Continued….From Part 11

Having sent the spy to get more news about the plans of King Chitragreev, the Queen got back into a discussion with her PM.

The the queen asked the Goose PM, “Do say who are the ones with whom one must not make peace with”.

The Goose PM then replied, “There are 20 types of such people and they are as follows:

One, a child – since a child is insignificant and no one wars for a child, a mere child also has no understanding of whether it would be advantageous to fight or not fight

Two, an old person – since he has lost his vigour and is now physically unfit to fight

Three, is someone with chronic illness – again is a person who is unfit to fight

Four, is one expelled by his/her kinsmen or friends – since such a one is betrayed even by his own people and so has no strength

Five, a coward – will surely desert his army and run from battle 

Six, one who has an army of cowards – the cowardly will desert his army and flee from war

Seven, a greedy, covetous person 

Eight, is one who has greedy or covetous friends

Nine, is one who has disillusioned followers – the followers of such a leader are already disillusioned with him/her, so they will not follow the leader even in an emergency

Ten, is one who is distracted by the sensual aspects of life – such a leader is usually not trained and battle ready to take up a winning fight

Eleven, is someone who has no fixed thoughts and constantly shifts opinions – a fickle leader is never taken seriously by his/her army, so even when an emergency arises, the fickle person will either not be able to take a decision or will not be believed by the already disillusioned army

Twelve, is a disbeliever in god and the wise ones – this type of leader is one who has overlooked the importance of the only thing which transcends time, religion.  Wisdom evades such a leader and so this leader is never able to get wise advice having abandoned the wise ones, nor does he/she carry enough wisdom to take right decisions 

Thirteen, is someone whose fate seems doomed – If the doomed fate of someone has become evident, then that leader and his/her army is easy to take over

Fourteen, is one who is anxious about fate. Such a leader is unable take control of things happening around him/her – a fatalist never exerts enough to take right actions

Fifteen, is one whose kingdom is affected by famine – Such a kingdom has no army with enough strength to resist an attack

Sixteen, is a leader whose army is disorganised 

Seveteen, is one who has left his own country and is dwelling elsewhere – Even an elephant can be killed by an alligator when it is in the water.  Water is the natural home of the alligator and not of the elephant so it is easily overcome by the smaller alligator and cannot save itself in surroundings which are unnatural for it

Eighteen, is one who has many enemies – Such a person is like a pigeon among cats.  He/she is always scared as there is danger in all directions

Nineteen, is one who is out of tune with current times and actions it requires – Such person is like the crow killed on a moonless night by the owl.  This type of leader uses his/her army inappropriately and is unprepared when an attack really takes place

Twenty, is one who does not seem to abide by the truth and right actions – Such a leader cannot be trusted as even after an agreement he/she can swerve from the truth as there is no commitment to right action or truth in this type of leader”

In this way the wise Goose PM gave the Queen an in-depth understanding of her question on who should not be made friends with.  

But he did not stop at this and said to the Queen, “While the above is important to know, there are a few more aspects of war that a leader should be aware about. So do understand that a Leader has 3 types of  powers –

Power of being a King/Queen – It is due to this power that he/she can command 6 types of decisions.  She/he can call for 

>>peace

>>war

>>halting an action or army

>>marching forward

>>rallying the team

>>dividing a territory in two parts

Power of Perseverance – There are 3 emergencies where the Leader needs to be very persevering…

>>Conciliation

>>Bribery

>>Dissent within the kingdom

>>Threats

Power of Counsel – There are 5 types of counsel the leader can seek…

>>the way in which to commence operations

>>organizing men and material

>>discriminating where to be at what time

>>how to repulse attacks 

>>the completion of any enterprise that has been started

Further, the Leader who divides wealth equitably, who has skilled and hidden spies, who counsels only in secret and is able to keep all information and plans secret, and finally treats fellow beings and citizens with respect, rules large kingdoms.

It is the above qualities and practices which brings good fortune and victories for the King/Queen.”

