"Yudhishthira said, 'What other special duties remain for the king to
discharge? How should he protect his kingdom and how subdue his foes? How
should he employ his spies? How should he inspire confidence in the four
orders of his subjects, his own servants, wives, and sons, O Bharata?'
"Bhishma said, 'Listen, O monarch, with attention to the diverse duties
of kings,—to those acts which the king or one that is in the position of
a king should first do. The king should first subdue himself and then
seek to subdue his foes. How should a king who has not been able to
conquer his own self be able to conquer his foes? The conquest of these,
viz., the aggregate of five, is regarded as the conquest of self. The
king that has succeeded in subduing his senses is competent to resist his
foes. He should place bodies of foot-soldiers in his forts, frontiers,
towns, parks, and pleasure gardens, O delighter of the Kurus, as also in
all places where he himself goes, and within his own palace, O tiger
among men! He should employ as spies men looking like idiots or like
those that are blind and deaf. Those should all be persons who have been
thoroughly examined (in respect of their ability), who are possessed of
wisdom, and who are able to endure hunger and thirst. With proper
attention, the king should set his spies upon all his counsellors and
friends and sons, in his city and the provinces, and in dominions of the
chiefs under him. His spies should be so employed that they may not know
one another. He should also, O bull of Bharata's race, know the spies of
his foes by himself setting spies in shops and places of amusement, and
concourses of people, among beggars, in his pleasure gardens and parks,
in meetings and conclaves of the learned, in the country, in public
places, in places where he holds his own court, and in the houses of the
citizens. The king possessed of intelligence may thus ascertain the spies
despatched by his foes. If these be known, the king may derive much
benefit, O son of Pandu! When the king, by a survey of his own, finds
himself weak, he should then, consulting with his counsellors make peace
with a foe that is stronger. The king that is wise should speedily make
peace with a foe, even when he knows that he is not weak, if any
advantage is to be derived from it. Engaged in protecting his kingdom
with righteousness, the king should make peace with those that are
possessed of every accomplishment, capable of great exertion, virtuous,
and honest. When the king finds himself threatened with danger and about
to be overtaken by ruin, he should slay all offenders whom he had
overlooked before and all such persons as are pointed at by the people. A
king should have nothing to do with that person who can neither benefit
nor injure him, or with one who cannot rescue himself from distress. As
regards military operations a king who is confident of his own strength,
should, at the head of a large force, cheerfully and with courage give
the order to march, without proclaiming his destination against one
destitute of allies and friends or already at war with another and
(therefore) heedless (of danger from other quarters), or one weaker than
himself, having first made arrangements for the protection of his own
capital. A king should not for ever live in subjection to another
possessed of greater prowess. Though weak, he should seek to afflict the
stronger, and resolved upon this, continue to rule his own. He
should afflict the kingdom of the stronger one by means of weapons, fire
and application of poison. He should also cause dissensions amongst his
counsellors and servants. Vrihaspati has said that a king possessed of
intelligence should always avoid war for acquisition of territory. The
acquisition of dominion should be made by the three well-known means (of
conciliation, gift, and disunion). The king that is possessed of wisdom
should be gratified with those acquisition that are made by means of
conciliation, gift, and disunion. The king, O delighter of the Kurus,
should take a sixth of the incomes of his subjects as tribute for meeting
the expenses of protecting them. He should also forcibly take away
wealth, much or little (as the case may require), from the ten kinds of
offenders mentioned in the scriptures, for the protection of his
subjects. A king should, without doubt, look upon his subjects as his own
children. In determining their disputes, however, he should not show
compassion. For hearing the complaints and answers of disputants in
judicial suits, the king should always appoint persons possessed of
wisdom and a knowledge of the affairs of the world, for the state really
rests upon a proper administration of justice. The king should set honest
and trustworthy men over his mines, salt, grain, ferries, and elephant
corps. The king who always wields with propriety the rod of chastisement
earns great merit. The proper regulation of chastisement is the high duty
of kings and deserves great applause. The king should be conversant with
the Vedas and their branches, possessed of wisdom, engaged in penances,
charitable, and devoted to the performance of sacrifices. All these
qualities should permanently reside in a king. If the king fails to
administer justice, he can neither have heaven nor fame. If a king be
afflicted by a stronger one, the former, if possessed of intelligence,
should seek refuge in a fort. Assembling his friends for consultation, he
should devise proper means. Adopting the policy of conciliation and of
producing dissensions, he should devise means for waging war with the
assailant. He should set the inhabitants of the woods on the high roads,
and, if necessary, cause whole villages to be removed, transplanting all
the inhabitants to minor towns or the outskirts of great cities.
