Chapter 82

“Bhishma said, ‘This that I have told thee constitutes the first means.Listen now, O Bharata to the second means. That man who seeks to advancethe interests of the king should always be protected by the king. If aperson, O Yudhishthira, that is paid or unpaid, comes to thee for tellingthee of the damage done to thy treasury when its resources are beingembezzled by a minister, thou shouldst grant him an audience in privateand protect him also from the (impeached) minister. The ministers guiltyof peculation seek, O Bharata, to slay such informants. They who plunderthe royal treasury combine together for opposing the person who seeks toprotect it, and if the latter be left unprotected, he is sure to beruined. In this connection also an old story is cited of what the sageKalakavrikshiya had said unto the king of Kosala. It hath been heard byus that once on a time the sage Kalakavrikshiya came to Kshemadarsin whohad ascended the throne of the kingdom of Kosala. Desirous of examiningthe conduct of all the officers of Kshemadarsin, the sage, with a crowkept within a cage in his hand, repeatedly travelled through every partof that king’s dominions. And he spoke unto all the men and said, ‘Study,ye the corvine science. The crows tell me the present, the past, and thefuture.’ Proclaiming this in the kingdom, the sage, accompanied by alarge number of men, began to observe the misdeeds of all the officers ofthe king. Having ascertained all the affairs in respect of that kingdom,and having learnt that all the officers appointed by the king were guiltyof malversation, the sage, with his crow, came to see the king. Of rigidvows, he said unto the king, ‘I know everything (about thy kingdom).’Arrived at the presence of the king, he said unto his minister adornedwith the insignia of his office that he had been informed by his crowthat the minister had done such a misdeed in such a place, and that suchand such persons know that he had plundered the royal treasury. ‘My crowtells me this. Admit or prove the falsehood of the accusation quickly.’The sage then proclaimed the names of other officers who had similarlybeen guilty of embezzlement, adding, ‘My crow never says anything that isfalse.’ Thus accused and injured by the sage, all the officers of theking, O thou of Kuru’s race, (united together and) pierced his crow,while the sage slept, at night. Beholding his crow pierced with a shaftwithin the cage, the regenerate Rishi, repairing to Kshemadarsin in themorning said unto him, ‘O king, I seek thy protection. Thou artall-powerful and thou art the master of the lives and wealth of all. If Ireceive thy command I can then say what is for thy good. Grieved onaccount of thee whom I regard as a friend have come to thee, impelled bymy devotion and ready to serve thee with my whole heart. Thou art beingrobbed of thy wealth, I have come to thee for disclosing it withoutshowing any consideration for the robbers. Like a driver that urges agood steed, I have come hither for awakening thee whom I regard as afriend. A friend who is alive to his own interests and desirous of hisown prosperity and aggrandisement, should forgive a friend that intrudeshimself forcibly, impelled by devotion and wrath, for doing what isbeneficial.’ The king replied unto him, saying, ‘Why should I not bearanything thou wilt say, since I am not blind to what is for my good? Igrant thee permission, O regenerate one! Tell me what thou pleasest, Ishall certainly obey the instructions thou wilt give me, O Brahman,’
“The sage said, ‘Ascertaining the merits and faults of thy servants, asalso the: dangers thou incurrest at their hands, I have come to thee,impelled by my devotion, for representing everything to thee. Theteachers (of mankind) have of old declared what the curses are, O king,of those that serve others. The lot of those that serve the king is verypainful and wretched. He who has any connection with kings is to haveconnection with snakes of virulent poison. Kings have many friends asalso many enemies. They that serve kings have to fear all of them. Everymoment, again, they have fear from the king himself, O monarch. A personserving the king cannot (with impunity) be guilty of heedlessness indoing the king’s work. Indeed, a servant who desires to win prosperityshould never display heedlessness in the discharge of his duties. Hisheedlessness may move the king to wrath, and such wrath may bring downdestruction (on the servant). Carefully learning how to behave himself,one should sit in the presence of the king as he should in the presenceof a blazing fire. Prepared to lay down life itself at every moment, oneshould serve the king attentively, for the king is all-powerful andmaster of the lives and the wealth of all, and therefore, like unto asnake of virulent poison. He should always fear to indulge in evilspeeches before the king, or to sit cheerlessly or in irreverentpostures, or to wait in attitudes of disrespect or to walk disdainfullyor display insolent gestures and disrespectful motions of the limbs. Ifthe king becomes gratified, he can shower prosperity like god. If hebecomes enraged, he can consume to the very roots like a blazing fire.This, O king, was said by Yama. Its truth is seen in the affairs of theworld. I shall now (acting according to these precepts) do that whichwould enhance thy prosperity. Friends like ourselves can give untofriends like thee the aid of their intelligence in seasons of peril. Thiscrow of mine, O king, has been slain for doing thy business. I cannot,however, blame thee for this. Thou art not loved by those (that haveslain this bird). Ascertain who are thy friends and who thy foes. Doeverything thyself without surrendering thy intelligence to others. Theywho are on thy establishment are all peculators. They do not desire thegood of thy subjects. I have incurred their hostility. Conspiring withthose servants that have constant access to thee they covet the kingdomafter thee by compassing thy destruction. Their plans, however, do notsucceed in consequence of unforeseen circumstances. Through fear of thosemen, O king, I shall leave this kingdom for some other asylum. I have noworldly desire, yet those persons of deceitful intentions have shot thisshaft at my crow, and have, O lord, despatched the bird to Yama’s abode.I have seen this, O king, with eyes whose vision has been improved bypenances. With the assistance of this single crow I have crossed thiskingdom of thine that is like a river abounding with alligators andsharks and crocodiles and whales. Indeed, with the assistance of thatbird, I have passed through thy dominions like unto a Himalayan valley,impenetrable and inaccessible in consequence of trunks of (fallen) treesand scattered rocks and thorny shrubs and lions and tigers and otherbeasts of prey. The learned say that a region inaccessible in consequenceof gloom can be passed through with the aid of a light, and a river thatis unfordable can be crossed by means of a boat. No means, however, existfor penetrating or passing through the labyrinth of kingly affairs. Thykingdom is like an inaccessible forest enveloped with gloom. Thou (thatart the lord of it) canst not trust it. How then can I? Good and evil areregarded here in the same light. Residence here cannot, therefore, besafe. Here a person of righteous deeds meets with death, while one ofunrighteous deeds incurs no danger. According to the requirements ofjustice, a person of unrighteous deeds should be slain but never one whois righteous in his acts. It is not proper, therefore, for one to stay inthis kingdom long. A man of sense should leave this country soon. Thereis a river, O king, of the name of Sita. Boats sink in it. This thykingdom is like that river. An all-destructive net seems to have beencast around it. Thou art like the fall that awaits collectors of honey,or like attractive food containing poison. Thy nature now resembles thatof dishonest men and not that of the good. Thou art like a pit, O king,abounding with snakes of virulent poison. Thou resemblest, O king, ariver full of sweet water but exceedingly difficult of access, With steepbanks overgrown with Kariras and thorny canes. Thou art like a swan inthe midst of dogs, vultures and jackals. Grassy parasites, deriving theirsustenance from a mighty tree, swell into luxuriant growth, and at lastcovering the tree itself overshadow it completely. A forest conflagrationsets in, and catching those grassy plants first, consumes the lordly treewith them. Thy ministers, O king, resemble those grassy parasites ofwhich I speak. Do thou check and correct them. They have been nourishedby thee. But conspiring against thee, they are destroying thy prosperity.Concealing (from thee) the faults of thy servants, I am living in thyabode in constant dread of danger, even like a person living in a roomwith a snake within it or like the lover of a hero’s wife. My object isto ascertain the behaviour of the king who is my fellow-lodger. I wish toknow whether the king has his passions under control, whether hisservants are obedient to him, whether he is loved by them, and whether heloves his subjects. For the object of ascertaining all these points, Obest of kings, I have come to thee. Like food to a hungry person, thouhast become dear to me. I dislike thy ministers, however, as a personwhose thirst has been slaked dislikes drink. They have found fault withme because I seek thy good. I have no doubt that there is no other causefor that hostility of theirs to me. I do not cherish any hostileintentions towards them. I am engaged in only marking their faults. Asone should fear a wounded snake, every one should fear a foe of wickedheart!'[243]