The Goose PM then advised the Queen, “Now getting back to our current situation, I have the view that while the Vulture PM has suggested peace to King Chitragreev, the King is too full of pride with his recent victory.  So he will most probably not be ready to extend his hand in peace”.

The Queen asked, “So what is to be done?”

The Goose PM replied, “Let us contact our friend the King Mahabal of Ceylon and ask him to create some disturbance in the kingdom of King Chitragreev.  On receiving information that his own kingdom is in trouble, King Chitragreev will not want to prolong his stay here and will choose to settle matters peacefully with you and return to his own kingdom”.

The Queen agreed.  Subsequently, the Goose PM appointed a crane as a messenger and gave her a secret letter to be delivered to King Mahabal.

Soon the Crane spy of Queen Hiranyagrbh returned with more news and said to the Goose PM and Queen, “When I went back I heard the following conversation taking place between the wise Vulture PM and King Hiranyagarbh –

The Vulture PM said, “Sir the Crow spy has spent many weeks in the kingdom of Queen Hiranyagarbh, so it would be good to hear from the crow directly if the Queen is a peace loving leader”.   The King agreed and the Crow was called.

The Vulture PM then asked the Crow, “So do tell us what kind of ruler is Queen Hiranyagarbh and what king of PM does she have as an advisor?”

The Crow replied, “Sir, the Queen is just, magnanimous and truthful.  Her Goose PM is also such a fine minister and advisor that he cannot be compared to anyone”.

The King asked, “If that is so, then how was it that they were both deceived so easily by you?”  

The Crow laughed and said, “Sir, once confidence has been built with someone, it is quite easy to deceive that person. No great skill or strength is required to kill a sleeping person.  Actually, the Goose PM had already recognised that I may be from the enemy camp and asked the Queen not to trust me.  But the magnanimous Queen was deceived by me.  A good person who thinks everyone is like him/her can be deceived easily by a rogue like the Brahmin with the goat”.

The King asked how that was and the Crow then related the following story –

Differentiate between the Good and Evil Person

In the province of Gaur, lived a Brahmin, who wanted to conduct a sacrifice.  So one day, he left early in the morning to go to another village where he could purchase a white goat.  He reached the village and found a suitable goat for the sacrifice and having bought it, he put it on his shoulder and left for his village. 

On the way, 3 rogues saw that he was carrying a goat and decided to somehow steal the goat from the brahmin.  Not wanting to raise any suspicion they decided to fool the brahmin by deceit and take the goat from him. So the 3 of them decided to sit along the road at a distance from each other and talk to the brahmin as he approached close.  

The first rogue was sitting under a tree and as the brahmin came close to him, the first rogue greeted him in a friendly manner and said, “Sir Greetings. Why are you carrying a dog on your shoulders?” The brahmin felt irritated with such a stupid man and replied, “Do not be stupid, this is not a dog but a goat I have bought for a sacrifice”. 

The brahmin quickly walked ahead not wanting to engage with a stupid man.  After some distance, he saw another man sitting along the road and watching him.  This was the 2nd rogue and the rogue suddenly shouted out and asked, “Why are you carrying this dog on your shoulder?’ The brahmin felt very disconcerted but asserted himself and told the rogue that it was not a dog but a goat.  

However, feeling somewhat uncertain now, he placed the goat on the road and looked at it intently and was convinced that he had a goat and not a dog.  He again picked up the goat and started walking. But he was nonetheless feeling somewhat uncertain.

Here the Crow said, “Sir surely the mind of the good wavers upon clever talk of deceitful people  and they suffer the fate of the Camel”.

The King asked what the story of the Camel was and so the Crow told him the following story – 

The Company that you keep determines your Fate 

In a jungle lived a Lion called Madotkat, and had 3 attendants – a crow, a  tiger and a jackal. One day, a Camel got separated from its caravan and entered the jungle.  It was seen by the 3 attendants who approached it and asked how come he had come to their jungle. So the Camel told them how he has strayed from his caravan and was now lost in the jungle. So the 3 attendants of Madotkat, decided to take him to the lion and let him know of this camel roaming in their jungle. Madotkat having met the Camel decided to allow him into the jungle and also become his 4th attendant.  

