Mahabharata: Volume 8 (48 page)

‘Bhishma said, “In your kingdom, trees that bear edible fruit should not be cut down. The learned ones have said that according to dharma, roots and fruits belong to brahmanas. If something is left over by brahmanas, other people can consume that. Causing injury to a brahmana, no one must ever take anything away. If a brahmana prepares to leave, saying that he is afflicted and cannot find a means of sustenance, the lord of men must think of a means of sustenance for him and his wife. If he does not refrain, he should be addressed in an assembly of brahmanas in these words. ‘Which person will now be able to set limits for him?’
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There is no doubt that he will then desist. O Kounteya! If he does not, he should be told, ‘It is your duty to forget what has happened in the past. This is my command.’ Though I do not hold that view, there are those who hold that a brahmana should only be entitled to a means of sustenance. If he does not accept the invitation for only a means of sustenance, one should give him other objects of pleasure. In this
world, agriculture, animal husbandry and trade provide a means of living for people. Above this, the three kinds of learning
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ensure prosperity. Those who act contrary to these efforts are bandits. Brahma created kshatriyas so that they could be slain. O king! Slay the enemies. Protect the subjects. Perform rites and sacrifices. O descendant of the Kourava lineage! Be brave and fight in battles. A king who protects those who should be protected is supreme among kings. Those who do not protect them, never obtain any success. O Yudhishthira! The king must always know about all the people. It is for this reason that a man uses other men.
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Protect those inside from those outside and those outside from those inside. Protect those outside from those outside and those inside from those inside.
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Always protect everyone. The king must always protect himself and protect the earth. Those who are learned say that one’s own self is the foundation for everything. ‘What is my weakness? Who are my associates?
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What hardships can bring me down? What are my sins?’ He must always think along these lines. He must appoint secret spies to travel throughout the earth. ‘Let them find out if my policy is sound and whether my conduct is praised. Do they like me in the countryside and what is my reputation in the kingdom?’ Be knowledgeable about dharma, possess fortitude, do not run away in a battle, live for the kingdom, and live for those who follow the king, for all the advisers and all those who are neutral and also those who praise and censure you. O Yudhishthira! Ensure that all action is implemented well. O son! It is not possible that everyone should only be delighted with you. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Among all the people, there will be friends and enemies, and those who are neutral. There are those who are equal in the strength of arms and also in the qualities that they possess. How is it that some are superior and succeed in ruling other men? They do this because
those who are mobile devour those who are immobile, those with teeth devour those without teeth and angry and poisonous snakes devour other snakes. O Yudhishthira! You must always make efforts to be careful and act like them. If you are careless, they will descend on you like a
bharunda
bird.
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I hope the merchants in your kingdom are not afflicted by taxes and that those who tirelessly make efforts in desolate regions are able to buy a lot after spending a little. I hope that those who live on agriculture in the kingdom are not going away because they are oppressed. Those who bear burdens for the king also sustain others. What is given in this world sustains gods and the large number of ancestors and also men, serpents, rakshasas, birds and animals. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! This is how the kingdom sustains itself and this is how it should be protected. O Pandava! I will again tell you about what this prosperity is based on.”’

‘Bhishma said, “Utathya, the son of Angiras, was supreme among those who knew about the brahman.
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He affectionately told Mandhata, the son of Yuvanashva, about the dharma of kshatriyas. O Yudhishthira! I will tell you completely and in entirety about what Utathya, supreme among those who knew about the brahman, instructed.

