Apaddharmanushasana Parva — The duties of a king when sin prevails in his kingdom

Yudhishthira said “When virtue is deteriorated and is transgressed by all, when sin is considered as virtue, and virtue become vice, when all healthy restraints are washed a way, and all truths regarding righteousness are disturbed and confounded, when people are oppressed by kings and robbers, when men of all the four modes of life become stupefied about their duties, and all works are shorn of merit, when men see cause of fear on all sides for lust and covetousness and folly, when all creatures cease to trust one another, when they kill one another by deceitful means and impose upon one another, when houses are consumed throughout the country, when the Brahmanas are greatly assailed, when the clouds do not discharge a drop of rain, when every one's hand is turned against his neighbour, when all the necessaries of life are misappropriated by robbers, when, indeed, such a season of dreadful distress sets in by what means should a Brahmana live who is reluctant to renounce mercy and his children? How, indeed, should a Brahmana maintain himself at such a time? Tell me this, O grandfather! How also should the king live at such a time when iniquity possess the world? How, O scorcher of enemies, should the king live so that he might not deviate from both virtue and profit.

'O mighty-armed one, the peace and prosperity of subjects, profuse and seasonable rain, disease, death, and other calamities, all depend on the king.

I have no doubt also in this, O foremost of Bharata's race, that the setting of Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali, all depend on the king's conduct.

When such a time of calamity as has been described by you sets in, virtuous men should support themselves by the help of judgement.

Regarding it is cited the old story of the conversation between Vishvamitra and the Chandala in a village of Chandalas.

Towards the end of Treta and the commencement of Dvapara, a dreadful drought took place, extending for twelve years, in consequence of what the gods had ordained.

At that time which was the end of Treta and the commencement of Dvapara, when the time came for many sufficiently old creatures to give up their lives, the thousand-eyed god poured no rain. The planet Brihaspati began to move in the opposite course, and Soma, giving up his own orbit, receded towards the south.

Not even could a dew-drop be seen, what to speak of the gathering clouds? The rivers were all reduced into narrow streamlets.

Everywhere, lakes, well and springs disappeared and lost their beauty for that change brought about by the gods.

Water becoming scarce, the places for the distribution of charities became desolate. The Brahmanas abstained from the celebration of sacrifices and recitation of the Vedas. They did no longer utter Vashats and performed other propitiatory rites.

Agriculture and tending of cattle were given up. Markets and shops were abandoned. Stakes for binding sacrificial animals disappeared. People no longer collected various sorts of articles for sacrifices. All festivals and amusements died.

Everywhere heaps of bones were seen and every place was filled with the shrill cries and yells of terrific creatures. The cities and towns of the Earth were shorn of inhabitants. Villages and hamlets were burnt down.

Some assailed by robbers, some, by weapons and some, by bad kings, and in fear of one another, began to fly away.

Temples and places of worship became desolate. The aged were forcibly turned out of their houses. Kine, goats, sheep and buffaloes fought (for food) and died in large numbers. The Brahmanas began to die on all sides.

Protection was at an end. Herbs and plants were dried up. The Earth was divested of all her beauty and looked highly awful like the trees in a crematorium.

In that dreadful period, when righteousness was lost, O Yudhishthira, men in hunger, lost their senses and began to eat one another.

The very Rishis, giving up their vows and their fires and deities, and deserting their forest-retreats, began to walk about in quest of food.

The holy and great Rishi Vishvamitra, endued with great intelligence, wandered homeless and stricken with hunger.

Leaving his wife and son in some place of shelter, the Rishi walked about, fireless and homeless, without caring for pure or impure food.

One day he arrived at a hamlet, in the midst of a forest, inhabited by cruel hunters given to the destruction of living creatures.

The little hamlet was filled with broken jars, and pots made of earth. Dog-skins were seen here and there. Heaps of bones and skulls, of boars and asses, lay in various places.

Clothes of the dead lay here and there, and the huts were adorned with garlands of used up flowers. Many of the denizens again were dressed with sloughs cast off by snakes.

The place was resonant with the loud crowing of cocks and hens and the discordant bray of asses. The inhabitants quarrelled with one another, uttering harsh words in shrill voices.

There were temples of gods on all sides bearing emblems of owls and other birds. Resounding with the sound of iron bells, the hamlet was filled with dogs standing or lying on every side.

Stricken with hunger and engaged in search after food, the great Rishi Vishvamitra entered that hamlet and tried his level best to find something to eat.

Though the son of Kushila begged again and again, yet he could not get any meat or rice or fruit or root or any other kind of food.

The then, exclaiming-Alas, great is my suffering!-dropped down from weakness in that hamlet of the Chandalas.

The sage began to reflect, aside,-What is best for me to do now?-Indeed, O best of kings, he then thought oniy of the means by which he could avoid immediate death.

He saw, O king, a huge piece of flesh, of a dog that had recently been killed with a weapon, spread on the floor of a Chandala's hut.

The sage thought and decided that he should steal that meat. And he said to himself, I have no means now of keeping up my life.

Theft is sanctioned in an hour of distress for even a great man. It will not divest him of his eminence. Even a Brahmana for saving his life may do it. This is certain.

