Mahabharata: Volume 8 (60 page)

‘Yudhishthira said, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He
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may be weak. He may be a procrastinator. He may be excessively affectionate towards his relatives. The citizens of the city and the countryside may be disenchanted. He may be without supplies of stores. He may suspect the foremost people.
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His secret counsel may be divulged. He may be assailed by the enemy. All his advisers may be divided. Despite being weak, he may have to advance against a stronger enemy. When his senses are agitated, tell me what else he can do.”

‘Bhishma replied, “The external one who seeks to conquer him may be pure and may be accomplished in dharma and artha. He should swiftly conclude an agreement and try to free those parts that have already been conquered. Even if the other person wishes to conquer through adharma, is more powerful and is wicked in his intentions, there should be an attempt to conclude a pact, even if this leads to restrictions on himself.
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Alternatively, he can abandon the capital and use other means to avoid the calamity. Though that situation
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continues, as long as he is alive, he can accumulate objects again. There are some calamities that can only be handled by giving up everything. However, no one who knows about artha and dharma should give up the more expensive possession of one’s own life.
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One must protect oneself against being taken captive. How can one find compassion amidst the enemy’s riches? If it is possible, one must never give oneself up.”

‘Yudhishthira said, “Those inside may be enraged and those outside may cause oppression. The treasury may be exhausted. The secret counsel may be divulged. What remains to be done then?”

‘Bhishma replied, “One should be swift in concluding a pact,
or one must be swift in exhibiting one’s fierce valour. Or one can swiftly retreat and protect oneself. O lord of the earth! A king can conquer the entire earth with a few soldiers, if they are devoted, nourished and cheerful. If he is slain, he will ascend to heaven. If he is victorious, he will gain the earth. If he gives up his life in the battle, he will obtain Shakra’s world. When he has conquered all the people, he must tread gently. If he cannot inspire trust in them through his humility, he should use his shoes.
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He should retreat only when he wishes to. Should he desire to use conciliation, he should remove all signs from his own self and advance with a friend.”’
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‘Yudhishthira said, “The supreme forms of dharma may not be available and people of diverse kinds may transgress it. Every means of sustenance on earth may have been taken over by bandits. O grandfather! When that worst of times arrives, how will a brahmana survive, assuming that out of affection, he does not abandon his sons and grandsons?”

‘Bhishma replied, “When such a time arrives, he should survive through the strength of his ability to differentiate.
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Everything is for the virtuous. There is nothing for the wicked. If someone takes from the wicked and gives it to those who are virtuous, he is knowledgeable about all forms of dharma and ensures a passage for himself. O king! He can seize things that have not been given, thinking, ‘These riches are mine and I will give them away,’ as long as he does not do this wrathfully and does not cause outrage in the kingdom. If a person uses vijnana to purify his strength,
even if he should be censured, he will not be censured, because he is patient and his conduct is based on vijnana. Those whose conduct depends on the exercise of strength find no other means appealing. O Yudhishthira! Their strength is enhanced through the use of energy. Medium people serve the dictates of the ordinary sacred texts, without any discrimination.
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However, those who are intelligent adopt something that is beyond this. Officiating priests, priests, preceptors and brahmanas must always be treated well and worshipped. Acting contrary to this is a sin.
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These are the norms of the world and the eternal foresight. This is the standard in which one must be submerged to determine if one is virtuous or wicked. Many who live in villages will angrily say things about each other. A king should not pay attention to these words and act on that basis.
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Slander must never be spoken, nor heard. The ears must be covered, or one should go somewhere else. The conduct of virtuous people does not encompass slander and calumny. O Yudhishthira! Those who are virtuous only speak about the qualities of righteous people. Two well-trained draught animals, tamed and both capable of bearing an equal load, are good at bearing a burden. The king should be like that. He is the one who really bears the burden, aides come after that. Some think that conduct is the most important indication of dharma. Others do not like this and prefer Shankha and Likhita instead.
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They do not speak such words out of malice or greed. There are rishis who have held that the perpetrators of wrong deeds must be exiled.
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However, if someone is like a rishi, there are no norms for this. Perhaps the gods should punish these worst among men, who perpetrate perverse acts. If something is obtained through deceit, dharma suffers. Those who are virtuous must be honoured in every way, because they are the reason for prosperity. This must be accepted in one’s heart and it establishes
dharma. He who knows about the four qualities that establish dharma is one who truly knows about dharma.
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Like following a snake, it is extremely difficult to determine the path of dharma. When a deer is pierced, a hunter of deer follows in its footsteps by tracking drops of blood in the grass. That is the way one must follow the path of dharma. O one without decay! O Yudhishthira! You must follow the path of the virtuous with humility. Follow the conduct observed by the rajarshis.”’

