Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 100

Meaning

Śrī Rāma beheld Bharata fallen on the ground with folded hands, wearing matted locks on his head, clad in bark and as such painful to the sight like the sun at the time of universal destruction coming at the end of a cycle. (1)

Meaning

Anyhow recognizing his younger brother, Bharata, pale-faced and emaciated as he was, Śrī Rāma lifted him up with his hand. (2)

Meaning

Smelling the head of Bharata as a token of affection and embracing the scion of Raghu, nay, placing him on his lap, Śrī Rāma tenderly questioned him as follows : (3)

Meaning

“Where, I wonder, has our father gone, my darling, that you have come all the way to the forest, leaving him alone? So long as he is alive, you ought not to have come to the forest under any circumstances. (4)

Meaning

“I am glad I behold after a long time Bharata, though difficult to recognize because of his pale countenance and emaciated limbs, come to this forest from a distant land (the home of his maternal grandfather). How have you come to the forest, my darling? (5)

Meaning

“Does the king, our father, survive, I ask you, that you have come to this place? I hope the miserable king has not departed to the other world all of a sudden. (6)

Meaning

“I hope, O gentle brother, your sovereignty, which has come down from eternity, has not been lost, tender of age as you are? Are you rendering service to our father, my darling of unfailing prowess?(7)

Meaning

“Is King Daśaratha, our father, who is true to his promise and has performed a number of Rājasūya and Aśwamedha sacrifices, and who is resolute upon righteousness, enjoying good health? (8)

Meaning

“Is the celebrated Vasiṣṭha, the preceptor of the Ikṣwākus, who has realized Brahma, or is a mind-born son of Brahmā, is learned in all the branches of knowledge, ever devoted to virtue and possessed of great splendour, duly honoured by you, my darling? (9)

Meaning

“Is Kausalyā as well as Sumitrā, who is blessed with good progeny, happy? I hope the glorious mother Kaikeyī too is rejoicing (because of my exile and Your ascension to the throne of Ayodhyā). (10)

Meaning

“Is your personal priest a son of Vasiṣṭha, who is rich in humility, born of a noble pedigree, a man of extensive learning, free from spite and skilled in all pious and sacred rites—treated with honour by you? (11)

Meaning

“Does the priest, employed by you to look after the sacred fires, who is well-versed in the procedure of conducting sacrificial performances, is endowed with intelligence and guileless of disposition, invariably inform you in time about a sacred fire having already been or going to be fed with oblations? (12)

Meaning

“Do you hold in high esteem gods and manes, dependants, elders, kinsmen of your father’s age, the aged, the physicians as well as the Brāhmaṇas, my darling? (13)

Meaning

“Do you respect Sudhanvā, your teacher of the science of archery, who is equipped with knowledge relating to the use of excellent arrows discharged without uttering spells and missiles propelled with the utterance of spells and well-versed in political economy? (14)

Meaning

“I hope counsellors who are valiant like you and full of learning, have controlled their senses, are born of a high pedigree and know the meaning of signs, have been secured by you, my darling ! (15)

Meaning

“A secret well-guarded by ministers who are the foremost counsellors and well-versed in politics is the root of victory of kings, O scion of Raghu ! (16)

Meaning

“I hope you do not fall a prey to excess of sleep and wake betimes. And do you contemplate during the late hours of the night on the methods of acquiring wealth?(17)

Meaning

“I hope you do not deliberate alone without consulting anyone nor do you take counsel with many. I hope the decision arrived at by you through deliberation with your counsellors does not reach the public before it is carried out. (18)

Meaning

“I hope, considering your interest fully, you launch an enterprise betimes with a modest beginning but pregnant with great potentialities, and do not defer it, O scion of Raghu? (19)

Meaning

“I hope your vassals actually know of all your projects only when they have been duly carried out or at least well-nigh carried out and not so long as they are yet to be carried out. (20)

Meaning

“I hope your deliberations, which have not been proclaimed are not known to others through surmises or reasoning and the deliberations of others are known (before they materialize) by yourself or by your ministers. (21)