First of all one should steal from a degraded person. Failing such a person one may steal from one's equal. Failing an equal, one may steal from even a great and virtuous man.

I shall then, at this time when my life itself is almost gone, steal this meat. I do not see sin in such theft. I shall, therefore, steal this haunch of dog's meat.

Having thus resolved this resolution, the great sage Vishvamitra lay down for sleep where the Chandala was.

Seeing sometime after that the night had advanced and that the whole Chandala hamlet were in sleep, the holy Vishvamitra, quietly rising up, entered that hut.

The Chandala who was the owner of it, with eyes covered with pleghm, was lying like one asleep. Of disagreeable look, he said these harsh words in a broken and discordant voice.

The Chandala said Who is there, busy with opening up the latch? The whole Chandala hamlet is asleep. I, however, am awake and not asleep. Whoever you are, you are about to be killed!-These were the harsh words that met the sage's ears.

Stricken with fear, his face reddened with the blushes of shame, and his heart filled with anxiety caused by that act of theft which he had tried, he answered, saying,-Oh you long-lived one, I am Vishvamitra! I have come here suffering from hunger. O you of righteous soul, do not kill me, if your vision be clear!

Hearing these words of that great Rishi of pure soul the Chandala rose up in fear from his bed and approached the sage.

Clasping his hands from respect and with eyes bathed in tears, he addressed Kushika's son, saying,-What do you seek here in the night, O Brahmana?

Conciliating the Chandala, Vishvamitra said, I am greatly hungry and about to die of starvation. I wise to take away that haunch of dog's meat.

Being hungry I have become sinful. One who seeks food has no shame. It is hunger which is actuating me to commit this sin. It is for this that I wish to take away that haunch of dog's meat.

My life is on the point of departure. Hunger has sullied my Vedic learning. I am weak and have lost my senses. I have no scruple about pure and impure food. Although I know it is sinful still I wish to take away that haunch of dog's meat.

After I had failed to secure any alms, having wandered from house to house in this your hamlet, I determined to perpetrate this sinful act of taking away this haunch of dog's meat.

Fire is the mouth of the gods. He is also their priest. He should, therefore, take nothing save pure and clean things. At times, however, that great god becomes a consuiner of everythings. Know that I have now become like him.

Hearing these words of the great Rishi, the Chandala answered him, saying,-Listen to me. Having heard these truthful words of mine, act in such a way that your religious merit may not suffer.

Hear, O regenerate Rishi, What I say to you about your duty. The wise say that a dog is impurer than a jackal. The haunch, again, of a dog is impurer then any other part of his body.

This is not wise resolution of yours, therefore, O great Rishi, this act, this theft of what belongs to a Chandala this theft, moreover of impure food, is not right.

Blessed to you, do you look out for some other means for keeping your life. O great sage, let not your penances suffer destruction for this your strong desire for dog's meat.

Knowing as you do the duties sanctioned in the scriptures, you should not do a act which leads to a confusion of duties. Do not renounce righteousness, for you are the foremost of all pious persons.

Thus addressed, O king, the great Rishi Vishvamitra, stricken with hunger, O foremost of Bharata's race, once more said,-A long time has passed away without my having taken any food, I do not see any means again for keeping up my life.

One should, when he is about to die, keep up his life by any means in his power without judging of their charter. Afterwards, when able, he should seek the acquisition of merit.

The Kshatriyas should follow the conduct of Indra. It is the duty of the Brahmanas to behave like Agni. The Vedas are fire. They form my strength. I shall, therefore, eat even this impure food for satisfying my appetite.

That by which life may be preserved should, forsooth, be done unhesitatingly. Life is better than death. By living, one may acquire virtue.

Seeking to preserve my life, I wish, with my perfect sense, to eat this impure food. You just order me.

Continuing to live I shall try to acquire virtue and shall dissipate by penances and by knowledge the calamities which have befallen me, like the luminaries of the sky destroying even the thickest darkness.

The Chandala said By eating this food one like yourself cannot live long. Nor can one (like you) get strength (from such food), nor that gratification which ambrosia yields. Do you beg for some other kind of alms. Be not bent upon eating dog's imeat. The meat of dog is, forsooth, an impure food for the twice-born ones.

Vishvamitra said Any other sort of meat cannot be easily had during a famine like this.Besides, OChandala, I have no money. I am very much hungry. I cannot move any longer. I am utterly hopeless. I think that all the six sorts of taste exist in that piece of dog's meat.

The Chandala said Only five sorts of meat are clean food for Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, as sanctioned in the scriptures. Do not wish to have forbidden food.

Vishvamitra said While hungry, the great Rishi Agastya ate up the Asura named Vatapi. I am in distress. I am hungry. I shall, therefore, eat that haunch of dog's meat.

The Chandala said Do you beg for something else. You should not do such a thing. Verily you should not do such an act. If, however, you like, you may take away this piece of dog's meat.

Vishvamitra said The good are the authorities in matters of duty. I am following their example. I now consider this dog's haunch to be better food than any other pure food.

