Page:The Kural or The Maxims Of Tiruvalluvar.pdf/36

 that if he does good he will have laid by a treasure which will be a blessing to him whenever and wherever he happens to live his next birth ?

The author takes up the question of Politics in the second Part of the book. The fact that this part is about twice the size of the first and thrice that of the third shows what importance the sage gives to politics in his scheme of life. The giving of the title of Wealth to this subject is no new invention of Tiruvalluvar. Already Kauṭilya had written his immortal treatise on politics and called it the Arthashâstra or treatise on wealth. But even he is not the inventor of this nomenclature, for it is at least as old as the Mahâbhârata. The underlying idea seems to be that wealth cannot be amassed or enjoyed in security except under a stable and well-ordered government. For "the condition of the rich man is more galling than that of the poor under the rule of the tyrant prince (558)." Of course the vast majority of the rules that are laid down for the guidance of the prince and the minister apply Rh