Chapter 80

“Yudhishthira said, ‘The most trifling act, O grandsire, cannot beaccomplished by any man if unaided. What then need be said of the king(who has to govern a kingdom)? What should be the behaviour and what theacts of the king’s minister? Upon whom should the king repose confidenceand upon whom should he not?’

“Bhishma said, ‘Kings, O monarch, have four kinds of friends. They are hethat has the same object, he that is devoted, he that is related bybirth, and he that has been won over (by gifts and kindness). A person ofrighteous soul, who would serve one and not both sides, is the fifth inthe enumeration of the king’s friends. Such a person adopts that side onwhich righteousness is, and accordingly acts righteously. With respect tosuch a person, the king should never disclose such purposes of his aswould not enlist his sympathy. Kings desirous of success are obliged toadopt both kinds of paths, righteous and unrighteous. Of the four kindsof friends, the second and the third are superior, while the first andthe fourth should ever be regarded with suspicion. In view, however, ofthose acts which the king should do in person, he should always regardwith suspicion all the four. The king should never act heedlessly in thematter of watching his friends. A king that is heedless is alwaysoverpowered by others. A wicked man assumes the garb of honesty, and hethat is honest becomes otherwise. A foe may become a friend and a friendmay become a foe. A man cannot always be of the same mind. Who is therethat would trust him completely? All the chief acts, therefore, of a kinghe should accomplish in his own presence. A complete reliance (on hisministers) is destructive of both morality and profit. A want of trustagain in respect of all is worse than death. Trustfulness is prematuredeath. One incurs danger by truthfulness. If one trusts anothercompletely, he is said to live by the sufferance of the trusted person.For this reason every one should be trusted as also mistrusted. Thiseternal rule of policy, O sire, should be kept in view. One should alwaysmistrust that person who would, upon one’s desire, obtain one’s wealth.The wise declare such a person to be one’s enemy. A person whose joyknows no bounds upon beholding the aggrandisement of the king and whofeels miserable upon seeing the king’s decay, furnishes the indicationsof one of the best friends of the king. He whose fall would be broughtabout by thy fall, should be trusted by thee completely even as thoushouldst trust thy sire. Thou shouldst, to the best of thy power,aggrandise him as thou winnest aggrandisement for thyself. One who, ineven thy religious rites, seeks to rescue thee from harm, would seek torescue thee from harm’s way in every other business. Such a one should beregarded as thy best friend. They, on the other hand, that wish one harmare one’s foes. That friend is said to be like thy own self who isinspired with fear when calamity overtakes thee and with joy whenprosperity shines on thee. A person possessed of beauty, fair complexion,excellent voice, liberality, benevolence, and good birth, cannot be sucha friend. That person who is possessed of intelligence and memory, who isclever in the transaction of business, who is naturally averse fromcruelty, who never indulges in wrath, and who, whether regarded ordisregarded is never dissatisfied, be he thy priest or preceptor orhonoured friend should always receive thy worship if he accepts theoffice of thy counsellor and resides in thy abode. Such a person may beinformed of thy most secret counsels and the true state of all thyaffairs religious or pertaining to matters of profit. Thou mayst confidein him as in thy own sire. One person should be appointed to one task,and not two or three. Those may not tolerate each other. It is alwaysseen that several persons, if set to one task, disagree with one another.That person who achieves celebrity, who observes all restraints, whonever feels jealous of others that are able and competent, who never doesany evil act, who never abandons righteousness from lust or fear orcovetousness or wrath, who is clever in the transaction of business, andwho is possessed of wise and weighty speech, should be thy foremost ofministers. Persons possessed of good birth and good behaviour, who areliberal and who never indulge in brag, who are brave and respectable, andlearned and full of resources, should be appointed as ministers forsupervising all thy affairs. Honoured by thee and gratified with wealth,they would act for thy good and be of great help to thee. Appointed tooffices connected with profit and other important matters they alwaysbring about great prosperity. Moved by a feeling of healthy rivalry, theydischarge all duties connected with profit, holding consultations withone another when necessary. Thou shouldst fear thy kinsmen as thoushouldst death itself. A kinsman can never bear a kinsman’s prosperityeven as a feudatory chief cannot bear to see the prosperity of hisoverlord. None but a kinsman can feel joy at the destruction of a kinsmanadorned with sincerity, mildness, liberality, modesty, and truthfulnessof speech. They, again, that have no kinsmen, cannot be happy. No men canbe more contemptible than they that are destitute of kinsmen. A personthat has no kinsmen is easily overridden by foes. Kinsmen constitute therefuge of one that is afflicted by other men, for kinsmen can never bearto see a kinsman afflicted by other people. When a kinsman is persecutedby even his friends, every kinsman of the persecuted regards the injuryto be inflicted upon himself. In kinsmen, therefore, there are bothmerits and faults. A person destitute of kinsmen never shows favours toany one nor humbles himself to any one. In kinsmen, therefore both meritand demerit may be marked. One should, for this reason, always honour andworship his kinsmen in words and acts, and do them agreeable officeswithout injuring them at any time. Mistrusting them at heart, one shouldbehave towards them as if he trusted them completely. Reflecting upontheir nature, it seems that they have neither faults nor merits. A personwho heedfully conducts himself in this way finds his very foes disarmedof hostility and converted into friends. One who always conducts himselfin this way amid kinsmen and relatives and bears himself thus towardsfriends and foes, succeeds in winning everlasting fame.'”