Like this time passed peacefully.  However, in a few years, the lion having become old was able to hunt less and less and so food was becoming a problem for the lion as well as the crow, tiger and the jackal.  In one particular year, there were excessive rains and the lion already being old was unable to hunt.  

The 3 attendants were now perplexed and worried about what to do and how to obtain some food.  The crow, tiger and jackal then schemed to ensure that the camel be killed by the lion so that they could secure meals for a few days. The tiger said, “The master has already assured the camel of complete safety so how is it possible to provoke him to kill the camel?” 

The cunning jackal replied, “At this present time the weakened master will even commit sin. A hungry and desperate woman is willing to even give up its own child for the sake of some food, a snake pained by hunger often devours its own eggs.  Similarly, men suffering intense hunger will commit any crime as they become compassionless in such desperate situations.”

They then decided to go and meet the lion. The Lion asked, “So, has any food been found?” The crow replied, “No Sir, even after a lot of search we have been unable to procure any food”.  The Lion then remarked, “So what do you propose we do now?” The Crow replied, “Sir, if you continue to neglect the food which is within your powers to provide then we shall all surely die of hunger”.  The Lion looked confused and asked, “What food do I have in my power?” Immediately the crow whispered in his ear, “The Camel Sir”. 

The Lion looked shocked and said, “I have given him assurance of his safety, so how can I commit such a cruel act? Many gifts can be provided like a gift of gold, property, cattle, food, but the greatest and most sacred gift is considered the gift of security from danger. This gift earns one the best karma”.

The crow reflected and said, “then the camel must not be killed by your initiative, but we should ensure that he offers himself as a sacrifice and food to us himself”. The Lion remained silent on hearing this scheme from the crow.

Soon, the crow gathered the tiger, jackal and the camel and requested them to come to the Lion’s den with him.  On entering, he respectfully said to the Lion, “Sir, even after many attempts food has not been found by us and I can see that you are now tortured with the many days of fasts that you have had to endure.  So I offer my body as food for you, as an act of thanks for the times that you have provided me food and security over many years.  The Lion replied, “Friend it is better that my life ends rather than for me to commit such a heinous act”. The tiger then offered his body as food.  Again the Lion replied, “That can never be proper for me to do”. Then the Jackal offered his body.  Again the Lion replied, “This is not possible”.

The Camel hearing his friends offering their bodies so generously as food, felt constrained to also offer his own body.  But by now it was confident of the answer of the Lion having heard him decline the offers of his other 3 friends.  So he eagerly also said, “Let me be your food today”.  As soon as he said this, the tiger leapt at him and killed him in an instant.  This way the 3 friends and the Lion had a hearty meal for many days.

So the Crow concluded the story to King Hiranyagarbh saying, “It is thus said that the mind wavers when something is heard too often even if it is not true”.

So saying, he then continued the story of the Brahmin with the Goat as follows – 

Differentiate between the Good and Evil Person (…Contd.)

The Brahmin continued to walk towards his village, with the goat on his shoulder.  But by now he was uneasy and his mind was wavering. 

After walking some distance, he came across the 3rd rogue, who was casually resting under a shady tree.  This rogue also called out and asked why he was carrying a dog on his shoulders.  The Brahmin was by now convinced that he had mistaken a dog for a goat and feeling embarrassed abandoned the goat and walked away quickly.  In this way, the 3 rogues cheated the brahmin of the goat and happily took it home, killed it and had a grand meal.

Then the Crow concluded the story by saying, “Hence, Sir I say that a good person who thinks everyone is like him/her can be deceived easily.  This is how I deceived the queen and gained her confidence, while staying in her kingdom, before the war started”.

King Chitreagreev then asked the Crow, “How come you gained the confidence of Queen Hiranyagarbh and her courtiers in such a short period of time?”

The Crow replied, “Sir, a person desirous of pleasing the boss or one with very specific personal interest or objective is able to do anything to achieve that goal.  Such a person can be described as – 

.. a flowing river, which seems to be just flowing, but unnoticed by most, it’s current over time  cuts away at the roots of trees in its path.  

