Rajadharma

Mahabharata Adiparva Sambhavaparva section 142-143

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

After sometime Dhritarashtra appoints his brother Pandu's son, prince Yudhistir as the heir apparent to the Kuru throne. Yudhishtir too gains the confidence of the people through his just rule. Bhima learns mace fighting from Balarama.

Drona calls Arjuna in front of all the princes and extracts a promise from him that, Arjuna has to fight with Drona when the time comes. Arjuna says he will fight with his master when the time comes.

Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula, and Sahadeva then subjugate different rulers of the world. They defeat Gandharva king, King of Sauvira, King of Yavanas. They send back spoils of war back to Kuru kingdom.

Seeing the prowess of Pandu's sons, and their fame spreading far and wide, Dhritarashtra is smitten by jealousy. He summons his minister Kanika, and asked him, "I am jealous of Pandavas, should I fight with them or have peace with them?"

Kanika then replies that a King has to bide his time as to dealing with his enemies, be it their son, father, brother, preceptor. A king should always be ready to strike. And when time comes, there should be no mercy shown. A king's speech should be humble, but heart should be razor sharp.

My Commentary :

The monologue of Kanika to Dhritarashtra on how a king should behave with his enemies, is quite large one, I have not reproduced entirely here. But the gist is this, a King should be ever vigilant, be it with son, brother, father. When time comes he should strike without delay. He should use the four options available to everybody 'sama' (conciliatory speech), 'dana' (charity or buy them out), 'bheda' (divide and rule), 'danda' (punish) to get rid of enemies or to get the job done.

Mahabharata Adiparva Sambhavaparva Completed

Hari OM