Mahabharata: Volume 8 (49 page)

‘Yudhishthira asked, “How should a king who is devoted to dharma, and who wishes to establish himself in dharma, behave? O best among the Kuru lineage! O grandfather! I am asking you. Please tell me.”

‘Bhishma replied, “In this connection, an ancient history is recounted. The intelligent Vamadeva saw the exact truth about this and sang it. There was a king named Vasumana from Kosala. He was powerful and pure. He asked the illustrious maharishi Vamadeva. ‘O illustrious one! Instruct me with words that are full of dharma and
artha, so that I conduct myself in accordance with them, I remain established and do not deviate from my own dharma.’ The supreme among those who meditated, the ascetic Vamadeva, replied to him, as he
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was seated there, golden in complexion, like Yayati, the son of Nahusha. ‘Follow dharma alone. There is nothing that is superior to dharma. Basing themselves on dharma, kings conquered the entire earth. The king who thinks that dharma is superior to success in the matter of artha, and who makes his intelligence truthful, is radiant with dharma. If a king looks towards adharma and acts on the basis of force alone, he is swiftly dislodged from both the first and the second.
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Because his advisers are wicked and evil, he is a slayer of dharma and deserves to be killed by the people, together with his relatives. He will swiftly perish. If he does not seek artha and is addicted to kama, and if he is boastful, even if he obtains the entire earth, he will swiftly perish. However, if a king concentrates on what is beneficial, is devoid of malice, conquers his senses and is intelligent, he flourishes, like an ocean into which rivers flow. For dharma, artha and kama, he must always think that he is not yet full.
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The progress of the worlds is based on all these. If he listens to this, he will obtain fame, glory, prosperity and subjects. A person who is proud about dharma, who thinks about dharma and artha, who undertakes action only after thinking about artha, is certain to obtain greatness. If the king is not generous, is not extremely affectionate, if he always wields the rod over his subjects and if he is naturally violent, he will swiftly perish. The stupid one does not use his intelligence to see that he has committed a wicked deed. He is covered in ill fame and, after death, attains hell. If he shows honour, is generous, pure and discriminating about good taste, men seek to destroy any hardships that he confronts, as if those are their own. If he does not have a preceptor to tell him about dharma, if he does not ask others, if he only concentrates on happiness and obtaining
riches, his greatness does not last long. If he shows importance to his preceptor in matters connected with dharma, if he himself glances towards the objectives, if he places dharma at the forefront when dealing with people, his greatness lasts for a long time.’”’

‘“Vamadeva said, ‘When someone who is strong imposes adharma on those who are weak, those who earn a living from him
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also follow that kind of conduct. They follow the king, who implemented the wicked practices. With those insolent men, that kingdom is swiftly destroyed. When men naturally earn a living from such evil conduct, when he
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faces a difficulty, even his relatives are prepared to tolerate this.
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When the king is naturally violent, when he acts without any basis, when he does not follow the indications of the sacred texts, he is swiftly destroyed. The kshatriya who does not follow the conduct that has been followed for a long time, meant both for those who win and those who lose, deviates from the dharma of kshatriyas. A king who is successful in his attempt to seize an enemy in battle, and who does not then show respect to the enemy, deviates from the dharma of kshatriyas. The king must be gracious. If he can, he must show compassion at a time of distress. He will then be loved by the people and not be dislodged from his prosperity. If someone has done an injury, he should repay with something that is more pleasant. If he acts in this pleasant way, a person who is not liked will soon be loved. He must avoid false words. He must do what is pleasant, even if he has not been asked. For the sake of desire, anger or hatred, he should not abandon dharma. He should not avoid answering questions, nor should he be careless in speaking
words. He should not be hasty or malicious. That is how enemies are overcome. He should not be unduly delighted at an act of kindness, nor should he suffer at something disagreeable. Remembering the welfare of subjects, he should not be confused if he encounters a difficulty in the pursuit of artha. The lord of the earth who possesses qualities to always do what is pleasant obtains success in his deeds and prosperity does not desert him. The king must always favour those who have stopped acting against him and are now favourably disposed, as he must those who are devoted. That is the conduct of the virtuous.