Repeatedly assuring his wealthy subjects and the principal officers of
the army, he should cause the inhabitants of the open country to take
refuge in such forts as are well-protected. He should himself withdraw
all stores of grain (from the open country into his forts). If that
becomes impossible, he should destroy them completely by fire. He should
set men for destroying the crops on the fields of the enemy (by producing
disunion among the enemy's subjects). Failing to do this, he should
destroy those crops by means of his own troops. He should destroy all the
bridges over the rivers in his kingdom. He should bale out the waters of
all the tanks in his dominions, or, if incapable of baling them out,
cause them to be poisoned. Disregarding the duty of protecting his
friends, he should, in view of both present and future circumstances,
seek the protection of the ruler of another kingdom who may happen to be
the foe of his foe and who may be competent to deal with his foe on the
field of battle. He should destroy all the smaller forts in his
kingdom. He should also cut down all the smaller trees excepting those
that are called Chaitya. He should cause the branches of all the
larger trees to be lopped off, but he should not touch the very leaves of
those called Chaitya. He should raise outer ramparts round his forts,
with enclosures in them, and fill his trenches with water, driving
pointed stakes at their bottom and filling them with crocodiles and
sharks. He should keep small openings in his walls for making sallies
from his fort, and carefully make arrangements for their defence like
that of the greater gates. In all his gates he should plant
destructive engines. He should plant on the ramparts (of his forts)
Sataghnis and other weapons. He should store wood for fuel and dig and
repair wells for supply of water to the garrison. He should cause all
houses made of grass and straw to be plastered over with mud, and if it
is the summer month, he should, from fear of fire, withdraw (into a place
of safety) all the stores of grass and straw. He should order all food to
be cooked at night. No fire should be ignited during the day, except for
the daily homa. Particular care should be taken of the fires in smithies
and lying-in rooms. Fires kept within the houses of the inhabitants
should be well covered. For the effectual protection of the city, it
should be proclaimed that condign punishment will overtake the person who
lights fires by the day time. During such times, all beggars, eunuchs,
lunatics, and mimes, should, O foremost of men, be driven out of the
town, for if they are permitted to remain, evil will follow. In places of
public resort, in tirthas, in assemblies, and in the houses of the
citizens, the king should set competent spies. The king should cause
wide roads to be constructed and order shops, and places for the
distribution of water, to be opened at proper stations. Depots (of
diverse necessaries), arsenals, camps and quarters for soldiers, stations
for the keeping of horses and elephants, encampments of soldiers,
trenches, streets and bypaths, houses and gardens for retirement and
pleasure, should be so ordered that their sites may not be known to
others, O Yudhishthira. A king who is afflicted by a hostile army should
gather wealth, and store oil and fat and honey, and clarified butter, and
medicines of all kinds, and charcoal and munja grass, leaves, arrows,
scribes and draftsmen, grass, fuel, poisoned arrows, weapons of every
kind such as darts, swords, lances, and others. The king should store
such articles. He should especially keep ready drugs of every kind, roots
and fruits, the four kinds of physicians, actors and dancers, athletes,
and persons capable of assuming diverse disguises. He should decorate his
capital and gladden all his subjects. The king should lose no time in
bringing under his control such persons as may happen to inspire him with
fear, be they his servants or counsellors or citizens or neighbouring
monarchs. After any task of the king has been accomplished, he should
reward that those that have aided in its accomplishment with wealth and
other proportionate gifts and thankful speeches. It has been laid down in
the scriptures, O delighter of the Kurus, that a king pays off his debt
when he discomfits his foe or slays him outright. A king should take
care of seven things. Listen to me as I recite them. They are his own
self, his counsellors, his treasury, his machinery for awarding
punishments, his friends, his provinces, and his capital. He should with
care protect his kingdom which consists of these seven limbs. That king,
O tiger among men, who is conversant with the aggregate of six, the
triple aggregate, and the high aggregate of three, succeeds in winning
the sovereignty of the whole earth. Listen, O Yudhishthira, to what has
been called the aggregate of six. These are ruling in peace after
concluding a treaty (with the foe), marching to battle, producing
disunion among the foe, concentration of forces, for inspiring the foe
with fear, preparedness for war with readiness for peace, and alliance
with others. Listen now with attention to what has been called the triple
aggregate. They are decrease, maintenance of what is, and growth. The
high aggregate of three consists of Virtue, Profit and Pleasure. These
should be pursued judiciously. By the aid of virtue, a king succeeds in
ruling the earth for ever. Touching this matter, Angirasa's son:
Vrihaspati himself has sung two verses. Blessed be thou, O son of Devaki,
it behoveth thee to hear them. 'Having discharged all his duties and
having protected the earth, and having also protected his cities, a king
attains to great happiness in heaven. What are penances to that king, and
what need has he of sacrifices who protects his people properly? Such a
king should be regarded as one conversant with every virtue!'