.. someone so dedicated to achieve the goal that she/he will even carry an enemy on the shoulder, like the serpent who destroyed the frogs”.  

The King asked, “How was that?” 

The Crow then told him the following story –

Do What it takes to Achieve Your Goal

In an old abandoned garden lived an old serpent by the name of Mandvish. Being very old it had become too weak to hunt for its food. Often it was found lying near the river looking weak and sluggish. Many frogs also lived in the river and one frog felt curious on seeing the snake lying there day after day.  

So one day it shouted out to the snake from a distance, “Brother how come you are always lying by the river and never go hunting for your food?” Mandvish replied, “Go your way. What will you get by enquiring about me and my sad life?”

The Frog now felt encouraged to ask more, said, “Friend, do share what is your problem”. Mandvish replied, “In the nearby town of Brahmapura lived a brahmin named Kaundinya.  He had a young son of 20 years and I bit him fatally one day as he was roaming nearing the river.  Kaundinya was struck with great grief.  Seeing him mourning for his son, all his relatives gathered around him. As you know, a good relative is one who stands by his relative in challenging or adverse times or in time of famine, or when one is battling with an enemy or when one has to approach authorities for a favour or in times of death in the family.

However, after some time had passed and Kaundinya was still inconsolable, one wise brahmin, Kapila, advised him saying, “Listen dear friend – 

.. All life is transitory, nothing remains the same from the time one is born.  

.. Change is constantly taking place.  

.. All depart from the world at some time or another.  

.. This body wastes away every day like an unbaked pot standing in water.  Each day death approaches one closer and finally death comes to each living being. 

.. Youth, beauty, life, possessions, dignity, company of loved ones are all transitory.  Wise ones are not deluded or fascinated by such things. 

.. While flowing in a river 2 pieces of wood meet and then also separate as they flow with the current.  So also one should treat the relationships with people. Attachments are like thorns in the flesh.

.. Birth is the confirmation of death just like meeting is the confirmation of separation.

.. There is no medicine for a heart cut by the sword of separation.

.. Even the best deeds and the company of the wisest and bravest cannot save one from separation and death.

.. Your grief comes from ignorance.

So, friend, compose yourself and dismiss this sorrow which has taken hold of you. Take up life like the wise who always –

.. Practice virtue and equanimity even in difficult times.

.. Nourish their souls through self restraint, truth, morality and compassion.

.. Prefer to stay away from this world of misery and grief. So society should be shunned but if it cannot be then life must be spent in the company of the good and wise.”

Then, Mandvish said, “Hearing the wise, healing words of Brahmin Kapila, Kaundinya felt enlightened and immediately decided to relinquish the world and roam as a sadhu in search of the ultimate truth. However, before leaving he came and cursed me saying that I will from now be condemned to a life of carrying only frogs”. 

Hearing this story the Frog, immediately decided to inform the Frog-Chief. The Frog-Chief was happy to hear this and went to check if this was true and jumped onto the back of the serpent.  The serpent, as expected, moved along the river carrying the frog on its back and after a long round around the river brought the Frog-Chief back.  The next day, the Frog-Chief again came by to see the serpent and asked why it was again lying there sluggishly.  Mandvish replied, “I have not had food in a long time and so am unable to move today”.  Hearing this the Frog-Chief said, “From today you have permission to eat frogs from the river”.  Getting this permission, Mandvish every day devoured many frogs and when the supply dwindled, he also ate the Frog-Chief.

The Crow now concluded the story saying, “In a similar way I too gained their confidence enough to be able to trick them without any suspicion.  But now, Sir, the time for stories is done. Queen Hiranyagarbh is a very fine ruler and so I suggest that peace be made with her”.

The arrogant King Chitragreev, however, was not willing to take the advice and said, “What kind of advice is this? Having defeated the enemy at war, I want to see this kingdom in servitude to me and to live by my commands.  If they resist then we will wage another war on them”.

In this moment entered one of the king’s informant telling him, “Sir we hear that our kingdom of Jambudweep is under attack from the powerful king Mahabal of Ceylon”.  This news shocked King Chitragreev and he was lost for words.  

