Chapter 168

“Yudhishthira said, ‘O grandsire, O thou that art possessed of greatwisdom, I shall ask thee a question. It behoveth thee, O enhancer of thehappiness of the Kurus, to discourse to me fully upon it. What kind ofmen are said to be of gentle disposition? With whom may the mostdelightful friendship exist? Tell us also who are able to do good in thepresent time and in the end. I am of opinion that neither swellingwealth, nor relatives, nor kinsmen, occupy that place which well-wishingfriends occupy. A friend capable of listening to beneficial counsels, andalso of doing good, is exceedingly rare. It behoveth thee, O foremost ofvirtuous men, to discourse fully on these topics.’

“Bhishma said, ‘Listen to me, O Yudhishthira, as I speak to thee, indetail, of those men with whom friendships may be formed and those withwhom friendships may not be formed. One that is covetous, one that ispitiless, one that has renounced the duties of his order, one that isdishonest, one that is a knave, one that is mean, one that is of sinfulpractices, one that is suspicious of all, one that is idle, one that isprocrastinating, one that is of a crooked disposition, one that is anobject of universal obloquy, one that dishonours the life of hispreceptor, one that is addicted to the seven well-known vices, one thatcasts off distressed friends, one possessed of a wicked soul, one that isshameless, one whose sight is ever directed towards sin, one that is anatheist, one that is a slanderer of the Vedas, one whose senses are notrestrained, one that gives free indulgence to lust, one that isuntruthful, one that is deserted by all, one that transgresses allrestraints, one that is deceitful, one that is destitute of wisdom, onethat is envious, one that is wedded to sin, one whose conduct is bad, onewhose soul has not been cleansed, one that is cruel, one that is agambler, one that always seeks to injure friends, one that covets wealthbelonging to others, that wicked-souled wight who never expressessatisfaction with what another may give him according to the extent ofhis means, one that is never pleased with his friends, O bull among men,one that becomes angry on occasions that do not justify anger, one thatis of restless mind, one that quarrels without cause, that sinful blokewho feels no scruple in deserting well-meaning friends, that wretch whois always mindful of his own interests and who, O king, quarrels withfriends when those do him a very slight injury or inflict on him a wrongunconsciously, one who acts like a foe but speaks like a friend, one whois of perverse perceptions, one who is blind (to his own good), one whonever takes delight in what is good for himself or others, should beavoided. One who drinks alcoholic liquors, one who hates others, one whois wrathful, one who is destitute of compassion, one who is pained at thesights of other’s happiness, one who injures friends, one who is alwaysengaged in taking the lives of living creatures, one who is ungrateful,one who is vile, should be avoided. Alliances (of friendship) shouldnever be formed with any of them. Similarly, no alliance (of friendship)should be formed with him who is ever intent upon marking the faults ofothers. Listen now to me as I indicate the persons with whom alliances(of friendship) may be formed. They that are well-born, they that arepossessed of eloquence and politeness of speech, they that are enduedwith knowledge and science, they that are possessed of merit and otheraccomplishments, they that are free from covetousness, they that arenever exhausted by labour, they that are good to their friends, they thatare grateful, they that are possessed of varied information andknowledge, they that are destitute of avarice, they that are possessed ofagreeable qualities, they that are firm in truth, they that have subduedtheir senses, they that are devoted to athletic and other exercises, theythat are of good families, they that are perpetuators of theirraces,[488] they that are destitute of faults, they that are possessed offame, should be accepted by kings for forming alliances (of friendship)with them, They, again, O monarch, who become pleased and contented ifone behaves with them according to the best of one’s powers, they whonever get angry on occasions that do not justify anger, they who neverbecome displeased without sufficient cause, those persons who are wellconversant with the science of Profit and who, even when annoyed, succeedin keeping their minds tranquil, they who devote themselves to theservice of friends at personal sacrifice, they who are never estrangedfrom friends but who continue unchanged (in their attachment) like a redblanket made of wool (which does not easily change its colour),[489] theywho never disregard, from anger, those that are poor, they who neverdishonour youthful women by yielding to lust and loss of judgment, theywho never point out wrong paths to friends, they who are trustworthy,they who are devoted to the practice of righteousness, they who regardgold and brick-bats with an equal eye, they that adhere with firmness tofriends and well-wishers, they who muster their own people and seek theaccomplishment of the business of friends regardless of their own dignityand casting off all the marks of their own respectability, should beregarded as persons with whom alliances (of friendship) should be made.Indeed, the dominions of that king spread on every direction, like thelight of the lord of the stars, who makes alliances of friendship withsuch superior men. Alliances should be formed with men that arewell-practised in weapons, that have completely subdued their anger, thatare always strong in battle and possessed of high birth, good behaviour,and varied accomplishments. Amongst those vicious men, O sinless one,that I have mentioned, the vilest, O king, are those that are ungratefuland that injure friends. Those persons of wicked behaviour should beavoided by all. This, indeed, is a settled conclusion.’

