Bhishma’s wise counsel

The Pandavas returned next morning to their grand father in the company of Krishna, Satyaki and Dhritarashtra. Narada reminded Yudhishthira at that time - “The sun, that is Bhishma, is about to set. Ask him about whatever you want to know about now itself, without further delay”.

But, the Pandavas remained silent looking at each other, lacking the courage to speak. Finally, they confided their predicament in Krihshna requesting him to speak on their behalf. So, Krishna started the dialogue on behalf of his protégés. “Sir, are you not feeling better now? Are your thoughts clear enough on the dos and don’ts for a king? These Pandavas want to learn from you all that a king needs to know, but, they are hesitant to ask you directly.”

Bhishma replied. “Krishna, with your blessing my memory is as sharp as ever and I can now remember the codes to be followed by kings and people in other walks of life. But, I wonder why it is that you do not give the advice yourself to the Pandavas. All that I know is by your blessing”.

Krishna said. “True, that I am quite capable of briefing the Pandavas on all codes of conduct (Dharma). But, I want them to learn from you. That is the right thing to do. They also are looking forward to hearing from you. Your fame shall remain, as a result, as long as the world lasts.”

Bhishma agreed to do as he was asked to do. But, he said. “Let Yudhishthira ask me”.

Krishna spoke out the reluctance of the Pandava. “Yudhishthira is afraid to ask you after speaking the lie that caused your giving up of arms.”

Bhishma said. “It is not improper to kill ones own people, may they be fathers, teachers or dear ones of any other category in war. Destruction of an enemy is allowed in the battle field. Often one may have to use tactics that work, may they be right or wrong”.

Bhishma’s words gave courage to Yudhishthira. He timidly approached Bhishma and spoke. “Grand father, I prostrate before you. I want to learn the Dharma of kings and people of other categories.”

The codes of conduct

That was how three long chapters on the codes of conduct of kings (raja dharma anuSaasana parvam), the codes to be followed in emergency (aapad dharma anuSaasana parvam) and the steps to be followed for salvation (moksha dharma anuSaana parvam) got under way. Most of the book of peace (Saanti parvam) spread over 870 printed pages and containing nearly 16,000 stanzas of poetry are covered by these three chapters. Surprisingly, on rare occasions the poet gets into prose as well.

The general codes of conduct

The theme is presented through brief stories of kings, sages, the common people and even of animals. The topics cover the general codes of conduct for the four classes (varNa aaSrama dharma), Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra. The kings, though falling in the second category, need to know all of them to make sure that the laws of the land are correctly followed and that just punishment is meted out to the offender. There is a section on the different types of punishment depending on the offense and how to enforce them. One section covers tax collection.

There are sections in the chapter on how to make strong fortresses and how to protect the forts from enemy attacks. Long narrations are given on identifying who is a friend and who an enemy. Another section gives elaborate tips on maintaining an army. These are only a few of the topics covered.

Emergency rules

The rules to be followed in an emergency are different from the normal ones. An emergency can arise due to several reasons. War, famine and natural calamities like a cyclone make it difficult to practice the normal codes of conduct.

Bhishma tells the story of three fish in a pond to impress on Yudhishthira how anticipation of danger will save one from crisis. Otherwise, some brilliant idea (pratyulpannamatitvam) that may come to the mind may take one out of danger. One of the three fish, by name ‘the foresighted (deerghadarSi)’ was wise. ‘He’ sensed that the fishermen were trying to drain the pond to catch all the fish in it. He warned his friends of the impending danger. The clever one, by name ‘one with bright ideas (pratyulpanna pratibha)’ had confidence in himself that he would come up with some tricks to escape. But, the third thought that he would face the situation whatever may come. The first escaped before the pond was drained. The second pretended dead and escaped through the fishermen’s fingers pretending that he was dead. But, the third perished without doing anything.

The story of the great sage Viswamitra is told to illustrate how difference sets of codes (dharma) apply in emergency. There was a great famine in the land and the sage had to go without food for several days. Begging for days together brought him nothing to eat, because there were hardly any people with food to spare. One day the sage found dog’s meat in the house of a man of very low birth. Normally, that type of meat is taboo. But, for man in his situation any food that keeps him going is good enough. He did not expect to get the meat by begging. The man must have kept it for his own consumption during the difficult days. The sage was so hungry that he would go to any extent to grab the meat. .He waited for night to fall and the man to go to sleep for stealing the meat. Unfortunately, the man awoke while the sage tried to steal the meat. There is a long conversation between the two on what can be done and what not, under such difficult situations.

There is the story of a mouse and a cat and how the two got into a friendship to save themselves from enemy. The message of the story is that one may have to get into an alliance even with a foe to fight against a common enemy. The story is told in reply to Yudhishthira’s question on what all that could be done when an enemy surrounds a king.

(The chapter on salvation in the next episode)