The wise Vulture PM who was standing beside the king and had been witnessing his arrogance  was quick to understand what had transpired and  said to himself under his breath, “What a brilliant idea of the wise goose PM of Queen Hiranyagarbh.  Well done wise one”.

King Chitragreev was still under the heady arrogance of his recent victory and said, “Let the King of Ceylon be there till we get back.  We will fight and push him out of our kingdom”.

The Crow again intervened and said, “Sir, we should not claim victory even before knowing the strength of the enemy.  Also it would be unwise to make war with 2 enemies at the same time. Even a fierce and mighty serpent can be destroyed by a swarm of insects. Also, be aware that if you were to leave from here before establishing peace with the Queen there is a great chance that commotion would follow once we turn our backs, to go back to our own kingdom. In this way we will have trouble ahead of us and also behind us.

Moreover, anger cannot give us a solution. Decisions taken in anger can create much regret later like the story of the brahmin and the mongoose”.  The King asked how was that and so he told the following story –

Think Before You Act

In the city of Ujjain lived a Brahmin named Madhu.  One day, his wife left their infant daughter in his care as she had to go out for urgent work.  While at home, Madhu received an urgent message from the rich merchant’s house saying that some prayers had to be conducted and so he should come immediately.  Madhu was confused, thinking how he could leave the daughter alone and go.  But the prayer at the rich merchant’s house would bring him a lot of money as payment for his services so he did not want to leave that opportunity also.  Madhu decided to leave the  daughter alone with his pet mongoose, thinking that the mongoose had lived with the family for many years and was treated like a child of the house so it would take care of their daughter.  Madhu then went away leaving the mongoose and the child at home.  The mongoose while guarding the child spied a snake entering the room.  Promptly it leapt at the snake and in their ensuing struggle killed the snake.  Soon Madhu returned and saw the mongoose with bloodied mouth at the door.  Thinking that it has killed his infant daughter he took a stick and beat it to death.  Upon entering the house he saw his child sleeping and a dead snake lying nearby.  He was overcome with regret and cursed the moment of anger in which he had done little to find out the truth and instead killed the faithful pet.

The crow then concluded his story by saying, “Lust, anger, covetousness, envy, pride, rashness must be forsaken for happiness and wise decision making”.

King Chitragreev rudely replied, “That is what you believe”.

The Crow still held his ground and said, “A good minister to a king always gives a complete description of the situation to his master, is accurate, deliberates with him, is firm and keeps his   counsel, for the king, secret from others.

Also know that success comes to one who acts with deliberateness. Rash acts done without complete considerations of all facts and aspects can only bring misfortune.  Therefore, Sir I still urge you to make peace with the Queen”.

King Hiranyagarbh then asked how peace could be made and the Vulture PM said, “A wicked person is like a mud pot, easy to be broken and impossible to put back.  But a good and wise person is like a gold pot which is hard to break but can be repaired easily.  The Queen and her courtiers are all wise, from what we have seen, so it will not be difficult to make peace with them”.

Having said so, the Vulture PM went out and asked for a messenger to take the message of peace to Queen Hiranyagarbh.

The Queen, in the meantime had already received word from her Heron spy about what had transpired and was ready when the messenger arrived saying that the Vulture PM would be visiting the Queen soon with a message of peace.  

But Queen Hiranyagarbh was still somewhat suspicious of the intentions of King Chitragreev and the Vulture PM.  So she said to her Goose PM, “There could be some further strategy in this message of peace.  What do you think?” 

The Goose PM replied, “I think there is no cause for concern.  From all that we have heard the Vulture PM is a wise and thorough gentleman.  But it is natural for one to be suspicious, as once bitten is twice shy and a child once burned by hot milk is always afraid even of touching even the cold froth of the milk. In my opinion, we should get ready with appropriate presents of jewels etc to welcome him”.

Then on his arrival, Vulture PM was welcomed by the Goose PM respectfully who led him into the court and introduced him to Queen Hiranyagarbh.

