इवाविचाचलिः । इन्द्र इवेह ध्रुवस्तिष्ठेह राष्ट्रमु धारय ॥२॥ इममिन्द्रो अदीधरद्ध्रुवं ध्रुवेण हविषा । तस्मै सोमो अधि ब्रवत्तस्मा उ ब्रह्मणस्पतिः ॥३॥ ध्रुवा द्यौर्ध्रुवा पृथिवी ध्रुवासः पर्वता इमे । ध्रुवं विश्वमिदं जगद्ध्रुवो राजा विशामयम् ॥४॥ ध्रुवं ते राजा वरुणो ध्रुवं देवो बृहस्पतिः । ध्रुवं त इन्द्रश्चाग्निश्च राष्ट्रं धारयतां ध्रुवम् ॥५॥ ध्रुवं ध्रुवेण हविषाभि सोमं मृशामसि । अथो त इन्द्रः केवलीर्विशो बलिहृतस्करत् ॥६॥

Ā tvāhārṣamantarēdhi dhruvastiṣṭhāvicācaliḥ.
Viśastvā sarvā vāñchantu mā tvadrāṣṭramadhi bhraśat.1.
Ihaivaidhi māpa cyōṣṭhāḥ parvata ivāvicācaliḥ.
Indra ivēha dhruvastiṣṭhēha rāṣṭramu dhāraya.2.
Imamindrō adīdharad'dhruvaṁ dhruvēṇa haviṣā.
Tasmai sōmō adhi bravattasmā u brahmaṇaspatiḥ.3.
Dhruvā dyaurdhruvā pr̥thivī dhruvāsaḥ parvatā imē.
Dhruvaṁ viśvamidaṁ jagad'dhruvō rājā viśāmayam.4.
Dhruvaṁ tē rājā varuṇō dhruvaṁ dēvō br̥haspatiḥ.
Dhruvaṁ ta indraścāgniśca rāṣṭraṁ dhārayatāṁ dhruvam.5.
Dhruvaṁ dhruvēṇa haviṣābhi sōmaṁ mr̥śāmasi.
Athō ta indraḥ kēvalīrviśō balihr̥taskarat.6.

Dhruva sooktham.. Rigvedam Mandalam 10 sooktham 173 

This rigvedic Manthram comes as a benediction to the King of the land and also reflects the hopes expectations of the subjects ... a veritable Magna Carta of Vedic Wisdom.. 
1. Oh king, we have been blessed to have you as the rule of this nation. Keeping that in mind, become the true protector of all of us. May you be unflinching, unshakable and always stable and correct in all your activities and may you have your reign of righteousness on us, your subjects. May your conduct be in such that all of us, your subjects, would always yearn that you should be our king and may we adore you for ever. May we always desire, “let this king be our ruler for ever”. May this kingdom be in your eternal possession and may it never be taken away or be lost to you. May you never face any dethronement or suffer from any destabilization, and may you never lose the deep affection and goodwill of your subjects. 

2. Oh King, may you remain for ever the ruler of this kingdom. May there be no loss of status for you at any time. May there never be any deviation from the righteous path for you. May you remain faithful, determined and unshakable in your virtues—just like a mountain. May you rule over his kingdom with so much stability and welfare just as Indra rules over the heavenly kingdom. May you rule over your kingdom just like heaven. May you discharge you duties without deviating in any way from the path of righteousness. 

3. May you, our anointed king, be protected by Indra with eternal stability. May Soma protect you the king so anointed. May all of us, your subjects, talk possessively of you as if you are their most coveted possession. May Brahmanaspathi, the protector of all manthras which bind nature, protect you for our sake 
4. May the skies be unshakable and of even nature under your reign. May the earth be unshakable and evenly ever-yielding bounties alone during your reign. May all the mountains around here stay unshakable in shape and quality while you reign. May the peaceful and undisturbed state of the entire universe remain so during your righteous reign. And thus, you the king of ours be the undisputed, unconquered and unshakable leader of all of us. 

5. Oh King, may Lord Varuna keep your kingdom stable and undisturbed during your reign. May the ever bountiful Lord Brihaspathi keep your kingdom stable and peaceful during your reign. May the two most powerful gods Indra and Agni keep your kingdom stable and peaceful during your reign. 

