The World of Valmiki-22

The World of Valmiki-22

King and Leader (Continued)

पञ्च रूपाणि राजानो धारयन्त्यमितौजसः ।

अग्नेरिन्द्रस्य सोमस्य वरुणस्य यमस्य च ॥

औष्ण्यं तथा विक्रमं च सौम्यं दण्डं प्रसन्नताम् ।

धारयन्ति महात्मानो राजानः क्षणदाचर ।

तस्मात्सर्वास्ववस्थासु मान्याः पूज्याश्च पार्थिवाः ॥३/४०/१२-१३॥

Kings of great valour hold five forms, of Agni the fire-god, Indra the chief of Devas, Soma moon-god, Varuna ocean-god and Yama, the god of death. They are fierce like fire, valourous like Indra, pleasant like the moon, tranquil like the ocean and punishing like death. O rakshasa, therefore under all circumstances they are to be respected.

बहवः साधवो लोके युक्ता धर्ममनुष्ठिताः ।

परेषामपराधेन विनष्टाः सपरिच्छदाः ॥

स्वामिना प्रतिकूलेन प्रजास्तीक्ष्णेन रावण ।

रक्ष्यमाणा न वर्धन्ते मेषा गोमायुना यथा ॥३/४१/१२-१३॥

Many saintly persons who follow the path of dharma are destroyed along with their dependents on account of others' fault. O Ravana, Citizens ruled by a harsh adversarial king do not thrive like the goats cared for by a fox.

यो हि मित्रेषु कालज्ञः सततं साधु वर्तते ।

तस्य राज्यं च कीर्तिश्च प्रतापश्चाभिवर्धते ॥

यस्य कोशश्च दण्डश्च मित्राण्यात्मा च भूमिप ।

समवेतानि सर्वाणि स राज्यं महदश्नुते ॥

तद्भवान् वृत्तसंपन्नः स्थितः पथि निरत्यये ।

मित्रार्थमभिनीतार्थं यथावत् कर्तुमर्हसि ॥

सन्त्यज्य सर्वकार्याणि मित्रार्थे योऽनुवर्तते ।

संभ्रमाद्धि कृतोत्साहः सोऽनर्थैर्नावरुध्यते ॥

यस्तु कालव्यतीतेषु मित्रकार्येषु वर्तते ।

स कृत्वा महतोऽप्यर्थान्न मित्रार्थेन युज्यते ॥४/२९/१०-१४॥

A king who always treats friends appropriately according to the circumstances will have his kingdom, fame and valour thrive. A king whose treasury, punishment, friends and his own self are properly gathered enjoys the greatness of kingdom. Therefore being endowed with good conduct and staying in the fault-free path, you should do what is expected for the sake of your friend. One who undertakes to labour for the sake of a friend leaving other jobs and with enthusiasm will never be obstructed by failures. One who attends to friends' works too late will not be successful even with great efforts.

कच्चिन्नदीनः संभ्रान्तः कार्येषु च न मुह्यति ।

कच्चित् पुरुषकार्याणि कुरुते नृपतेः सुतः ॥

द्विविधं त्रिविधोपायमुपायमपि सेवते ।

विजिगीषुः सुहृत्कच्चिन्मित्रेषु च परन्तपः ॥

कच्चिन्मित्राणि लभतेऽमित्रैश्चाप्यभिगम्यते ।

कच्चित् कल्याणमित्रश्च मित्रैश्चापि पुरस्कृतः ॥

कच्चिदाशास्ति देवानां प्रसादं पार्थिवात्मजः ।

कच्चित् पुरुषकारं च दैवं च प्रतिपद्यते ॥५/३६/१६-१९॥

I hope he does not stumble in his works having become excited and low in spirit. I hope the prince attends to his duties and with a desire to win follows the two-fold plans of conciliation and gift to gain friends and three-fold plans of gift, punishment and sowing dissension to destroy enemies. I hope he has friends and is sought after even by enemies. I hope he has friends who wish him well and is respected by them. I hope the prince seeks the favour of Gods. I hope he does what needs to be done at the same time seeking the favour of Gods.

विद्यास्वभिविनीतो यो राजा राजनयानुगः ।

स शास्ति चिरमैश्वर्यमरींश्च कुरुते वशे ॥

सन्दधानो हि कालेन विगृह्णंश्चारिभिः सह ।

स्वपक्षवर्धनं कुर्वन् महदैश्वर्यमश्नुते ॥

हीयमानेन कर्तव्यो राज्ञा सन्धिः समेन च ।

न शत्रुमवमन्येत ज्यायान् कुर्वीत विग्रहम् ॥६/३५/७-९॥

A king who follows the royal conduct and who is well versed in various fields of knowledge rules for long and commands over wealth and brings enemies under his control. One who interacts with enemies either through conflict or compromise depending on circumstances simultaneously strengthening his own side enjoys great wealth. A king who is getting weakened or who is of the same strength as the enemy should go for a compromise. Enemy should never be neglected and a strong king should wage war.

