Prajagara Parva — The principles of morality explained by Vidura

Dhritarashtra said Tell me what you think ought to be done by a sleepless man and burning (with anxiety); you alone among us, are accomplished, both in the codes of morality and policy.

Tell me, O Vidura, as suits the occasion, after exercising your wisdom, all that you consider to be beneficial for Ajatashatru; tell speak also what conduces to the good of the Kurus.

Committing sin and looking back on my misdeeds, I ask you with anxious heart, O wise one, all that is the mind of Ajatashatru.

Vidura said Good or bad, agreeable or disagreeable should one speak out, though unasked, to one whose downfall he dose not wish.

Therefore shall I say to you, O king, what is good for the Kurus, listen to me, (while I am) speaking words that are conducive to your interests and consistent with morality.

The misdeeds, that are attainable only by dishonest means, do not set your mind on, O Bharata.

If an object cannot be attained, O king, even with-proper means, an intelligent man dose not distress his mind about it.

The reasons of an act and its result should be carefully considered before it is done without due deliberation.

A wise man dose or dose not do an act after reflecting on the reasons of act and its results if done, as also the energy of his own self.

One (a king) who dose not know the measure of his territory, population and punishment, continue in (the enjoyment of) his kingdom.

He who knows these prescribed in books) is versed in the sciene of morality and earthly good and retains his kingdom.

One (a king) should not live a haughty life considering that he was already obtained a kingdom, for haughtiness destroys kingly prosperity, as old age (destroys) good appearance. measures as

A fish out of greediness dose not think about the result of an action and swallows up the iron hook concealed in a dainty morsel.

One who desire prosperity, should swallow only that which can be swallowed and which, being swallowed, can be digested and may contribute to benefit in the end.

He who plucks unripe fruits from tress, dose not get juice out of it; and moreover he destroys the seed.

And he, who gets ripe fruit in the proper season, gets the juice of the fruits well as other fruits reproduced from the seeds.

As the bees suck honey without injuring the flowers, so should wealth be taken from men (by king) without injuring them.

Carefully plucking the flowers, one should not hurt the roots of the plants, like a maker of garlands in garden in a garden and not like a seller of charcoal.

Having carefully considered what will befall me after doing an act or not doing it, a man should do things or not do them.

Acts should not be commenced, which cannot be done for certain and which, if commenced, render the exertions of a man fruitless.

Whose favour is useless and whose ire is impotent, the people do not wish that sort of man for a lord; as a woman dose not wise an impotent man to be her husband.

A wise man dose not wait, but quickly commences doing such acts, as involve little labour but produce great results.

He (the king) who looks affectionately, as if drinking with his eyes, on all, though only sitting without any exertion-can inspire affection in all his subjects.

If a tree is full of blossoms though the king look affectionately on this let it not be fruitful; and if it is fruitful let the tree be inaccessible; and if the fruits are unripe let them appear as ripe. A king, who acts thus, is never weakened.

Society favours him, who pleases all in four ways viz., by the eyes, by the mind, by words and by the act.

He, whom all creatures dread as deer fear the hunter, loses it in the end even after acquiring the earth (for his kingdom) having the sea round it.

He (the king), who is addicted to unfairness, destroys by his own acts the kingdom inherited from his father and grandfather; even as the wind scatters away the clothing them.

The earth full of wealth increases the worldly prosperity of the king who practices virtue followed by good men from the ancient time.

Again, the territories, that of king who leaving virtue practices unrighteousness, contract like a piece of leather thrown into the fire.

The care, that is bestowed on despoiling another of his kingdom, should be spent in protecting one's own kingdom.

By means of virtue should a kingdom be attained; and by means of virtue should it be governed. The kingly prosperity, that has virtue for its basis, is never lost, nor it flies away.

Enlightenment should be sought for from everything-even from the leavings of a lunatic and the prattles of a child, as gold from stones.

A wise man should live, picking out good manners, good sayings and good deeds, even as one given up to the Shila mode of life picks grains of corn from the field.

King see by means of smell, Brahmanas see by means of the Vedas, kings see by means of scouts and other people through eyes.

The cow that is difficult to milk gets great trouble; but one that is easy to milk, O king, gets nothing.

That which bends without being heated is not heated at all; the wood that bends of itself is never heated.

Following this example, a wise man should bend to one stronger than himself and he who bends before the stronger bows down to Indra himself.

Creatures depend on clouds; kings have the counsellors for their friends; husbands are the friends of women and the Brahmanas have the Vedas for their friends.

Virtue is preserved by truthfulness; learning is preserved by exercise; beauty is preserved by toilet; and noble birth is preserved by good manners.

Corn is preserves by measure exercise preserves steeds; strict and constant supervision preserves horses; and women is preserved by ragged garments.

It is my opinion that noble birth in one who is not of good behaviours dose not mean virtue; and that good manners in one born low should command respect.

He who is envious of other people's wealth, beauty, prowess, good birth, happiness, luck and reward, suffers a disease which has no cure.

He by whom is feared the doing of improper acts or the omission of proper acts or the premature disclosure of his intentions, should not drink that which inebriates.

Pride of learning, pride of wealth, pride of connections the pride in these the good people should restrain.

Bad people, asked by honest ones to do something for them, consider themselves as honest after doing very doing very little of that, even though they are well-known to be dishonest.

