nobility

Nobility 

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca || mahākulānāṁ spṛhayanti devā dharmārtha vṛddhāśca bahu śrutāśca | pṛcchāmi tvāṁ vidura praśnam etaṁ bhavanti vai kāni mahākulāni || 154 || 

Dhritarashtra said:– "The gods, they that regard both virtue and success and they that are possessed of great learning, express a liking for noble families. I ask you, O Vidura, this question, — which are those families that are called noble?" 

vidura uvāca || tapo damo brahma-vittvaṁ vitānāḥ puṇyā vivāhāḥ satatānnadānam | yeṣvevaite sapta guṇā bhavanti samyagvṛttāstāni mahākulāni || 155 || 

Vidura said:– "Asceticism, discipline, knowledge of the Vedas, sacrifices, worthy marriages, and the regular feeding of people — those families in which these seven exist or are duly practiced, are regarded as noble. 

yeṣāṁ na vṛttaṁ vyathate na yonir vṛtta prasādena caranti dharmam | ye kīrtim icchanti kule viśiṣṭāṁ tyaktānṛtās tāni mahā-kulāni || 156 || There are noble families who never deviate from doing the right thing, whose deceased ancestors are never pained [by witnessing the wrong-doings of their descendants], who cheerfully practice Dharma, who desire to enhance the unalloyed fame of their lineage, and who avoid every kind of deception. 

aṣṭau guṇāḥ puruṣaṁ dīpayanti prajñā ca kaulyaṁ ca damaḥ śrutaṁ ca | parākramaścābahu bhāṣitā ca dānaṁ yathā śakti kṛtajñatā ca || 157 || 

Wisdom, good lineage, self-discipline, learning, competency, absence of talkativeness, generosity to the extent of one's ability, and gratitude — these eight qualities shed a luster upon their possessor. prāpnoti vai vittam asadbalena nityotthānāt prajñayā pauruṣeṇa | na tveva samyag labhate praśaṁsāṁ na vṛttam āpnoti mahā-kulānām || 158 || 

One that is wicked, earns wealth it is true, by exerting his strength, by constant effort, by intelligence, and by diligence, but he can never win honest fame, nor can he acquire the virtues and manners of noble families [in any of which he may be born]. 

sapta doṣāḥ sadā rājñā hātavyā vyasanodayāḥ | prāyaśo yairvinaśyanti kṛtamūlāśca pārthivāḥ || 159 || 

striyo’kṣā mṛgayā pānaṁ vāk-pāruṣyaṁ ca pañcamam | mahacca daṇḍapāruṣyam arthadūṣaṇam eva ca || 160 || 

An executive/politician, should renounce these seven faults that produce calamity, inasmuch as they are able to effect the ruin of even well-established elites, these are; promiscuity, gambling, hunting, intoxication, harshness  of speech, severity of punishment, and misuse of wealth.