‘“‘There are those who are not careless, but attentive. They are wise, extremely devoted and pure. They are capable and faithful. Such people must be employed for important tasks. There are those who may possess good qualities, but do not find delight in the lord of the earth. They are resentful of the master’s prosperity. Such people should not be employed for tasks. There are those who are stupid and addicted to their senses. They are greedy, ignoble in their conduct and fraudulent. They have failed the tests and are cruel. They are evil in intelligence and do not possess a great deal of learning. They have squandered away their possessions in drinking, gambling, women and hunting. If the king employs these in great tasks, prosperity does not stay with him. If the king protects himself and protects those whom he is supposed to protect, the subjects prosper and it is certain that he attains greatness. One must use well-wishers who are not recognized to keep an eye on the acts of all the other kings. By this means, the king is not harmed. When one has injured a strong person, one should not be comforted because that person lives a long distance away. Following the conduct of hawks, such people swoop down when one is careless. If one is firm in one’s foundation, if one is not evil in one’s soul and if one knows about one’s strengths, one can attack a weaker person, but not one who is stronger. Having conquered the earth through valour, having protected the subjects through dharma, having been devoted to dharma, a king can be killed in battle. Everything ends in death. There is nothing without disease.
Therefore, the king must be established in dharma and must protect the subjects in accordance with dharma. In the course of time, the earth prospers with five things—arrangements for protection, battle, ruling according to dharma, thinking about counsel and happiness. The king who protects these is supreme among kings. If a king is always engaged in these, he enjoys the earth. No single person is capable of paying attention to all of these together. That is the reason the king must engage these
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and enjoy the earth for a long period of time. When a person is generous, ready to share, mild, upright and pure, and does not abandon people, people do good things to him. When one knows what is best and acts in accordance with that knowledge, when he gives up his own views, people follow him. When he does not tolerate words about artha and kama because they are contrary, when he is distracted and listens to contrary views only for a limited period of time, when he does not comprehend the intelligence of foremost ones who are in front of him, regardless of whether they have been defeated or not been defeated, he deviates from the dharma of kshatriyas. If he abandons his foremost advisers and makes inferior ones his beloved, he confronts disaster. When he is distressed, he doesn’t find succour. When he disrespects relatives with good qualities because of his hatred, when his soul is not firm, when his anger is firm, his prosperity doesn’t remain close to him and give him delight. When he acts pleasantly so as to bring those with good qualities under his control, even though they are not close to his heart, his fame is established for a long time. He must not try to accomplish his objectives at the wrong time. The unpleasant must not trouble him. He should not be greatly delighted at something pleasant. He must be engaged in tasks that are healthy. “Which men are devoted to the king? Which seek refuge because of fear? Who among them has the taint of actually being neutral?” Always think of these things. If one is strong, one should never trust those who are weak. If one is careless, they will descend like bharunda birds. If someone is wicked in his soul, he will censure a master who has
all the qualities and is pleasant in speech. Therefore, one should be scared of such people. Yayati, the son of Nahusha, declared this teaching for kings. “If one is engaged in conquering men, one can slay a supreme enemy.”’”’