‘Bhishma said, “The king must generate his treasury from his own kingdom or the kingdoms of others. O Kounteya! Dharma results from the treasury and establishes the foundation of the kingdom. Therefore, the treasury must be generated and once it has been accumulated, it must be protected. Having protected, he must show compassion. This is the eternal dharma. The treasury cannot be generated through virtue and purity only, or through violence alone. To accumulate a treasury, one must follow a middle path. How can there be a treasury for someone who has no army? How can there be an army for someone who has no treasury? How can there be a kingdom for someone who has no army? How can there be Shri for someone who has no kingdom? For someone of superior conduct, the destruction of Shri is like death. Therefore, the king must increase the treasury, the army and friends. Men disrespect a king whose treasury has been destroyed. They are dissatisfied with little and are not interested in the work.
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It is because of Shri that a king receives
the greatest regard. It hides his sins, like garments hide the private parts of women. Men he has earlier injured follow him because of his wealth. They are like dogs,
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finding delight in an opportunity to kill him. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! How can a king like this be happy?
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The king must always show enterprise and not be languid. There is manliness in exertion. He must break at the joints, rather than bow down before anyone. He can resort to the forest and roam around with large numbers of bandits. However, he must not roam around with bandits who are against all restraints. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Among the bandits, one can easily obtain soldiers who are fierce in their deeds. Everyone certainly trembles before a person who does not follow any restraints. Even bandits, who are without compassion, tremble before such a person. He must establish restraints and gladden the minds of people. Even a little bit of restraint is respected by the people. There are some people who have decided that this world and the world hereafter do not exist. One should not trust such a nastika. He is driven by doubt and fear. Bandits regard non-violence the same way as righteous people regard taking from others.
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However, even among bandits, people find delight in agreements. The slaying of someone who is not a combatant, the ravishing of wives,
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ingratitude, the seizure of the possessions of brahmanas, the complete destruction of everything and the abduction and confining of women—these are censured even among bandits. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Since they avoid these, if one has a pact with them, one should not exterminate them completely. That has been determined. Instead of completely exterminating them, they should be brought under one’s subjugation. Because one is stronger, one should act violently towards them. O son! Those who
exterminate them see their own extermination in every direction. Those who exterminate always have to suffer a fear because of that act of extermination.”’
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‘Bhishma said, “On this kind of deed, those who are knowledgeable about ancient accounts recite definitive words. For a kshatriya who knows, dharma and artha are immediately evident and one cannot separate them. But some working of dharma is indirect. ‘This is adharma.’ ‘That is dharma.’ Such statements are like the footprints of a wolf.
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The fruits of dharma and adharma can never be seen. A strong person can use his strength to bring everything under his subjugation and prosper. A strong person obtains Shri, an army and advisers. One without wealth falls and is like a little bit of leftover food. However, even for a strong person, there are many inauspicious things and these ensure that he is not saved from fear. It is only those two
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true foundations that save him from great fear. I think that strength is superior to dharma. Dharma results from strength. Dharma is established on strength, like mobile objects on the surface of the earth. Just as smoke is controlled by the wind, dharma follows strength. Just as a creeper depends on a tree, dharma provides strength to a weak person. Dharma is under the control of those who are strong, just as happiness is enjoyed by those who possess objects of pleasure. There is nothing that a strong person is not successful at. For the strong, everything is pure.
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If a wicked person is weak in strength, his stature is reduced. Therefore,
everyone is alarmed at him, as if he is a wolf. He is censured and dishonoured and lives a life of unhappiness. A life of humiliation is just like death. When people say that he has been cast aside because of his wicked character, he is severely tormented and is wounded by words that are like stakes. On this, preceptors have spoken about ways of freeing oneself from sins. He must serve the three kinds of learning
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and tend to brahmanas. He must seek their favours through sweet words and deeds. He must be great-minded and marry into a noble family. He must recount the good qualities of others and say that he will be like them. He must meditate, perform the water-rites, be gentle and not talk a lot. Having performed many extremely difficult deeds, he should penetrate the ranks of brahmana and kshatriyas.
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Even if many people reprimand him because of this, he should not pay any attention to it. If he does not commit wicked acts, through such conduct he will quickly become greatly respected. He will enjoy happiness and riches and must protect himself through his conduct. He will obtain worship in this world and great fruits in the hereafter.”’