After the introductions were over the Vulture PM spoke, “The need for many words is no longer there to explain my proposal. As you understand –

.. the covetous are won by money

.. the arrogant by humility

.. a fool by giving in to all his wishes and 

.. the wise through truth

Further, friends must be won over through display of good nature, relatives through courtesy, servants through gifts and payments, and others through intelligent conversations. 

Now, having made peace, none of the above are required and we should simply focus on starting the process of peace”.

The Goose PM asked, “So how is peace to be made?” The Queen also intervened and asked, “How many types of peace are possible?”

The Vulture PM heard both and said, “The wise and learned ones have said that there are 16 types of peace –

>>Kapala – Is a peace of equals.  Kapala is a skull, both sides of which are equal / identical

>>Upahara – Is a a peace which results from exchange of gifts

>>Santana – The peace which comes out of a marriage between 2 parties

>>Sangata – Sangata means a group.  So this peace comes from alliance based on friendship.  This peace maintains the equal interests of both parties.  It is a peace for life and does not break either in prosperity or adversity.  This peace is as precious as gold

>>Upanyasa – Upanyasa is a deposit or investment.  This peace is accomplished only for profit or profitable investments

>>Pratikara – Pratikara means requital. So peace established through doing of a service with an expectation that the same service will be given by the other in return whenever the need arises. This is the peace that was established between Rama and Sugreeva in the Ramayana.

>>Sanyog – Sanyog means union.  When both parties are united by a common cause or purpose and establish peace for this purpose then such a peace is attained.

>>Purushantara – Purushatara means another person. So when a king/queen leave it to the chief warriors of both sides to establish peace in the best way possible, then it is termed Purushantara. 

>>Adrishtanara – This term means the disregarded or ignored person or party.  This peace is established when one party’s the interests are wholly served and nothing is demanded in return by the other party.

>>Adishta – When a portion of one’s territory is assigned or given up to the other party to establish peace.

>>Atmadishta – When peace is declared by one party in the interest of preservation of life. 

>>Upagraha – When peace is made after giving up everything to the other party.

>>Parikraya – This means to buy off.  When the enemy party is given treasures to save what can be saved.

>>Uchchhinna – This is achieved through the giving up of the most fertile lands.

>>Parabhushana – This is achieved when the rights to all the produce in a certain portion of the kingdom is given up to the other party.

>>Skandhopaneya – When the fruits reaped on birth sides are equally shared among all

Further, it is also important to know that there are 4 types of Alliances.  These are – Mutual Assistance, Friendship, Relationship, Upahara.  I only approve of Upahara as an alliance.  The other 3 are bereft of true friendship and depend on some material gain between the 2 parties. Upahara means complimentary presents and this is what establishes strong bonds between 2 parties.

Having heard the Vulture PMs deep knowledge of peace and alliances, the Queen said, “Great Scholar, you have made us knowledgeable today.  Now do proceed to let us know what needs to be done to establish peace between our two kingdoms.

Then the Vulture PM relied, “Let us establish a golden era of peace today, between the two kingdoms.  Let this peace, however, be preceded by the oath of truth.  There is no greater virtue than truth so let that always prevail between the 2 sides”.

The Goose PM also agreed and gave his word to the Vulture PM.  The Vulture PM was then presented with several gifts by the Queen.

After this, the 2 PMs returned to the court of King Chitragreev where they both paid their respects to the King and gifts were exchanged. Then the army of King Chitragreev left for their own kingdom, having established peace and friendship.

Vishnusarman turned to the Princes and said, “Now what more can I tell you?”

The Princes replied, “Sir, you have shared with us every aspect of how to rule a kingdom well.  It has been an enjoyable and knowledgeable time with you.  So we feel delighted and grateful for the deep knowledge you have shared with us”.

Vishnusarman then blessed them saying, “Let peace and happiness always prevail for all of you. May the good in your kingdom be free from misfortune! May the fortune of those who perform good deeds increase! May polity, be for you like a special lover, always providing deep satisfaction and joy. And may there always be joys and festivities under your rule!

>>>End of Hitopadesa<<<