6. May we offer our sincere and supreme oblations by way of cooked rice and ghee with unwavering care and devotion to Indra and the Gods. May be offer Soma juice with utmost care and devotion to the Gods led by Indra. May Indra and other Gods, having received our humble and devoted offerings, grant us supreme benefits and protection. 
(it is free translation.. generally following the Sayana Bhashyam) 

chanakya's lessons on diplomacy

प्रगल्भो बुद्धिमान् वक्ता परचित्तोपलक्षकः।
धीरो यथोक्तवादो च दूत इत्यभिधीयते॥७॥
॥चाणक्यराजनीतिशास्त्रे पञ्चमोध्यायः॥

pragalbho buddhimān vaktā paracittopalakṣakaḥ|
dhīro yathoktavādo ca dūta ityabhidhīyate||7||
|hāṇakyarājanītiśāstre pañcamodhyāyaḥ||

The qualities of a good emissary or ambassador  are enumerated by the great statesman Chanakya in his treatise on  statecraft.. chanakyaraajaniitishastram..


"  A good emissary  should be  eminently  knowledgeable,
 possessed of sharp intelligence, 
highly talented in oratory, 
capable of reading and anticipating the thought-process of the adversary, 
 of great physical valour and resourcefulness, 
and
 very sincere and meticulous in conveying only what he is asked to convey on behalf of his master or the king."

It would appear that the master statesman has enumerated  in this short aphorism all that is expected from an envoy .  All the documents of protocol and rules of procedure written out even in modern times for inter-state diplomacy would expect all these qualities in anyone working in the foreign service for his own country.

Knowledge of the great past and the realistic evaluation of the present and deep commitments for the dreams of one's own country should be a prerequisite for an envoy since he is expected almost single handedly   his own king or nation for its benefit in the international fora.

 Sharp intelligence is essential for one who will have to take decisions always in the interest of his own country since those decisions are likely to affect his own fate along with that of his nation..and the slightest slip can slide down his country's interest to abysmal depths.  

In an assembly of men, the man who presents his case most articulately wins the day.Gift of the gab is a big advantage here

 A man possessed of wisdom and thorough knowledge of the general trends of the day and the implied attitudes of the rival nation  should be able to read what is the mindset of the other party to the negotiation..For diplomacy is nothing but negotiation, at times coated with sweetness and at other times assuming a tone of mild intimidation.  But the emissary can succeed only if he has the capacity to rightly guess what is really happening in the mind of the negotiating party on the other side of the table..

 When an emissary is canvassing the case of his country especially with a nation with a big-brotherly attitude, he is likely to be intimidated and excessive dosage of boldness would be necessary to stand his own ground.

 For men with knowledge, and capacity to speak, the tendency to think too freely and substitute his own views instead of the avowed state policy  is likely to raise his head. A diplomat has to realize that he should never speak out beyond the instructions that his state has given. This  principle should be followed in words and spirit.

--

goats and their king fox

स्वामिना प्रतिकूलेन प्रजास्तीक्ष्णेन रावण।

रक्ष्यमाणा न वर्धन्ते मेषाः गोमायुना यथा॥

वाल्मीकिरामायणे आरण्यकण्डम् ४१-----१४

svāminā pratikūlena prajāstīkṣṇena rāvaṇa| 

rakṣyamāṇā na vardhante meṣa gomāyuna yatha|| 

vālmīkirāmāyaṇam āraṇyakaṇḍam 41-----14 

this is again an advise from the wizened bird grand-sire Jatayu to the arrogant Ravana, who is in the process of abducting Seethadevi 

But it can easily form the part of the preamble to any civilized constitution 

with a ruler who cares nothing for the welfare of his subject apart from being very stern and cruel to them, the population of the country dwindles in number as if the subjects are the sheep and the ruler is a fox who preys on them continuously.. 

the contemporary significance of this sloka needs no elaboration. 

If our rulers just glance through our ancient texts not out of piety but for gaining some raw common sense, 

our destiny would have been safer in their hands