‘“Vamadeva said, ‘The lord of the earth should prosper through victories without battle. O lord of men! It is said that victory through a war is the worst. If his foundations are not firm, he should not desire to obtain something. If the foundations are weak, a king’s pursuit of gains is not recommended. If the countryside is prosperous and wealthy, if the king is loved, if the advisers are satisfied and well nourished, then the king’s foundations are firm. When the warriors are well satisfied, content and well entrenched, then the lord of the earth can conquer the earth with the slightest exertion of force. If the residents of the city and the countryside are devoted to him, if they are honoured well, if they possess riches and grain, then the king has a firm foundation. When he thinks that at that time his own power is superior, that is the time when an intelligent one desires the land and the riches of another. When he ignores objects of pleasure, when he is compassionate towards beings, when he protects his kingdom and his own self, he swiftly prospers. When those on his side act well, but he behaves falsely towards them, he then injures his own self, like a forest severed with an axe. If a king is always engaged in killing, there is no end to those who hate him. But if he knows how to control his anger, those who hate him cannot be seen. The knowledgeable person does not engage in tasks that noble people hate. He engages himself in tasks that are beneficial. Then, even if a king indulges in acts of happiness though tasks are incomplete, his own self is not tormented and others do not think ill of him. A lord of the earth who acts in this way towards men conquers both the worlds and is established in victory.’”

‘Bhishma said, “Having been addressed in this way by Vamadeva, the king followed everything in his deeds. If you act in this way, there is no doubt that you will conquer both the worlds.”’

‘Yudhishthira asked, “If a kshatriya wishes to defeat another kshatriya in battle, in that victory, how can one follow dharma? I am asking you this. Please tell me.”

‘Bhishma replied, “When a lord of the earth has arrived in a kingdom, whether he is with aides or without aides, he must say, ‘I am your king. I will always protect you. Following dharma, pay me the taxes. Do you accept my power?’ If they accept the one who has come, all will be well. There may be virtuous ones who oppose him, though they are not kshatriyas. O lord of men! They are committing a perverse act
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and must be restrained in every way possible. There may be others who take up weapons because they think that the kshatriyas are incapable.
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Or they may be extremely proud and think that he
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is incapable of saving himself.”

‘Yudhishthira asked, “How should a kshatriya king conduct himself against another kshatriya who advances against him in battle? O grandfather! Tell me this.”

‘Bhishma replied, “In a battle, one must not fight against a kshatriya who is not armoured and not clad in mail. A single one must speak to another single one, ‘Release. I am hurling mine.’
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If the one who advances is armoured, one must armour oneself. If the one who advances possesses soldiers, one must collect soldiers. If the
one who is fighting uses deceit, one must fight back using deceit. If he fights with adharma, one must counter him with adharma. Horses must not be used against chariots. Chariots must advance against chariots. If the adversary is distressed, whether it is to frighten him or for the sake of victory, he must not be struck. There must not be smeared
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or barbed arrows. These are the weapons of wicked people. One must fight for the sake of victory, not because of anger, or a desire to kill. When two virtuous people are fighting with each other, one of them may face a hardship. One who is wounded or one without offspring must never be struck. His weapons may be shattered. His forces may face a difficulty. His bowstring may have been severed. His mounts may have been slain. A wounded person must be treated in your territory, or he may be sent back to his own home. One who is not wounded must be released. That is the eternal dharma. Svayambhuva Manu said that one must fight in accordance with dharma. Against the virtuous, the virtuous always resort to dharma and this is never destroyed. The kshatriya, who wishes his prosperity and wins through the use of adharma, himself kills his own self. He is wicked and leads an inferior life. It is a duty that the virtuous should defeat the wicked through the use of virtuous means. It is better to use dharma and be killed than to triumph through evil deeds. O king! If one follows adharma, like a cow,
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the fruits are not immediate. But it follows you and burns down the roots and the branches. If one obtains prosperity through wicked deeds, one becomes addicted to evil. Such a person thinks that there is no dharma and laughs at purity. He is without devotion and advances towards destruction. Though he thinks he is immortal, he is bound by Varuna’s noose. Like a large and inflated leather bag, his own deeds make him expand. However, he is then destroyed from the roots, like a tree on the banks of a river. He is shattered, like a clay pot on stone, and there is rejoicing at this. Therefore, a lord of the earth should desire to earn victory through the use of dharma.”’