“The king said, ‘Reside in my palace, O Brahmana! I shall always treatthee with respect and honour, and always worship thee. They that willdislike thee shall not dwell with me. Do thou thyself do what should bedone next unto those persons (of whom thou hast spoken). Do thou see, Oholy one, that the rod of chastisement is wielded properly and thateverything is done well in my kingdom. Reflecting upon everything, dothou guide me in such a way that I may obtain prosperity.’

“The sage said, ‘Shutting thy eyes in the first instance to this offenceof theirs (viz., the slaughter of the crow), do thou weaken them one byone. Prove their faults then and strike them one after another. When manypersons become guilty of the same offence, they can, by acting together,soften the very points of thorns. Lest thy ministers (being suspected,act against thee and) disclose thy secret counsels, I advise thee toproceed with such caution. As regards ourselves, we are Brahmanas,naturally compassionate and unwilling to give pain to any one. We desirethy good as also the good of others, even as we wish the good ofourselves. I speak of myself, O king! I am thy friend. I am known as thesage Kalakavrikshiya. I always adhere to truth. Thy sire regarded melovingly as his friend. When distress overtook this kingdom during theregion of thy sire, O king, I performed many penances (for driving itoff), abandoning every other business. From my affection for thee I saythis unto thee so that thou mayst not again commit the fault (of reposingconfidence on undeserving persons). Thou hast obtained a kingdom withouttrouble. Reflect upon everything connected with its weal and woe. Thouhast ministers in thy kingdom. But why, O king, shouldst thou be guiltyof heedlessness?’ After this, the king of Kosala took a minister from theKshatriya order, and appointed that bull among Brahmanas (viz., the sageKalakavrikshiya) as his Purohita. After these changes had been effected,the king of Kosala subjugated the whole earth and acquired great fame.The sage Kalakavrikshiya worshipped the gods in many grand sacrificesperformed for the king. Having listened to his beneficial counsels, theking of Kosala conquered the whole earth and conducted himself in everyrespect as the sage directed.'”