“Yudhishthira said, ‘I desire to hear in detail this description. Tell mewho they are that are called injurers of friends and ungrateful persons.’

“Bhishma said, ‘I shall recite to thee an old story whose incidentsoccurred in the country, O monarch, of the Mlecchas that lies to thenorth. There was a certain Brahmana belonging to the middle country. Hewas destitute of Vedic learning. (One day), beholding a prosperousvillage, the man entered it from desire of obtaining charity.'[490] Inthat village lived a robber possessed of great wealth, conversant withthe distinctive features of all the orders (of men), devoted to theBrahmanas, firm in truth, and always engaged in my king gifts. Repairingto the abode of that robber, the Brahmana begged for a alms. Indeed, hesolicited a house to live in and such necessaries of life as would lastfor one year. Thus solicited by the Brahmana, the robber gave him a pieceof new cloth with its ends complete,[491] and a widowed woman possessedof youth. Obtaining all those things from the robber, the Brahmana becamefilled with delight. Indeed, Gautama began to live happily in thatcommodious house which the robber assigned to him. He began to hold therelatives and kinsmen of the female slave he had got from the robberchief. In this way he lived for many years in that prosperous village ofhunters. He began to practise with great devotion the art of archery.Every day, like the other robbers residing there, Gautama, O king, wentinto the woods and slaughtered wild cranes in abundance. Always engagedin slaughtering living creatures, he became well-skilled in that act andsoon bade farewell to compassion. In consequence of his intimacy withrobbers he became like one of them. As he lived happily in that robbervillage for many months, large was the number of wild cranes that heslew. One day another Brahmana came to that village. He was dressed inrags and deer-skins and bore matted locks on his head. Of highly purebehaviour, he was devoted to the study of the Vedas. Of a humbledisposition, frugal in fare, devoted to the Brahmanas, thoroughlyconversant with the Vedas, and observant of Brahmacharya vows, thatBrahmana had been a dear friend of Gautama and belonged to that part ofthe country from which Gautama had emigrated. In course of hiswanderings, as already said, the Brahmana came to that robber villagewhere Gautama had taken up his abode. He never accepted any food if givenby a Sudra and, therefore, began to search for the house of a Brahmanathere (for accepting the duties of hospitality).[492] Accordingly hewandered in every direction in that village teeming with robber-families.At last that foremost of Brahmanas came to the house owned by Gautama. Itso happened that just at that time Gautama also, returning from thewoods, was entering his abode. The two friends met. Armed with bow andsword, he bore on shoulders a load of slaughtered cranes, and his bodywas smeared with the blood that trickled down from the bag on hisshoulders. Beholding that man who then resembled a cannibal and who hadfallen away from the pure practices of the order of his birth, enteringhis house, the newly-arrived guest, recognising him, O king, said thesewords: ‘What is this that thou art doing here through folly? Thou art aBrahmana, and the perpetuator of a Brahmana family. Born in a respectablefamily belonging to the Middle country, how is it that thou becomest likea robber in thy practices? Recollect, O regenerate one, thy famouskinsmen of former times, all of whom were well-versed in the Vedas. Bornin their race, alas, thou hast become a stigma to it. Awake thyself bythy own exertions. Recollecting the energy, the behaviour, the learning,the self-restraint, the compassion (that are thine by the order of thybirth), leave this thy present abode, O regenerate one!’ Thus addressedby that well-meaning friend of his, O king, Gautama answered him in greataffliction of heart, saying, O foremost of regenerate ones, I am poor. Iam destitute also of a knowledge of the Vedas. Know, O best of Brahmanas,that I have taken up my abode here for the sake of wealth alone. At thysight, however, I am blest today. We shall together set out of this placetomorrow. Do thou pass the night here with me. Thus addressed, thenewly-arrived Brahmana, full of compassion as he was, passed the nightthere, refraining to touch anything. Indeed, though hungry and requestedrepeatedly the guest refused to touch any food in that house.'”