The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa - Khamkoo

counsels secret? What, indeed, should that king do whose cities and kingdom
have been partitioned and appropriated by foes, who is divested of wealth, who
is incapable (through such poverty) of honouring his friends and attaching them
to himself, whose ministers are disunited or bought over by his enemies, who is
obliged to stand in the face of foes, whose army has dwindled away, and whose
heart has been agitated by some strong enemy?‟
“Bhishma said, „If the invading enemy be of pure heart and if he be conversant
with both morality and profit, a king of the kind you have indicated should, with no
loss of time, make peace with the invader and bring about the restoration of
those portions of the kingdom that have already been conquered. If, again, the
invader be strong and sinful and seek to obtain victory by unrighteous means, the
king should make peace with him, too, by abandoning a portion of his territories.
If the invader be unwilling to make peace, the king should then abandon his very
capital and all his possessions for escaping from danger. If he can save his life
he may hope for similar acquisitions in future. What man conversant with morality
is there that would sacrifice his own self, which is a more valuable possession,
for encountering that danger from which escape can be had by the abandonment
of his treasury and army? A king should protect the ladies of his household. If
these fall into the hands of the enemy, he should not show any compassion for
them (by incurring the risk of his own arrest in delivering them). As long as it is in
his power, he should never surrender his own self to the enemy.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „When his own people are dissatisfied with him, when he is
oppressed by invaders, when his treasury is exhausted, and when his counsels
are divulged, what should the king then do?‟
“Bhishma said, „A king, under such circumstances, should (if his enemy be
righteous) seek to make peace with him. If the enemy be unrighteous, he should
then put forth his valour. He should, by such means, seek to cause the foe to
withdraw from his kingdom; or fighting bravely, he should lay down his life and
ascend to heaven. A king can conquer the whole earth with the help of even a
small force if that force be loyal, cheerful, and devoted to his good. If slain in
battle, he is sure to ascend to heaven. If he succeeds in slaying (his enemies),
he is sure to enjoy the earth. By laying down one‟s life in battle, one obtains the
companionship of Indra himself.‟”
SECTION CXXXII
“Yudhishthira said, „When practices fraught with high morality and beneficial to
the world, (viz., those that appertain to righteous rule) disappear, when all the
means and resources for the support of life fall into the hands of robbers, when,
indeed, such a calamitous time sets in, by what means should a Brahmana, O
grandsire, who from affection is unable to desert his sons and grandsons,
subsist?‟
Mahabharta of Krishna Dwipayana Vyasa, translated to English by Kesarimohan Ganguli
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