यः पश्चात् पूर्वकार्याणि कुर्यादैश्वर्यमास्थितः ।

पूर्वं चापरकार्याणि न स वेद नयानयौ ॥

देशकालविहीनानि कर्माणि विपरीतवत् ।

क्रियमाणानि दुष्यन्ति हवींष्यप्रयतेष्विव ॥

त्रयाणां पञ्चधा योगं कर्मणां यः प्रपश्यति ।

सचिवैः समयं कृत्वा स सभ्ये वर्तते पथि ॥

यथागमं च यो राजा समयं विचिकीर्षति ।

बुध्यते सचिवान् बुद्ध्या सुहृदश्चानुपश्यति ॥

धर्ममर्थं च कामम् च सर्वान् वा रक्षसां पते ।

भजेत पुरुषः काले त्रीणि द्वन्द्वानि वा पुनः ॥

A wealthy king who does jobs which should have been done earlier and does jobs which should be done later does not know what is proper and what is improper. Works done without regard to their proper time and place in a topsy turvy manner lead to grief like oblations made to fires which are not consecrated. One who consults with his ministers and friends in time without deviating from the tenets of kingship and understands three ways of action, the most desirable, medium and least desirable and the five components associated with an action is indeed on the right path. A person should indulge in dharma (righteous living), artha (acquiring wealth), kama (enjoying life) at their due time either singly or in twos depending on the time of the day. [Three ways of action are 1. attacking the enemy knowing that he is weaker than self, the most desirable action (उत्तम); 2. trying to come to a compromise knowing that the enemy is as strong as self, the medium type of action (मध्यम); 3. trying to appease the enemy through gifts and surrender knowing that he is much stronger than self, the least desirable action (अधम). The five components of action are planning (आरम्भोपाय), collecting manpower and money (पुरुषद्रव्यसम्पत्), taking account of place and time (देशकालविभाग), averting mishaps (विनिपातप्रतीकार), attaining success (कार्यसिद्धि). Desirable time of the day for action oriented to dharma artha and kama are morning, afternoon and night respectively.]

त्रिषु चैतेषु यच्छ्रेष्टं श्रुत्वा तन्नावबुध्यते ।

राजा राजमात्रो वा व्यर्थं तस्य बहुश्रुतम् ॥

उपप्रदानं सान्त्वं वा भेदं काले च विक्रमम् ।

योगं च रक्षसां श्रेष्ठ तावुभौ च नयानयौ ॥

काले धर्मार्थकामान् यः संमत्र्य सचिवैः सह ।

निषेवेतात्मवान् लोके न स व्यसनमाप्नुयात् ॥

हितानुबन्धमालोच्य कार्याकार्यमिहात्मनः ।

राजा सहार्थतत्त्वज्ञैः सचिवैः स हि जीवति ॥

अनभिज्ञाय शास्त्रार्थान् पुरुषाः पशुबुद्धयः ।

प्रागल्भ्याद्वक्तुमिच्छन्ति मन्त्रेष्वभ्यन्तरीकृताः ॥

A king or a king's counsellor who does not understand even when told which is the best among the three has all his knowledge in vain. O the best among rakshasas, a king who properly employs gifting, diplomacy, sowing dissension or valour or their combinations in time and who attend to dharma,artha and kama appropriately after consultations with ministers does not come to grief. A king who consults with his ministers in the matter of what needs to be done and what should not be done for ones own benefit lives. Persons who are of low calibre like cattle and who have no knowledge of scriptures want to express themselves with audacity when given an opportunity for consultation.

अशास्त्रविदुषां तेषां न कार्यमहितं वचः ।

अर्थशास्त्रानभिज्ञानां विपुलां श्रियमिच्छताम् ॥

अहितं च हिताकारं धार्ष्ट्याज्जल्पन्ति ये नराः ।

अवेक्ष्य मन्त्रबाह्यास्ते कर्तव्याः कृत्यदूषणाः ॥

विनाशयन्तो भर्तारं सहिताः शत्रुभिर्बुधैः ।

विपरीतानि कृत्यानि कारयन्तीह मन्त्रिणः ॥

तान् भर्ता मित्रसङ्काशानमित्रान् मन्त्रनिर्णये ।

व्यवहारेण जानीयात् सचिवानुपसंहितान् ॥

चपलस्येह कृत्यानि सहसानुप्रधावतः ।

छिद्रमन्ये प्रपद्यन्ते क्रौञ्चस्य खमिव द्विजाः ॥

यो हि शत्रुमविज्ञाय नात्मानमभिरक्षति ।

अवाप्नोति हि सोऽनर्थान् स्थानाच्च व्यवरोप्यते ॥६/६३/५-२०॥

The words of those who do not have a command over scriptures are not beneficial and should not be followed. Those who audaciously advise wrongly in the garb of giving beneficial advice should be kept away from consultations. Such ministers along with intelligent enemies destroy their master by getting wrong things done. The master has to recognize such unfriendly persons who act like friends among his ministers during discussions. They try to find loop holes in your hasty actions just like birds find a way out to the sky in Krauncha mountain. One who does not understand his enemy and does not take care of himself comes to grief and will soon be displaced from his position.

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