Mahabharata: Volume 8

by Debroy, Bibek

  ‘Bhishma said, “O Krishna! The dharma of brahmanas is donations, studying and austerities. Like that, the dharma of kshatriyas is to give up the body in battle. Fathers, grandfathers, sons, preceptors, allies and relatives advanced against him on a false cause. He followed dharma and killed them in a battle. O Keshava! There may be wicked seniors who are avaricious and abandon agreements. If a kshatriya kills them in a battle, he is following dharma. If kshatriya relatives challenge one to a battle, one must always fight. Manu has said that fighting is dharma. It leads to heaven and the worlds.”’

  Vaishampayana said, ‘When Bhishma spoke in this way, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira approached humbly and stood in front, so that he could be seen. He grasped Bhishma’s feet and honoured him. He518 inhaled the fragrance of his519 head and asked him to be seated. Gangeya, bull among all archers, said, “O son!520 Ask me what you wish. O supreme among the Kuru lineage! Do not be scared.”’

  Chapter 1384(56)

  Vaishampayana said, ‘Yudhishthira bowed down before Hrishikesha and the grandfather. He took the permission of all the seniors and asked, “Those who are learned about dharma say that ruling the kingdom is supreme dharma. O king! I think that it is a great burden. Tell me about this. O grandfather! In particular, tell me about rajadharma.521 All the beings in the world find a refuge in rajadharma. O Kourava! The three vargas522 are dependent on rajadharma. All the forms of mokshadharma523 are also clearly based on it. It is like the harness for a horse, or the goad for an elephant. It has been said that the dharma of kings restrains the world in that way. The rajarshis served that dharma earlier. It is becoming confused now, the world will no longer be established and everyone will become anxious. When the sun rises, it dispels the demonic darkness. In that way, rajadharma casts away everything that is inauspicious in this world. O grandfather! O best of the Bharata lineage! O supreme among intelligent ones! Therefore, tell me about the true nature of rajadharma first. O scorcher of enemies! We obtain the truth about all kinds of learning from you. Vasudeva thinks that you are supreme among intelligent ones.”

  ‘Bhishma replied, “I bow down before the supreme dharma. I bow down before the supreme Krishna. I honour the brahmanas. I will now speak about eternal dharma. O Yudhishthira! Hear from me a complete account of rajadharma. Listen attentively to everything else that you wish to hear. O best of the Kuru lineage! In the beginning, a king who desires pleasure must worship the gods and the brahmanas in the proper way. O extender of the Kuru lineage! Once one has worshipped the gods and the brahmanas, one is freed of the debts of dharma and is revered by the worlds. O son! O Yudhishthira! You must always strive to uplift yourself. Without the exertion, fortune never makes a king’s objectives successful. In general, there are two aspects—destiny and enterprise. But I certainly think it has been said that enterprise is superior to destiny. Even if a task begun does not go well, it is pointless to rue that. O son! If a king is led astray, he must make greater efforts. With the exception of truth, there is nothing that contributes to the success of kings. If a king is devoted to the truth, he finds delight here, and in the hereafter. O Indra among kings! Truth is the supreme wealth for rishis too. Like that, nothing inspires as much confidence in kings as adherence to supreme truth. If one possesses qualities and good conduct, is self-controlled and mild, is devoted to dharma and has conquered the senses, if one is extremely handsome and has a broad objective524—then one never deviates from prosperity. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! One must resort to uprightness in all tasks. One must reconsider policy and conceal the three.525 If a king is mild, everyone always disregards him. But if a king is fierce, everyone is troubled. Therefore, act so that you are both. O supreme among generous ones! Brahmanas must never be punished. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Those who are brahmanas are named as supreme beings in this world. O Indra among kings! The great-souled Manu sung two shlokas about this. O Kouravya! This was about one’s own dharma and you should bear this in your heart. ‘Fire emerged from water. Kshatriyas emerged from brahmanas. Iron emerged from stone. The energy of each of these is pacified by the source.526 When iron confronts stone, fire faces water and kshatriyas hate brahmanas, then each of these three is destroyed.’ O great king! Knowing this, you must bow down before brahmanas. The best of brahmanas are full of peace and represent the brahman on earth. O tiger among kings! However, you must always use your arms to restrain those who seem to be like that, but actually destroy the edifice of the world.527 O son! Maharshi Ushanas sang two shlokas in earlier times. O immensely wise one! O king! Listen to them attentively. ‘A lord of men, who is following his own dharma, should consider dharma and raise his weapons to even counter someone who knows the Vedas in battle, if that person attacks him. If dharma is being destroyed, the one who protects it is the one who is following dharma. If one counters anger with anger, the sin of killing a foetus does not result.’528 O best of men! The brahmanas must be protected in this way. If they commit a crime, they must be exiled to the extremities of the kingdom. O lord of men! But there must be compassion for those who are accused, even those who kill a brahmana, violate the preceptor’s bed, or kill a foetus. A brahmana who hates the king must be banished outside the kingdom and it is never recommended that there should be corporal punishment. O supreme among men! You must always be affectionate towards men. For a king, there is no treasure as supreme as the store of men.