The righteous are their own refuge and that of other righteous men. The righteous, too are the refuge of the unrighteous; and the unrighteous are never the refuge of the righteous.

In (a debate in) an assembly, he who is well dressed, comes off victorious, he who is owner of king triumphs over the desire to eat sweets; and the road is triumphed over by one who has conveyances; and everything is subjugated by one of good behaviour.

Good manner is the prime thing in a man; and he that has not got it in this life gains nothing by life, by wealth or by friends.

O bull of the race of Bharata, flesh is the chief food of the rich, milk that of the middle classes and oil that of the poor.

The poor however ever take the most delicious food; for hunger imparts sweetness of taste to it; it (hunger) is ever rare among the opulent.

In this, world the opulent mostly have no capacity, for eating, whiled O Lord of the earth, pieces of wood are digested by the poor.

Loss of livelihood is feared by men of the lower classes; death is feared by the middle classes and insult is greatly feared by good men.

The devils who are proud of their wealth are worse than those intoxicated with wine; for he, who is intoxicated with the pride of wealth, is not brought to his senses unless he meet with the reverse.

This world is affected by the senses directed to their own objects without any control in the same was as stars (are affected by the planets).

In the life of one, who is subjugated by the five senses in their natural state ever impelling him towards action, calamities ever increase like the moon after the new moon.

He who desires to bring his advisers under control without controlling himself, who desires to control his enemies without controlling his advisers, at last yields, deprived of strength.

He, therefore, who brings himself first under control thinking that his senses are his prime enemies, in the end subjugates as a matter of certainty, his advisers and his enemies.

Great prosperity comes up on him who has controlled his senses or subjugated himself and who can hold the rod (of punishment) against all offenders without partiality and who acts with circumspection and who is patient.

The body of a man, O king, is like the car; the soul, the driver; and the senses, the horses, Drawn by those excellent steeds when well trained, he that is wise and patient performs the journey in peace.

These (the senses) when untrained lead one to destruction; in the same way the untrained horses lead the unskillful drivers (to destruction.)

The inexperienced man, who wants to select evil from good and good from evil with the aid of his senses which he has not mastered, considers great misery to be happiness.

He, who having forsaken both virtue and worldly gains, the follows, the lead of his senses, very soon comes to lose prosperity, life wealth and wife.

The lord of riches, who is a slave of his senses, loses his riches through his want of control over the senses.

A man should try to see and know nimself by mastering his mind, intelligence and senses; for, he himself is his own friend and himself is his enemy.

He, by whom self has been subjugated by self and has himself for his friend; for himself is ever his friend and himself is ever his enemy.

In the same way, as a big fish breaks through a net of thin chords, so, O king, desire and anger cast wisdom in the shade.

He, who having paid due regard to virtue and worldly gains seeks the acquirement of success, gets what he wants and ever is in happiness.

He, who without subjugating the five enemies within that have their origin in the mind, desires to subdue other enemies, is vanquished by these enemies.

Instances are seen in which noble hearted kings, out of lust of territory, are destroyed by acts sorely through the want of control over their senses.

Equal punishment overtakes the sinless with the sinful, when these two constantly associate; even as the wet fuel burns with the dry. Therefore friendship should not be established with the sinful.

Misery overtakes the man, who dose not subdue his five soaring foes out of ignorance which have five different objects.

Guilelessness, simplicity, sanctity. contentment, sweetness of speech, self-control, truthfulness and steadiness are never the attributes of the wicked.

Spiritual knowledge steadiness, patience, constancy in virtue, secret counsels and charity-these are not to be found in men of the lower, Odescendant of Bharata.

The ignorant seek to injure the wise by malice back-biting; and the speaker takes upon himself the load of his (wise man's) sins, which he (the wise man) casts off by forgiving the ignorant.

Malice is the strength of the unrighteous; the penal code is the strength of the kings; ministration to the sick is the strength of women; and forgiveness is the strength of the virtuous.

The control over speech, O lord of men, is thought to be most difficult; and it is not possible to speak much full of meaning in an entertaining way.

Words spoken sweetly bring on several of the blessings; and the same (words) spoken harshly, O king generate evils.

A forest, pierced by arrows or cut down by scythes, grows again; but the heart pierced with words, harsh and rude, never recovers.

Arrows and darts can be extracted from the body; but the darts of words cannot be extracted from the depth of the heart.

Arrows of words are shot from the mouth, wounded by which one grieves night and day; for they touch the innermost recesses of the hearts of others? Therefore a wise man should not fling on others.

That man, to whom defeat has been sent by the gods, has his senses lost; and, therefore, he does stoop to mean acts.

On intellect becoming dim and on the approach of ruin, wrong, in the disguise of right, dose not remove from the mind.

The dim intellect has overpowered your son, O bull of Bharata race; same now you do not clearly see it owing to your enmity against the Pandavas.

A king with auspicious marks and the ruler of the three worlds, Yudhishthira waits on your commands, O Dhritarashtra; let him be the ruler of the earth.

Endue with good qualities; he is, to the exclusion of all your sons, the fore-most among your heirs; he is endued with energy and wisdom and versed both in the codes of morality and earthly good. Out of kindness and simplicity that chief among virtuous men has patiently borne many a trouble in order to uphold your story.