Meaning

“I hope you prefer one learned man to thousands of fools inasmuch as a learned man is calculated to do immense good in financial crises. (22)

Meaning

“If a king maintains thousands or even tens of thousands of fools, no assistance can be expected from them in times of need. (23)

Meaning

“Even one minister who is talented, valiant, clever and well-versed in politics can bring a large fortune to a king or prince. (24)

Meaning

“I hope high-class servants are entrusted by you with important duties, middling ones with second-rate affairs and third-grade servants with menial duties, my darling! (25)

Meaning

“I hope you entrust first-rate ministers, who are past all tests of loyalty, are hereditary servants of the crown and honest, with the highest duties. (26)

Meaning

“I hope, sore agitated by stern rule, the people in your state do not show disrespect to your ministers, O son of Kaikeyī? (27)

Meaning

“I hope priests conducting sacrifices for the benefit of others do not disregard you (by refusing to officiate at your sacrifices) as they would a fallen man or even as matrons would despise their own husband who had taken to wife a lowborn woman and was excessively fond of her. (28)

Meaning

“He who does not get rid of a physician adept in devices of aggravating a malady, a servant intent on bringing disgrace (to his master) and a gallant warrior seeking kingly power is himself killed by these. (29)

Meaning

“I hope a man, who is ever pleased and full of resolution, gallant and talented, spotless of character and well-born, devoted and clever, has been appointed by you as the generalissimo? (30)

Meaning

“Have the foremost of your heroic warriors, who are possessed of might and skilled in warfare, and whose prowess has been treated with honour by you, after being politely received? (31)

Meaning

“I hope you distribute daily provisions and disburse the monthly salary due to them at the opportune time in a suitable manner and do not defer their payment. (32)

Meaning

“Salaried servants surely and positively get enraged even at their master when the distribution of their provisions and the disbursal of their salary are delayed and that itself is a very great harm done to the State. (33)

Meaning

“I hope all the principal members of your race, the Kṣatriyas, are devoted to you? And do they devoutly and cheerfully lay down their lives for your sake? (34)

Meaning

“Has a man of your own state, who is learned, clever, ready-witted and capable of delivering messages correctly, nay, who is able to distinguish between right and wrong, been appointed by you as an ambassador, O Bharata? (35)

Meaning

“Do you keep an eye on the eighteen functionaries* of the enemies and the fiteen functionaries of your own side through three unknown spies told off for each? (36)

Meaning

“I hope you remain ever mindful of your enemies expelled from their home by you and since returned, even though they are apparently weak, O destroyer of foes ! (37)

Meaning

“I hope you do not patronize atheistic Brāhmaṇs; O dear brother: for, ignorant and conceited as they are, they are skilled only in perverting the mind and thereby diverting people from the righteous path. (38)

Meaning

“Banking solely on their logical acumen, these men of perverted intellect preach nonsense even in the presence of foremost books on Dharma (piety). (39)

Meaning

“I hope you protect on all sides the prosperous city of Ayodhyā, rightly so-called because of its being unassailable, which has been occupied in the past, O dear brother, by our heroic forbears, which is provided with strong gates and remains crowded with elephants, horses and chariots, which is inhabited in thousands by noble Brāhmaṇas (members of the priestly class), Kṣatriyas (members of the warrior class) and Vaiśyas (members of the agriculturist and trading classes)—who are ever devoted to their respective duties, have subdued their senses and are full of great zeal—nay, which is crowded with palatial buildings of various patterns and is thronged with learned men and full of highly contented people. (40—42)

Meaning

“I hope the kingdom of Ayodhyā—which is overspread with hundreds of altars constructed for sacrificial performances and crowded with well-established men, which is adorned with temples, sheds where water is stocked for free distribution to passers-by and tanks, and peopled with highly delighted men and women, which is graced by social festivities and is full of well-cultivated fields and abounds in cattle, which is totally free from violence and does not depend exclusively on rains for its agricultural products, which is charming in point of topography and is purged of beasts of prey, which is completely rid of all fears and is studded with mines, nay, which is bereft of sinful men and was well-protected by our forbears—is prosperous and faring well, O scion of Raghu ! (43—46)