  ‘“O great king! There are six kinds of forts that are indicated in the sacred texts.529 Among all these, it is held that the one protected by men is the most difficult to breach. Therefore, a learned king must act so as to be compassionate towards the four varnas. If a king has dharma in his soul and speaks the truth, he delights the subjects. O supreme among men! However, you should not be indulgent all the time. A mild king follows adharma. He is like a forgiving elephant. In the sacred texts of Brihaspati, a shloka was laid down in earlier times. O great king! It has a bearing on this. I am reciting it. Listen attentively. ‘A forgiving king is always subjugated by the inferior, who are like elephant riders who mount the head of an elephant and wound it. Therefore, a king must not be gentle all the time. He must also be harsh. He should be like the sun in the summer, not too cold and not too hot.’ O great king! You must always examine friend and foe through direction, examination, inference, analogies and instructions.530 O one who donates a lot! You must give up all the vices. Even if one indulges in them, one must give up addiction. In the world, people who indulge in vices are always overcome. If a king does not love his subjects, he generates anxiety. The king must always treat them the way a wife treats her embryo. O great king! Listen to the reasons why this is desirable. For the welfare of the embryo, a pregnant woman ceases to follow everything that brings pleasure to her mind alone. The king must certainly be like that. O best among the Kuru lineage! He must always follow dharma. For the welfare of the world, he must abandon everything that he likes. O Pandava! However, you must never abandon truth and fortitude. The commands of someone who is patient and firm in meting out punishment are not contravened.

  ‘“O supreme among eloquent ones! You must always avoid cracking jokes with the servants. O tiger among kings! Listen to the reasons why it is wrong to do that. If one involves the servants in pleasure, they disregard the master. They no longer remain in their appointed places and disobey his words. Sent on a task, they think about it and disclose the secret. They ask what they should not ask for. They eat what they should not eat. They become angry and flare up. They lie down on his bed. They resort to deceit, accept bribes and hamper the undertaking of tasks. They indulge in forgeries and cause the prosperity to decay. They dress like the female guards and consort with them. In his531 presence, they pass wind and spit. O tiger among men! They become shameless and laugh at his words. When the king is cheerful and mild, they mount the king’s beloved horse, tusker and chariot. ‘O king! It will be difficult for you to do this. You should not have attempted this.’ The courtiers, known as well-wishers, speak in this way. They
laugh when he is angry. They are not delighted when they are honoured. For various reasons, they always begin to fight with each other. They divulge secrets and cover up their wicked deeds. They treat his commands with mockery and disdain, such as about ornaments, food, bathing and unguents. O tiger among men! They are comfortable with ignoring them, even when they listen to him. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They censure their own stations and abandon them. They are not satisfied with their salaries and appropriate what belongs to the king. They toy with him as they will, like with a bird tied to a string. They tell people, ‘The king is devoted to us.’ O Yudhishthira! When the king is mild and cheerful, these and many other sins manifest themselves.”’

