Page:The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (Volume 4).pdf/17

VIRATA PARVA 7 brothers when they happen to tamper with their dignity. Kings should be served with regardful care, even as Agni or and other god ; and he that is disloyal to his sovereign, is certainly destroyed by him. Re-nouncing anger and pride, and negligence, it behoveth a man to follow the course directed by the monarch. After carefully deliberating on all things, a person should set forth before the king those topics that are both profitable and pleasant ; but should a subject be profitable without being pleasant, he should still communicate it, despite its disagreeableness. It behoveth a man to be well disposed towards the king in all his interests, and not to indulge in speech that is alike unpleasant and profitless. Always thinking—I am not lilted by the king—one should banish negligence, and be intent on bringing about what is agreeable and advantageous to him. He that swerveth not from his place, he that is not friendly to those that are hostile to the king, he that striveth not to do wrong to the king, is alone worthy to dwell in a royal household. A learned man should sit either on the king's right or the left ; he should not sit behind him for that is the place appointed for armed guards, and to sit before him is always interdicted. Let none, when the king is engaged in doing anything (in respect of his servants) come forward pressing himself zealously before others, for even if the aggrieved be very poor, such conduct would still be inexcusable (1). It behoveth no man to reveal to others any lie the king may have told inasmuch as the king bears ill will to those that report his falsehoods. Kings also always dis-regard persons that regard themselves as learned. No man should be proud thinking—I am brave, or, I am intelligent, but a person obtains the good graces of a king and enjoys the good things of life, by behaving agreeably to the wishes of the king. And, O Bharata, obtaining things agreeable, and wealth also which is so hard to acquire, a person should always do what is profitable as well as pleasant to the king. What man that is respected by the wise can even think of doing mischief to one whose ire is great impediment and whose favour is productive of mighty fruits ? No one should move his lips, arms and thighs, before the king. A person should speak and spit before the king only mildly. In the presence of even laughable objects, a man should not break out into loud laughter, like a maniac ; nor should one show (unreasonable) gravity by containing himself to the utmost. One should smile modestly, to show

1 This is very difficult sloka. Nilakantha adopts the reading Sanjayet. The Bengal editions read Sanjapet. If the latter be the correct reading, the meaning then would be. "Let none talk about what transpires in the presence of the king. For those even that are poor, regard it as a grave fault." The sense evidently is that the occurences in respect of a king which one witnesses should not be divulged. Even they that are powerless regard such divulgence of what occurs in respect of them as an insult to them, and, therefore, inexcusable.—T.