Meaning

“I hope the Vaiśyas, who live by agriculture and rearing the bovine race, are all loved by you. Are these people, depending as they do on the vocation of a Vaiśya, viz., trade, agriculture and breeding of cattle, thriving well at present, O dear brother? (47)

Meaning

“I hope protection has been afforded by you to them by making available to them the objects desired by them and warding off evil; for all the inhabitants of one’s land deserve to be protected righteously by a king. (48)

Meaning

“Do you keep your womenfolk pacified? Are they duly protected by you? I hope you do not repose excessive faith in them and do not confide your secrets to them. (49)

Meaning

“Are the forests which are the home of elephants preserved by you? Are milch cows in abundance with you? I hope you do not feel satisfied with the existing number of female elephants, horses and elephants owned by you. (50)

Meaning

“Getting up regularly everyday do you show yourself well-adorned to the people in the assembly hall in the forenoon, O prince? (51)

Meaning

“I hope all your workmen do not appear unhesitatingly before you nor are they kept altogether out of your sight. In fact, a middle course is undoubtedly profitable in this behalf. (52)

Meaning

“Are all your fortifications fully supplied with wealth and provisions, arms and water, mechanical contrivances and equipped with artisans and bowmen? (53)

Meaning

“Is your income sufficiently large to meet your expenses and your expenditure comparatively less? I hope your wealth does not go to undeserving men, O scion of Raghu! (54)

Meaning

“I further hope your wealth is expended exclusively in the cause of gods and manes as well as over the Brāhmaṇas and unexpected visitors, warriors and hosts of friends. (55)

Meaning

“I hope no pious soul, who is pure of mind and sinless, is convicted from greed, when charged with some offence, though not found guilty by those well-versed in law-books. (56)

Meaning

“I hope no thief who has been detected at the time of theft and apprehended on sufficient ground and also questioned and found guilty is released on account of greed of wealth, O jewel among men ! (57)

Meaning

“In an unhappy contention between an affluent and a financially feeble man, O scion of Raghu, do your ministers of vast learning judge the case impartially? (58)

Meaning

“The tears that drop from the eyes of men falsely convicted, O scion of Raghu, destroy the sons and cattle of a king who rules the people merely for the sake of pleasure, caring little for equity and justice. (59)

Meaning

“Do you seek, O scion of Raghu, to win over the elders, children and foremost physicians by the following three means, viz., gifts, a loving mind and polite words? (60)

Meaning

“Do you greet your teachers and elders, ascetics, deities and unexpected visitors as well as all the trees standing at crossroads and believed to be the abode of gods and Brāhmaṇas who have achieved the object of their life through their learning, character and austerities? (61)

Meaning

“I hope you do not cause interruption in your religious practices by your excessive devotion to wealth and devoting the morning hours and forenoon to the pursuit of wealth and other secular interests, nor do you mar your earthly interests by your over-emphasis on religion (and allowing your religious duties to encroach upon the midday hours and afternoon reserved for the pursuit of wealth and other secular interests) nor do you mar both your religious and secular interests by your self-indulgence in the form of avidity for gratification of the senses. (62)

Meaning

“Do you pursue all the three objects of human pursuit, viz., wealth and the delights of sense and religion only during the hours allotted to each,* O bestower of boons, * Our Smṛti texts enjoin the pursuit of religion during the morning hours and forenoon, the pursuit dividing them according to time, O jewel among the victorious, knowing as you do the time appropriate for each? (63)

Meaning

“Do the Brāhmaṇas that have thoroughly grasped the meaning of all the scriptures pray for your welfare alongwith the citizens of Ayodhyā and the people of the countryside, O exceptionally wise prince? (64)