‘“Utathya said, ‘The king exists for the sake of dharma, not for the sake of engaging in kama. O Mandhata! Know that the king is the protector of the world. If the king acts in accordance with dharma, he advances towards a state of divinity.
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If he follows adharma, he goes to hell. Beings are based on dharma. Dharma is based on the
king. A king who administers this properly is a king who is the lord of the earth. It is said that a king who has supreme dharma in his soul and is also prosperous, but happens to be wicked, leads to the gods being despised. It is said that there is no dharma then. When those who follow adharma are seen to be successful in their pursuit of artha, all the people think that this is auspicious and begin to follow them. When the wicked are not restrained, dharma is uprooted, great adharma is followed and it is said that there is fear both during the day and the night. The brahmanas do not follow the Vedas and the vows. When the wicked are not restrained, the brahmanas do not perform sacrifices. O great king! When the wicked are not restrained in this world, the minds of all men are confused, like those who are about to be slain. Having looked at both the worlds,
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the rishis themselves created the king as an extremely great being, so that there should be dharma.
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One in whom dharma shines is known as a king.
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If dharma disappears in someone, the gods know that person to be a
vrishala
. O illustrious one! Dharma is a bull and the gods know one who does away with it as vrishala.
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Therefore, dharma should not be destroyed. When dharma prospers, all the beings always prosper and when it decays, they decay. Therefore, make dharma prosper. There is no doubt that dharma flows from the acquisition and preservation of wealth. O Indra among men! It has been said that one should lay down the boundaries of what should not be done. Svayambhu
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created dharma for the power of beings. Therefore, to show favours to subjects, propagate dharma. O tiger among kings! That is the reason the sacred texts have said that dharma is the best. The bull among men who rules his subjects virtuously is a king. One should abandon desire and anger and follow dharma. O supreme among
the Bharata lineage!
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Dharma is the best task to be followed by a king. The brahmanas are dharma’s womb and must always be revered. O Mandhata! Without any resentment, their desires must always be fulfilled. If one does not act so as to satisfy their wishes, the king confronts fear. The friends do not increase and become his enemies. Bali, Virochana’s son, exhibited resentment towards brahmanas.
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Because of this, Shri
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was enraged with him and no longer dwelt with him, going instead to the chastiser of Paka.
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O lord! He
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was tormented when he saw Shri with Purandara, but this was the consequence of his resentment and insolence. O Mandhata! Therefore, know that you should not enrage prosperity. The sacred texts say that adharma leads to the birth of Shri’s son named Darpa.
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O king! It has led to the subjugation of the gods and the asuras many times. O king! Many rajarshis did not understand this either. Having conquered it, one becomes a king. One who is defeated becomes a slave. Do not serve insolence and adharma. O Mandhata! If you wish to be established for a long time, follow this. In particular, do not associate with those who are intoxicated,
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careless, infantile and mad. Do not indulge in conduct that is harmful. In particular, always take efforts to be careful of advisers who have been punished, women, mountains, uneven terrain, forts, elephants, horses and reptiles. Do not wander around in the night. Abandon excessive pride, insolence and anger. The king should not indulge in
intercourse with unknown women, eunuchs, promiscuous women, the wives of others and girls.
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If there is a mixing of varnas, wicked rakshasas are born in the family—eunuchs, those without limbs, those with thick tongues and idiots. When the king is careless, these and others are born. Therefore, for the sake of the welfare of the subjects, the king must take special care. When a kshatriya is careless, great sins result. Adharma is followed and this leads to a mixing of the subjects.
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It is cold during the summer and it is not cold during the winter. There is no rain, or there is too much of rain. The subjects are penetrated by disease. Terrible nakshatras and planets are seen to rise. Many omens are seen, signifying the king’s destruction. When the king does not protect his subjects, he is himself not protected. The subjects decay and he is also destroyed. Two seize the possessions of one and many others seize the possessions of two. Virgins are corrupted. These are said to be the sins of the king. Not a single man can say, “This belongs to me.” This is what happens when the king is careless and abandons dharma.’”’

‘“Utathya said, ‘When the king follows dharma, Parjanya showers down at the right time. There is prosperity and the subjects rejoice in happiness. He
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is like a washerman who does not know how to wash dirty clothes, or washes away the dye in the process. It is the same with brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras who are no longer established in the various tasks of the four varnas. Labour is for shudras, agriculture for vaishyas and dandaniti for kings. Brahmacharya, austerities, mantras and truth are for brahmanas. The kshatriya who knows good conduct and about how to restrain bad conduct is like a father and a lord of
beings. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Krita, treta, dvapara and kali are all dependent on the conduct of kings. It is said that the king makes the yuga. When the king is careless, the four varnas and the four Vedas and ashramas are all confused. The king is the one who makes beings. The king is their destroyer. The one with dharma in his soul is a maker. The one with adharma in his soul is a destroyer. When the king is careless, the king’s wives, sons, relatives and well-wishers all sorrow together. O king! When the king follows adharma, all the elephants, horses, cattle, camels, mules and asses suffer. O Mandhata! It is said that the creator created strength for the sake of the weak.
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The foundation of everything is immensely weak. O king! When the king bases himself on adharma, the beings who depend on the king and others who depend on those beings, all suffer. I think that the glances of one who is weak, that of a sage and that of a virulent snake cannot be tolerated. Therefore, do not oppress the weak. O son!
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Know that the weak should never be thought of as those who should be disregarded. Otherwise, the glances of the weak will burn you down, together with your relatives. If a family is burnt down by the weak, it is burnt down to the roots and nothing grows there. Therefore, do not oppress the weak. Weakness is superior to strength, since greater strength is superior to strength. When the strong is burnt down by the weak, there is nothing left. If a humiliated and struck person cries out for succour and fails to find a man to help him, the consequent punishment slays the king. O son! When you base yourself on strength, do not oppress the weak. Otherwise, the glances of the weak will burn you down, like a fire that consumes its foundation. The tears shed by those who weep because they have been falsely accused slay the sons and animals of those who have made those false accusations. If not on one’s own self, it descends on the son. If not on the son, it descends on the son’s son or the daughter’s son. Like a cow, the fruits of an evil deed are not immediately reaped.
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When a weak person is slain and cannot
find a protector, the gods have arranged that a great and terrible punishment should descend.
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Though they should not beg, when the residents of the countryside are forced to beg like brahmanas, that sin of begging slays the king. When the many royal officers employed by the king in the countryside are engaged in wrong deeds, a great sin devolves on the king. When those employed for good policy are overcome by reasons of desire and greed from riches and extract from those who are distressed and pleading, that is a great sin on the part of the king.

