Mahabharata: Volume 8 (52 page)

‘Yudhishthira asked, “How should a king behave towards an enemy who is mild, one who is fierce and one who has a large army? O grandfather! Tell me that.”

‘Bhishma replied, “O Yudhishthira! In this connection, an ancient history is recounted about the conversation between Brihaspati and Indra. The lord of the gods joined his hands in salutation and spoke to Brihaspati. Vasava, the destroyer of enemy heroes, approached and asked him, ‘O brahmana! How should I be attentive and act towards those who injure me? How can I use techniques to control them, without destroying them? In general, victory is obtained through a clash between armies. But what can I do so that the powerful and blazing Shri does not abandon me?’ The radiant one
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was accomplished about dharma, artha and kama and knew about the precepts of rajadharma. He replied to Purandara, ‘When seeking to control those who cause injury, one should not use conflict. That is for those who are intolerant and cannot forgive, it is practised by children. If one desires to kill an enemy, one should not disclose this. Rage, power and intolerance should be controlled and kept within one’s own self. Even if there is distrust, one must serve the enemy, as if one trusts him. One must always speak pleasantly. One must never act in an unpleasant way. One should refrain from pointless hostility and abandon any voicing of it. A fowler wanting to catch birds imitates the tones of the birds. A king wishing to subjugate should act in that way. O Purandara! One brings the enemies under one’s subjugation and then kills them. O Vasava! Having conquered the enemy, one should never sleep happily. Like a crackling fire, the evil-souled one can arise again. But in general, a clash is not the recommended task for victory. O lord! Having conquered an enemy by winning his trust, one should let him be. However, having consulted with his advisers and great-souled and learned ministers, an enemy
may not be defeated in his heart. He may ignore it,
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or choose to strike back. He may wait for a time to strike, when one is distracted in one’s state. He may use trusted men to corrupt the army.
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He
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must consider the beginning, the middle and the end and everything that is hidden.
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Obtaining knowledge and proof, one must corrupt the forces.
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One should use dissension, blandishments and herbs.
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However, one should never mix one’s clothes with that of the enemy.
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After having waited for a long time, one can then slay the enemy. One should spend the time in waiting, looking for an opportunity. Large numbers of the enemy should not be immediately killed. If one waits, the victory will be without anxiety. One should not impale a stake that creates a fresh wound. When the right time has come for striking, that is when one should attack again. O Indra of the gods! This is what is indicated for a man who wishes to kill the enemy. However, a man who is waiting for the right time should not let that moment pass. This is the dharma of time. For one who desires this, it is extremely rare for that moment to come back again. Those who are virtuous honour the technique of defeating the enemy’s energy. Time always brings success. If something has not been obtained, one should not press. O Purandara! Give up desire, anger and ego. Engage yourself in detecting the weaknesses of those who seek to injure. O supreme among the gods! O Shakra! Mildness, chastisement,
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laziness and carelessness and different kinds of deceit can destroy the success of those who are not discriminating. These four must be destroyed and deceit countered. Without any hesitation, one will then be able to strike at the enemy. If this is capable of being secretly undertaken with just one person, this is what should be
done. Many advisers can divulge secrets and falsely pass on the responsibility to each other. If it is impossible to do this,
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one can then have consultations with others. The four limbs should be used against those who are seen and
brahmadanda
against those who are not seen.
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Dissension should first be used and silence
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and force thereafter. Depending on the right time, the king must employ these. At a time when the enemy is stronger, one must bow down. However, one must be attentive in seeking for a weakness when he is careless, so that one can kill him. One must bow down, use gifts and speak pleasant words. One must serve the enemy, so that he has no grounds for suspicion. One must carefully avoid all the postures that give rise to suspicion. One should not trust those who have been defeated. Those who have been injured are always awake. O supreme among the gods! O lord of the immortals! There is no task that is as supremely difficult as ensuring prosperity for those who have varied means of subsistence. That is the reason he
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is spoken of as the generator of different kinds of conduct. One must be engaged in this, restraining both friends and foes. People disrespect one who is mild and hate one who is fierce. Do not be mild. Do not be fierce. Be both mild and fierce. A raging torrent overcomes the riverbank and floods everything with water. If one is careless, the embankments of the kingdom break down in that way. One should not engage against many enemies at the same time. O Purandara! Use sama, dana, bheda and danda. One should use these one at a time. Even if one is skilled, one does not act against all the wicked at the same time. A king who is intelligent knows he is not capable of countering everyone at the same time. When there is a large army of horses, elephants and chariots and
there are foot soldiers and many implements of war and that six-fold army
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is devoted, when one uses one’s intelligence to deduce that one is superior in many ways, then, without any hesitation, one can directly strike against bandits. The sacred texts do not recommend conciliation, but punishment.
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Instead of mildness, one must always advance against the enemy. However, one must avoid the destruction of crops, acts of mixing
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and excessive destruction of nature. One can use deceit to infuse dissension among people and allow wicked and reprehensible deeds by trusted men, employed against the cities in the kingdom. The lord of the earth will pursue him
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into the city and conquer all the objects of pleasure inside the city. O destroyer of Bala and Vritra! He must implement the recommended policy for the cities, as is necessary. He will secretly give them
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riches, while taking away their own possessions. He will cite the sins of those wicked ones and employ them in the cities and the kingdom. There are others who are learned about the texts of love
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and are adorned with the foresight of knowing the ordinances of the sacred texts. There are extremely skilled ones, accomplished in recounting tales. For bringing down the enemy, these should be considered.’

