CCXXVII. Women naturally pandits.
Mrichchhakatika, Act iv.
Men, seeking knowledge, long must strive,
And over many volumes pore:
But favoured women all their lore,
Unsought, from nature's grace derive.
Mahabharata xiii. 2236 ff.
[I have above and elsewhere quoted from this great poem passages in which the fair sex is cordially eulogized, directly or indirectly. The following picture, though in some respects it is flattering to women, as testifying to their great cleverness and powers of allurement, is otherwise far from laudatory. The fair sex, however, need not be vindicated against this representation. As the names of the Indian sophists referred to in these lines are not familiar to the English reader, I have substituted that of Macchiavelli.]
Deep steeped in Macchiavellian wiles,
With those that smile a woman smiles,
With those that weep dissolves in tears,
The sad with words of comfort cheers,
By loving tones the hostile gains,
And thus firm hold on men attains,—
Her action suiting well to all
Th' occasions that can e'er befall.
As words of truth she praises lies,
As arrant falsehood truth decries,
And, mistress of deceptive sleight,
Treats right as wrong, and wrong as right.
All powers which wizard demons old,
Of whom such wondrous tales are told,
Displayed the gods themselves to cheat,
To blind, elude, and so defeat,-
Such fascinating powers we find
In artful women all combined.
So skilfully they men deceive,
So well their viewless nets can weave,
That few whom once these syrens clasp,
Can soon escape their magic grasp.
Yet, once their earlier ardour cooled,
They jilt the men they've thus befooled;
And fickly newer objects seek
To suit their changing passion's freak.
Such charmers well to guide and guard,
For men must prove a task too hard.
CCXXIX. A spell to promote concord in a family.
Atharva Veda iii. 30. 1.
Within this house, by this my spell,
I concord, union, peace, create;
That none may more another hate;
But all in love together dwell.
Let these, the sons, their sire obey,
And ne'er their mother's word gainsay.
Let this fair wife, with aspect bright,
And honied words her lord delight.
Let brothers mutual rancour shun,
And sister sister kindly treat,
Let each the rest with accents sweet
Address, and all in heart be one.
CCXXX. Description of a good king.
Mahābāhrata xii. 3450, &c. (see Appendix).
That man alone a crown should wear
Who's skilled his land to rule and shield ;
For princely power is hard to wield—
A load which few can fitly bear.
That king his duty comprehends
Who well the poor and helpless tends,
Who wipes away the orphan's tears,
Who gently calms the widow's fears,
Who, like a father, joy imparts,
And peace, to all his people's hearts;
On vicious men and women frowns,
The learn'd and wise with honour crowns;
Who well and wisely gifts on those
Whose merits claim reward, bestows;
His people rightly guides and schools,
On all impressing virtue's rules s;
Who day by day the gods adores,
With offerings meet their grace implores,
Whose vigorous arm his realm protects,
And all insulting foes subjects;
Who yet the laws of war observes,
And ne'er from knightly honour swerves.
CCXXXI. Self-conquest must precede other conquests.
Mahābhārata ii. 194; v. 1150 ff.; 1157; 1162; 4332 ff.; xii. 2599 f.; Manu vii. 44.
The king who long aspires to rule,
Must all his lawless passions school.
Whoever these neglects to sway
Soon sees his empire pass away;
While he who well himself commands
Can wisely govern all his lands.
For lust and anger men delude,
And draw them from proper good.
But he who these two foes enchains,
A world-wide empire surely gains.
This lofty rank, this envied state,
This power to fix each subject's fate,
Usurped by base and wicked kings,
On men dire woe and ruin brings.
Whoe'er would ample wealth amass,
In virtue other men surpass,
In check must all his senses hold;
When these are ever well controlled,
In strength the understanding grows,
As fire by fuel brightly glows.
But men whom lawless passions sway
To swift destruction fall a prey,
As steeds uncurbed, in wild career
Dash down to earth their charioteer.
The prince who fails himself to school
His ministers can never rule;
And he his foes can ne'er defeat
His ministers who has not beat.
A monarch first himself must school,
Then seek his court and camp to rule;
Must first subdue himself in fight,
And then march forth his foes to smite.
For who can other men subject
Who has not first his passions checked?
Kind fortune on that monarch waits
Who first his fierce desires abates,
Who rules his ministers, and wields
The rod which good from bad men shields,
Who first investigates the facts,
And then deliberately acts.
CCXXXII. Mercy should be shown to ignorant offenders.
Mahabharata iii. 1055.
When men from want of knowledge sin,
A prince to such should mercy show;
For skill the right and wrong to know
For simple men is hard to win.
CCXXXIII. A king's best treasures and castles.
Mahabharata ii. 2020.
Though other treasures kings may boast,—
Of gems and gold a glittering hoard,-
The richest far is he, the lord
Of stalwart men, a numerous host.
Amid impending war's alarms,
Though round us lofty castles rise,
The fort that best assault defies
Is formed by manly warriors' arms.
CCXXXIV. "Dixere fortes ante Agamemnona," &c. Bilhana in Sarngadhara's Paddhati, Sāmānyakaviprasamsa 13 (12).
Without a bard his deeds to sing
Can any prince be known to fame?
Of old lived many a valiant king
Of whom we know not even the name!
CCXXXV. Love of home.
Panchatantra v. 49; iii. 92 (Bombay Edition).
Not such is even the bliss of heaven
As that which fills the breast of men
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