‘“‘A large tree sprouts and then grows. It offers refuge to beings. When it is severed or burnt down, those who have sought refuge in it are also rendered homeless.
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When those in the kingdom practise the foremost kinds of dharma and follow good conduct, the qualities of the king are spoken about. When they practise adharma and are confused about dharma, his good deeds swiftly turn to bad deeds. When the wicked are known to roam around among the virtuous, the king suffers from kali
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there. O lord of the earth! When the king punishes those who should not be punished, the kingdom does not prosper. When advisers are honoured in accordance with what they deserve and are engaged by the king for policy and war, the kingdom of that king prospers. He enjoys the entire earth for a long period of time. The king who looks towards good deeds and honours them with pleasant words obtains supreme dharma. When the king enjoys his own share and does not disregard others and slays those who are strong and insolent, that king is said to follow dharma. When the king saves everyone in speech, body and deeds and does not pardon his own son, that king is said to follow dharma. When the king protects those who seek refuge, like his own sons, and does not deviate from any agreements, that king is said to follow dharma. When the king performs rites and sacrifices and faithfully gives away dakshina, disregarding his own desire and
hatred, that king is said to follow dharma. When he wipes away the tears of the distressed, those without protectors and the weak, and generates delight among men, that king is said to follow dharma. When his friends prosper and his enemies are brought down, when he honours the virtuous, that king is said to follow dharma. When he protects the truth and always gives away land, honouring guests and servants, that king is said to follow dharma. When favours and chastisement are both established in him, that king obtains fruits in this world and in the next. O Mandhata! The king is Yama. He is the supreme lord of those who follow dharma. When he restrains himself, he supports life. When he does not restrain himself, he is wicked. When he receives officiating priests, priests and preceptors well, honouring them and not insulting them, that king is said to follow dharma. Yama controls all beings, without differentiating between them. It is the king’s task to duly control the subjects in this way. O bull among men! In every way, the king is like the thousand-eyed one.
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What he sees as dharma is dharma. You must be careful, learned, forgiving, intelligent, patient and wise, always questioning the spirit of people and separating the good from the evil. You must assuage all the people through gifts and pleasant words. You must protect the residents of the city and the countryside as if they are your own sons. O son! A king who is not accomplished is incapable of protecting the subjects. O son! What is known as the kingdom is an extremely great and difficult burden to bear. Wielding the rod, only a wise and brave one is capable of protecting it. One who is a eunuch and devoid of intelligence cannot wield the rod.

‘“‘There must be handsome ones born in noble lineages.
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They must be accomplished, faithful and extremely learned. You must examine the intelligence of all of these and also that of ascetics who live in hermitages. In this way, you will know the supreme dharma of all beings and your dharma will not be destroyed, in your country, or in the lands of others. Among dharma, artha and kama, dharma is the
best. The one who knows dharma enjoys happiness in this world and in the next. When men are honoured well, they abandon their chief wives. People should be cultivated through gifts and pleasant words. O son! Great purity follows from care and purity. O Mandhata! Always pay attention to these. The king must be careful and look for weaknesses in his own self and that of the enemy. The enemy should not be able to see his weaknesses. But he must strike at the weak spots of the enemy. This was the conduct followed by Vasava, Yama, Varuna and all the rajarshis. Follow that. O great king! Act in accordance with this conduct, followed by the rajarshis. O bull among the Bharata lineage!
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O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Follow this divine path. In this world and the next, the devarshis, ancestors and gandharvas praise the conduct of infinitely energetic kings who act in accordance with dharma.’”

‘Bhishma said, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Mandhata was thus addressed by Utathya. Without any hesitation, he acted accordingly and obtained the earth for his own. You should also act well, like King Mandhata. Observe dharma, protect the earth and obtain a place in heaven.”’