‘“Indra asked, ‘O supreme among brahmanas! What are the signs of wicked people? How does one know evil ones? I am asking you. Tell me.’

‘“Brihaspati replied, ‘He dislikes your good qualities and proclaims your bad qualities behind your back. When others praise you, he is silent and reluctant. Even if there is no obvious reason, one can discern from this silence. Though he seems trustworthy, he bites his lips and shakes his head. He is gracious in public and ungracious in
private. When someone is absent, he acts against him. But when that person is present, he says nothing. He eats alone and says, “Today, it is not as it should be.”
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In particular, these signs can be seen in his sitting, sleeping and walking around. If someone sorrows when you are unhappy, that is the sign of a friend. The opposite of this is the sign of an enemy. From anything that is contrary, one can determine the characteristics of an enemy. O lord of the thirty gods! Know from these and the others that I have spoken about, to detect wicked men, since nature is always superior. O supreme among the gods! I have described the knowledge of evil ones. O lord of the immortals! Know the truth of what has been stated in the sacred texts.’”

‘Bhishma said, “Hearing the words spoken then by Brihaspati, Purandara, engaged in the destruction of the enemy, acted in accordance with this. At the right time, the slayer of enemies became victorious and brought the enemy under his subjugation.”’

‘Yudhishthira asked, “A king may be devoted to dharma, but may be obstructed by his advisers. If he desires happiness, how should he act when he doesn’t possess riches and has been deprived of his treasury and his army?”

‘Bhishma replied, “On this, the history of Kshemadarshi is sung. O Yudhishthira! I will tell you this. Listen to it. Kshemadarshi was the son of a king and in ancient times, his strength had decayed. We have heard that he went to the sage Kalakavrikshiya and asked him, ‘My prosperity has disappeared and I am immersed in this hardship. I am a man who should have his share of riches and I have tried repeatedly. However, I have been unable to obtain the kingdom. O brahmana! What should I do? O supreme one! There is nothing other than death, theft, seeking refuge or other inferior forms of conduct.
Tell me. You are accomplished in your wisdom. Someone afflicted with disease, mental or otherwise, should seek refuge with someone who is as extremely learned as you are. A man who has broken free and has controlled his desires obtains bliss. He abandons joy and sorrow and obtains wealth that has nothing to do with happiness. I sorrow for those who seek happiness in riches. My large quantity of riches has been destroyed, as if they had appeared in a dream. It is an extremely great and difficult task to abandon riches, even for virtuous ones. We are incapable of giving up what no longer exists.
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I have been dislodged from my prosperity and have attained this state, where I am miserable and distressed. O brahmana! Instruct me about the other kind of bliss that exists.’

‘“Having been addressed by the intelligent prince of Kosala, the immensely radiant sage Kalakavrikshiya replied, ‘You already know, because that intelligence has presented itself before you. Act accordingly. Know that everything, I and what is mine, is temporary. Everything that you think of as existing, know that it is non-existent. That is the reason a wise person is not distressed, even when he faces a difficulty and a hardship. Know that whatever had happened and whatever has happened are certainly things that have no existence.
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Knowing what should be known, you will be able to free yourself from adharma. There was an accumulation of things earlier and there are those that came after that. All of those no longer exist. Knowing this, who will be anxious? Having existed, something no longer exists. Having not existed, something exists. One should not have the capacity to grieve. Why should a man sorrow? O king! Where is your father now? Where is your grandfather now? You cannot see them now, nor can they see you. Beholding your own self to be impermanent, why do you sorrow over them? Use your intelligence to comprehend this. It is certain that you will not exist. O king! I, you, your enemies and your well-wishers will cease to be. Everything will cease to exist. Whether they are twenty years old or whether they are thirty years old, all the men who are here will die
before one hundred years have passed. If a man is freed from his great prosperity, if he wishes to ensure his own welfare, he should think that it wasn’t his. He should not regard what will come as his either. What has passed should also not be regarded as his. Those who think that destiny is superior are learned and it is said that those are the virtuous ones. It is possible to survive without riches and rule the kingdom. People who are your equal or superior in intelligence and manliness have done that. They have not sorrowed like you. Therefore, you should also not grieve. Why are you not their equal, or superior, in intelligence and manliness?’