Yudhishthira said, 'There is the science of chastisement, there is the
king, and there are the subjects. Tell me, O grandsire, what advantage is
derived by one of these from the others.'
Bhishma said, 'Listen to me, O king, as I describe, O Bharata, the great
blessedness of the science of chastisement, in sacred words of grave
import. The science of chastisement forces all men to the observance of
the duties of their respective orders. Duly administered, it forces
people to virtuous acts. When the four orders attend to their
respective duties, when all wholesome barriers are maintained, when peace
and happiness are made to flow from the science of chastisement, when the
people become freed from all fear, and the three higher orders endeavour,
according to their respective duties, to maintain harmony, know that men
become truly happy at such times. Whether it is the king that makes the
age, or, it is the age that makes the king, is a question about which
thou shouldst not entertain any doubt. The truth is that the king makes
the age. When, the king rules with a complete and strict reliance on the
science of chastisement, the foremost of ages called Krita is then said
to set in. Righteousness sets in the Krita age. Nothing of
unrighteousness exists then. The hearts of men belonging to all the four
orders do not take any pleasure in unrighteousness. Without doubt, all
men succeed in acquiring the objects they desire and preserving those
that have been acquired. All the Vedic rites become productive of merit.
All the seasons become delightful and free from evil. The voice,
pronunciation, and minds of all men become clear and cheerful. Diseases
disappear and all men become long-lived. Wives do not become widows, and
no person becomes a miser. The earth yields crops without being tilled,
and herbs and plants grow in luxuriance. Barks, leaves, fruits, and
roots, become vigorous and abundant. No unrighteousness is seen. Nothing
but righteousness exists. Know these to be the characteristics, O
Yudhishthira, of the Krita age. When the king relies upon only three of
the four parts of the science of chastisement leaving out a fourth, the
age called Treta sets in. A fourth part of unrighteousness follows in the
train of such observance (of the great science) by three-fourths. The
earth yields crops but waits for tillage. The herbs and plants grow
(depending upon tillage). When the king observes the great science by
only a half, leaving out the other half, then the age that sets in is
called Dwapara. A moiety of unrighteousness follows in the train of such
observance of the great science by half. The earth requires tillage and
yields crops by half. When the king, abandoning the great science
totally, oppresses his subjects by evil means of diverse kinds, the age
that sets in is called Kali. During the age called Kali, unrighteousness
becomes full and nothing of righteousness is seen. The hearts of men, of
all the orders, fall away from their respective duties. Sudras live by
adopting lives of mendicancy, and Brahmanas live by serving others. Men
fail to acquire the objects they desire and preserve those already
acquired. Intermixture of the four orders takes place. Vedic rites fail
to produce fruits. All the seasons cease to be delightful and become
fraught with evil. The voice, pronunciation, and minds of men lose
vigour. Diseases appear, and men die prematurely. Wives become widows,
and many cruel men are seen. The clouds do not pour seasonably, and crops
fail. All kinds of moisture also fail, when the king does not, with
proper attention to the great science, protect the subjects. The king is
the creator of the Krita age, of the Treta, and of the Dwapara. The king
is the cause of the fourth age (called Kali). If he causes the Krita age,
he attains to everlasting heaven. If he causes the Treta age, he acquires
heaven for a period that is limited. If he causes the Dwapara, he attains
to blessedness in heaven according to the measure of his merits. By
causing the Kali age, the king incurs a heavy load of sin. Stained by
wickedness, he rots in hell for innumerable years, for sinking in the
sins of his subjects, he incurs great sin and infamy himself. Keeping the
great science in his view, the Kshatriya possessed of learning should
strive to acquire those objects which he desires and protect those that
have been already acquired. The science of chastisement, which
establishes all men in the observance of their respective duties, which
is the groundwork of all wholesome distinctions, and which truly upholds
the world and sets it agoing, if properly administered, protects all men
like the mother and the father protecting their children. Know, O bull
among men, that the very lives of creatures depend upon it. The highest
merit a king can acquire is acquaintance with the science of chastisement
and administering it properly. Therefore, O thou of Kuru's race, protect
thy subjects righteously, with the aid of that great science. By
protecting the subjects and adopting such a conduct, thou wilt surely
attain to such blessedness in heaven as is difficult of acquisition."