Meaning

“Do you abjure the following fourteen failings of kings, viz., disbelief in the other world, mendacity (through greed etc.,) anger, neglect of kingly duties, procrastination, shunning the wise, sloth, thraldom of the five senses, devoting thought to the affairs of the State without seeking the advice of others (ministers etc.,) taking counsel with those of perverted insight, failure to launch projects already decided upon, failure to keep secrets, failure to utter auspicious words at the beginning of every undertaking and rising from one’s seat indiscriminately to receive all who happen to approach him? (65—67)

Meaning

“I hope you deal properly after knowing them in reality with the well-known ten evils born of concupiscence, the five kinds of fortifications, the four expedients recommended for kings, the seven important limbs of a state, the eight evils born of anger or the eight measures conducive to the welfare of a state, the three worldly objects of human pursuit, viz., religious merit, material wealth and sensuous enjoyment, or the three kinds of power (viz., energy or उत्साहशक्ति, the power of dominion or प्रभुशक्ति and the power of counsel or मन्त्रनाशक्ति), the three branches of learning (viz., the three Vedas or त्रयी, the knowledge relating to agriculture, commerce and other vocational pursuits or वार्ता and political science or दण्डनीति), subjugation of the senses, the six strategic expedients (viz., coming to terms with the enemy—संधि, waging war against him—विग्रह, marching against him—यानम्, biding one’s time to seek a favourable opportunity—आसनम्, causing dissension in the enemy’s ranks—द्वैधम् and seeking the protection of a powerful ally—आश्रय ; adversity brought about by divine agencies such as fire, water in the shape of excessive rains or floods, epidemic or endemic diseases, famine and pestilence, and by human agencies such as officials, thieves, enemies, a king’s favourites and the king himself when actuated by greed ; the stern duty of a king as dictated by policy, such as to win over enemy’s men whose emoluments have been withheld, who are greedy or haughty, who have suffered indignity at his hands, who are irate or have been provoked by him for no reason, who are afraid or have been intimidated, the following twenty types of monarchs who are not worth negotiating with, viz., 1. a king who is yet a child, or 2. aged, 3. who has been ailing for a long time, 4. who has been ostracised by his own kith and kin, 5. who is pusillanimous, or 6. is surrounded by cowards, 7. who is greedy, or 8. has greedy associates, 9. who has estranged his ministers and others, 10. who is extremely voluptuous, 11. who confers with fickle-minded persons, 12. who speaks ill of divine beings and Brāhmaṇas, 13. who is ill-fated and 14. a fatalist, 15. who is afflicted by famine, and 16. by military reverses, 17. who mostly remains away from home, 18. who has numerous enemies, 19. who is in the clutches of adverse times, and 20. who is not devoted to truth and piety*; the entire population of the State; setting forth on an expedition for conquest against an enemy; drawing up an army in battle-array; coming to terms with an enemy and waging war against him, the first of which serves as a ground for the two policies of duplicity and seeking the protection of a powerful enemy, while the other serves as a ground for the other two policies of marching against the enemy and biding time to seek a favourable opportunity to march against an enemy, O highly intelligent scion of Raghu ! (68—70)

Meaning

“Do you hold consultation in accordance with scriptural injunctions with only four or three selected counsellors collectively or severally to guard against a split among them and to prevent the secrets from leaking out, O wise one? (71)

Meaning

“Has your study of the Vedas borne fruit in the shape of moulding your conduct according to their injunctions? Are your undertakings fruitful? Has your spouse given birth to offspring? Has your learning borne fruit in the shape of culture and humility? (72)

Meaning

“I hope your conclusion is precisely the same as mine, which has been set forth in the foregoing verses, O scion of Raghu, and which is conducive to longevity and fame and is attended with religious merit, enjoyment and wealth. (73)

Meaning

“Do you follow the way of life which our father treads and which our forbears trod, nay, which is in accord with the way of the virtuous and which is righteous in itself? (74)

Meaning

“I hope you do not partake by yourself of food nicely cooked. I hope you offer it to friends who seek it. (75)

Meaning

“Having obtained as his share, and ruled in the right way over the entire globe, a wise Kṣatriya holds sway over the earth and administering justice to the people quite in consonance with righteousness surely ascends to heaven when detached from this mortal body.” (76)