  Chapter 1385(57)

  ‘Bhishma said, “O Yudhishthira! The king must always exert himself. Without exertion, a king fades away, like a woman. O lord of the earth! The illustrious Ushanas has a shloka on this. O king! As I recite it, listen attentively to me. ‘Like a snake that swallows animals who live in burrows, there are two things that are swallowed up by the earth—a king who does not oppose and a brahmana who does not leave his home.’532 O tiger among men! Therefore, you must bear this in your heart. You must ally with those one should have alliances with. You must resist those who should be resisted. The kingdom has seven limbs.533 Anyone who acts against these must be slain, even if he happens to be a preceptor or a friend. O Indra among kings! King Marutta sang an ancient shloka about governing a kingdom, in conformity with Brihaspati’s ancient views. ‘It is recommended that a preceptor must be abandoned, if he is haughty, cannot distinguish between what should be done and what should not be done, and is inclined to take the wrong path.’ To ensure the welfare of the citizens, the intelligent King Sagara, Bahu’s son, exiled his eldest son Asamanja.534 O king! Asamanja had earlier drowned the children of the citizens in the Sarayu. His father censured him and exiled him. The great ascetic Shvetaketu was the beloved son of rishi Uddalaka. But because he falsely made brahmanas follow him, he was abandoned.

  ‘“The eternal duty of kings is ensuring the pleasure of the subjects, protecting the truth and uprightness in conduct. He must not cause harm to the possessions of others. At the right time, he must give what should be given. A king who is brave, truthful in his speech and forgiving, does not deviate from the path to be trodden. His counsels are secret. He conquers anger. He is firm in determining the purport of the sacred texts. He is always devoted to dharma, artha, kama and moksha. The king must always cover weaknesses in the three.535 There is nothing as important for kings as the control of the wicked. The lords of the earth must protect the dharma of the four varnas. The eternal dharma of kings is to prevent a mixing of dharma.536 The king must not trust and must not trust too much. Using his own intelligence, he must always examine the good and the bad in the six aspects.537 A king who can detect weaknesses in the enemy is always praised. So is one who knows the truth of the three objectives538 and uses the strategy of employing spies. Like Yama and Vaishravana,539 he must add to the treasury. He should know about the increase and decrease in the status of the ten.540 He should support those who have no one to support them. However, he must also have an eye towards those who possess support. A king must have an excellent face and must smile before he speaks. He must revere those who are aged and conquer excessive lassitude. He should consider the conduct of the righteous and set his mind on the conduct of the righteous. He must never take away riches from the hands of the righteous. Instead, he must take it away from those who are wicked and give it to those who are righteous. He is himself the one who gives and takes away. Therefore, his soul must be under control and so must those who serve him. He will be pure in his conduct. At the right time, he will give and enjoy. Men who are born in noble lineages, are without disease and are brave and faithful must be employed as advisers. They must be good in conduct. They must not be disrespectful towards relatives541 and must not be proud. They must possess learning and be conversant with this world. However, they must also be able to look at the world hereafter. They must be virtuous and devoted to dharma. They must be as immobile as mountains. The king must always reward these aides and they should be his equal in the objects of pleasure that they enjoy. In addition, the king will only possess his umbrella. The king’s behaviour towards them, directly and indirectly, will be the same.542 If he acts in this way, an Indra among kings will never repent. A king who is suspicious of everything, a king who takes everything away and a king who is addicted to wickedness is quickly restrained by his own subjects. However, a lord of the earth who is pure and is engaged in attracting the hearts of the subjects is not devoured by the enemy when he falls. Even when he falls, he rises again. A king who is without anger, not addicted to vices, a king who wields a mild rod of punishment and has conquered his senses, is trusted by beings, as if he was the Himalayas. He is wise. He possesses all the qualities and is engaged in detecting the weaknesses of the enemy. He is extremely handsome. He considers the truth about what is good and bad for the four varnas. He is swift to act. He has conquered his anger. He is high-minded and is extremely easy to please. He is naturally free from disease. He acts and does not boast. He endeavours to complete all the tasks that have been begun.