The act of an impious man can never be regarded as an eternal practice. An improper act can never be a proper one. Do not commit a sin by deception.

Vishvamitra said A man who is a Rishi cannot commit a sin. In the present case, deer and dog, I think, are the same. I shall, therefore, eat this dog's haunch.

The Chandala said Begged by the Brahmans, the Rishi (Agastya) did that act. Under the circumstances it could not be a sin. Righteousness is that in which there is no sin. Besides, the Brahmanas, who are the preceptors of the three other orders, should be protected and maintained by all means.

I am a Brahman. This my body is my friend. It is very dear to me and deserves the highest respect from me. In order to keep up the body I wish to take away that dog's haunch. I have become so eager that I do not fear you and your dreadful brother any longer.

Men give up their lives but still they do not seek impure food. All their wishes are fulfilled who can conquer appetite in this world. Do you also conquer your hunger and obtain those rewards.

Vishvamitra said About myself, I always observe rigid vows and my heart is set on peace. For preserving the root of all religious merit, I shall eat impure food.

It is clear that such an act would be considered moral for a person of pure soul. To a person, however, of impure soul the eating of dog's flesh would appear sinful. Even if my conclusion be wrong (and if I eat this dog's ineat) I shall not, for that act, become one like you.

The Chandala said It is my settled conclusion that I should try my best to prevent you from this sin. By doing a wicked act a Brahmana goes down from his elevated station. It is for this that I am remonstrating with you.

Vishvamitra said Kine go on drinking without caring for the croaking of the frogs. You have no right to decide what is right (and what, not). Do not speak highly of yourself.

The Chandala said I have become your friend, therefore, I am speaking thus to you. Do what is good. Do not, from temptation, do what is sinful.

Vishvamitra said If you be a friend who wishes me happiness, do you then extricate me from this distress. In that case, casting off this dog's haunch, I may think myself saved by the help of righteousness (and not by that of sinfulness).

The Chandala said I dare not present this piece of meat to you, nor can I quietly allow you to rob me of my own food. If I give you this meat and if you take it, yourself being a Brahmana, both of us will go down to regions of misery in the next world.

Vishvamitra said By committing this sin to-day I shall certainly save my life which is very sacred. Having saved my life I shall afterwards practice virtue and purify my soul. Tell me which of these two is preferable.

The Chandala said One's own self is the best judge, while discharging the duties of his own caste or family. You yourself know which of those two acts is sinful. He who would consider dog's meat as pure food, I think, would not shrink from taking anything and everything.

Vishvamitra said There is sin in accepting (an unclean present) or in eating (unclean food). When one's life is in peril, there is no sin in accepting such a present or eating such food. Besides, the eating of unclean food, when it does not involve destruction and deception and when the act will excite only mild rebuke, is not a very important matter.

The Chandala said If this be your argument for taking impure food, it is then evident you do not respect the Veda and Aryan morality. Taught by what you are about to do, I see, O foremost of Brahmanas, there is no sin in neglecting the difference between pure and impure food.

Vishvamitra said It is not seen that a person commits a grave sin by taking interdicted food. It is only an oral precept which says that one becomes fallen by drinking wine. The other forbidden acts,-in fact, every sin,-cannot destroy one's merit.

The Chandala Said That learned man who takes away dog's meat from an unworthy place like this), from an impure wretch (like me), from a wicked man (like me), commits an act which is never done by the good. On the other hand, for his connection with such act, he is sure to undergo the pangs of repentance.

Bhishma said Having said these words to Kushika's son, the Chandala became silent, Vishvamitra then, of refined understanding, took away that haunch of dog's meat.

Having secured the piece of dog's meat for saving his life, the great ascetic took it away into the forest and wished with his wife to eat it.

He thought that having first duly pleased the gods, he should then eat that haunch of dog's meat at his pleasure.

Lighting up a fire according to the Brahma rites, the ascetic, in pursuance of the rites of Aindragneya, began himself to cook that meat into sacrificial Charu.

He then, O Bharata, began to perform the ceremonies in honour of the gods and the departed manes, by dividing that Charu into as many parts as were necessary, according to the injunctions of the scriptures, and by invoking the gods headed by Indra.

Meanwhile, the king of the gods began to pour profusely. Reviving all creatures by those showers, he made plants and herbs grow once more.

However, having completed the rites in honour of the gods and the Pitris and having pleased them duly, Vishvamitra, himself took that meat.

Consuming all his sins afterwards by his penances, the sage after a long time, gained the most wonderful (ascetic) success.

Thus, having the preservation of life itself in view, a high-souled person, endued with learning and acquainted with means, should rescue his own cheerless self when fallen into distress, by all means in his power.

With such a view one should always preserve his life. person, if alive, can acquire religious merit and enjoy happiness and prosperity.

Therefore, O son of Kunti, a person of purified soul and endued with learning should live and act in this world, depending upon his own intelligence in ascertaining virtue and vice. With such a view one should always preserve his life. person, if alive, can acquire religious merit and enjoy happiness and prosperity.

Therefore, O son of Kunti, a person of purified soul and endued with learning should live and act in this world, depending upon his own intelligence in ascertaining virtue and vice.