‘“The prince replied, ‘I think that my obtaining the kingdom was also destiny. O brahmana! Everything that was there has been taken away by the greatness of time. O one who is rich in austerities! It has been taken away, as if by a flow of water. I can see the fruits. I must live on whatever I can obtain.’

‘“The sage said, ‘O one from Kosala! You have arrived at the right conclusion about what will come and what is past. That is the reason you are not sorrowing. Behave in that way about everything. Never desire objectives that cannot be attained, only those that can be attained. Experience what has presented itself and do not sorrow over what has not come. O one from Kosala! You will then find delight in the objectives that have been attained. Now that your sentiments have been cleansed, perhaps you will not grieve over Shri having left. When an evil-minded person confronts misfortune and is deprived of what he possessed earlier, he always censures the creator and is not satisfied with what he now possesses. He thinks that people who are prosperous do not deserve it. That is the reason he is repeatedly immersed in grief. O king! Such a man is proud and is overcome by excessive jealousy. O lord of Kosala! O wise one! In that way, you should not suffer from envy. Though you do not possess prosperity, tolerate that of others. Accomplished people enjoy Lakhsmi, even if she is with someone else. Shri goes to the virtuous and abandons those who hate. Brave men who follow dharma and know about dharma give up Shri and their sons and grandsons. They even give up their own selves. They see that even when they have satisfied their desires, there is a lot that crumbles
away. There are others who renounce, thinking that the objectives are extremely difficult to obtain.
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But though you are wise by nature, you are tormented in your misery. You desire things that should not be desired, noticing that those riches are with others. Use your intelligence to question and abandon the pursuit. Something that is not desirable presents itself in the form of artha. Something that is not artha presents itself in the form of something that is desirable. For some, the destruction of riches is desirable. There are those who look towards prosperity and think that it will bring infinite happiness. There are those who find pleasure in prosperity, disregarding what is superior. In his pursuit of prosperity, all his enterprise is destroyed. O one from Kosala! When something desired has been obtained with a great deal of difficulty and then disappears, the man who was pursuing riches is completely shattered. Men who know about welfare desire dharma alone. They desire happiness beyond death and are indifferent towards what happens in this world. In their greed for wealth, some men are ready to give up their lives. When they are unable to obtain riches, such men think that there is no point in remaining alive. Behold their misery. Behold their stupidity. Because of their confusion, they thirst for riches and live for what is temporary. All these stores are destroyed. Life ends in death. Why should one turn one’s mind towards acquiring something that will be separated? O king! Wealth abandons a man, or a man abandons wealth. Knowing that this is certainly inevitable, why should one be anxious over it? The well-wishers and riches of others are also destroyed. O king! Use your intelligence to judge the calamities that you, and other men, face. Restrain, control and focus your senses, mind and words. There are injurious ends, extremely difficult to obtain, that may not be available. These are despicable by nature, or perhaps it is impossible to obtain them. Be content in your wisdom. Be valiant and know. Do not sorrow. Desire a little. Do not be fickle. Be mild, generous and controlled. If you resort to brahmacharya, someone like you will not be confounded. Someone like you should
not resort to the contemptible means of begging for subsistence.
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That is cruel, wicked and unhappy conduct, meant for cowards. You can subsist on roots and fruits and enjoy yourself in the great forest. Control your soul by being restrained in speech. Show compassion towards all beings. One who finds pleasure in dwelling alone in the forest, is satisfied with a little and enjoys companionship with aged tuskers is like a learned person. The atman will be like a large lake that was once agitated, but is now tranquil. If someone treads this path, I can only see happiness for him. O king! When prosperity is impossible, when one is devoid of advisers, by seeking recourse with destiny, can you think of anything that will be superior?’”’