  ‘“When such a king is seen, that king is supreme among kings. Men in his kingdom roam around fearlessly, like sons in the house of a father. That king is supreme among kings. Citizens who reside in his kingdom know about good policy and bad and do not need to hide their riches. Such a king is supreme among kings. Men who reside in his kingdom are engaged in their own tasks. They do not quarrel and are generous. They are properly protected. They are docile, obedient and humble. They are not inclined to fight. In a kingdom where men find pleasure in donating, he is indeed a king. There is no fraud and deceit. There is no maya. There is no malice. In the kingdom of such a king, there is eternal dharma. He shows proper respect to learning. He is engaged in good policies that bring benefits to citizens. He follows the dharma of the righteous and is ready to renounce. He is indeed a king in the kingdom. He uses spies. However, his counsels, what he will do, and what he will not do, is never known to enemies. He is indeed a king in the kingdom. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! There is an ancient shloka that the great-souled Bhargava had sung, which was recited to the king when he was told about Rama’s conduct.543 ‘First, get a king.544 Get a wife after that. After that, obtain riches. If there is no kingdom in this world, how can there be a wife? How can there be riches?’ O lion among kings! Therefore, this is the eternal dharma of kings and nothing else. One must clearly protect. The world is sustained on that protection. O Indra among kings! Manu, the son of Prachetasa, recited these two shlokas about rajadharma.545 Listen attentively to this. ‘There are six men who must be avoided, like a broken boat on an ocean—a preceptor who does not speak, an officiating priest who has not studied, a king who does not protect, a wife who does not speak sweetly, a cowherd who wishes to be in a village and a barber who desires to go to the forest.”’546

  Chapter 1386(58)

  ‘Bhishma said, “O Yudhishthira! In rajadharma, this is like freshly churned butter. The illustrious Brihaspati praises this and no other dharma. The large-eyed and illustrious Kavya, the great ascetic,547 the thousand-eyed and great Indra, Manu, the son of Prachetasa, the illustrious Bharadvaja and the sage Gourashira were devoted to Brahma and learned about the brahman. They composed sacred texts about what kings should do. O supreme among those who uphold dharma! They praised the dharma of protection. O one with eyes like blue lotuses tinged with coppery red! O Yudhishthira! Listen to the means of accomplishing this—spies, the act of spying, donations, lack of jealousy, receiving things properly548 and not receiving improperly, selecting the virtuous,549 bravery, skill, truth, the welfare of subjects, using fair and foul means to create discord and enmity within the ranks of the enemy, not abandoning righteous people, supporting those born in noble lineages, storing things that should be stored, serving those who are intelligent, finding delig
ht in strength, always glancing towards the welfare of subjects, lack of lethargy in tasks, extending the treasury, protecting the city, distrust, breaking up quarrels between citizens, paying attention to houses that are decayed or falling down, depending on the context, using both kinds of punishment,550 paying attention to friends, foes and neutrals, weaning away servants who are inclined to move from one’s side to that of the enemy, distrust of those on one’s own side, assurance towards the enemy, following the policy of dharma, constant readiness for action, not disregarding the enemy and the abandoning of those who are wicked.

  ‘“There are shlokas where Brihaspati has spoken about the rise of kings and the roots of rajadharma. Listen to these. ‘Amrita was obtained through enterprise. The asuras were slain through enterprise. It is through enterprise that the great Indra obtained superiority in heaven. It is because of enterprise that a courageous person is superior to one who is eloquent. Those who are clever with words gratify and worship the ones who are courageous in enterprise.551 Even if he has intelligence, if a king lacks enterprise, he is always oppressed by the enemy, like a snake without any poison.’ Even if one is stronger, one must not ignore a weaker enemy. A small fire can also burn. A little bit of poison can kill. If an enemy is inside a fortification and only possesses horses, he is capable of afflicting, here and there, a king with a prosperous kingdom. The secret words of a king, the amassing of troops for victory, the deceit in his heart, tasks that are done for specific purposes and the crooked acts that he undertakes—must be sustained by rectitude.552 Even for the sake of deceiving the people, he must act in accordance with dharma. Sustaining a kingdom is extremely difficult. A person who has not cleansed his soul cannot bear the burden. One has to sustain grievous assaults and the mild cannot tolerate this. A kingdom is like a piece of meat. It must always be supported by rectitude. O Yudhishthira! You must always support it in a mixed way.553 Even if one confronts a calamity when protecting the subjects, lords of the earth who act in this way accumulate great dharma. I have told you a little bit about rajadharma. O supreme among eloquent ones! Tell me about the doubts that still remain.”’