The Slaying of Śiśupāla 2

English (machine translation) 2

Language: English

2.1

Then summoned by the son of Pṛthā wishing to sacrifice, the Foe of Mura, / also desiring to march against the king of Cedi, was distracted by two duties.

2.2

Then together with Uddhava and the Plough-Bearer he sat in the assembly, / bearing the lunar splendour across the sky that follows Jupiter and Venus.

2.3

Blazing for the peace of the world, that triad of fires among men / shone forth as it assembled upon the altar of the council hall.

2.4

Reflected in the jewelled pillars, they shone / as though surrounded by attendants on all sides, though alone.

2.5

Those lofty golden thrones upon which they sat / bore the likeness of the three peaks of Trikūṭa occupied by lions.

2.6

Then the discerning Hari explained the contradiction between those two heavy tasks / to the two elders for their deliberation.

2.7

With smiles displaying teeth tipped like jasmine buds that illuminated the inner council, / his clear-toned speech became as if bathed.

2.8

"Our words are merely to provide an occasion for your own speech, / just as a prologue introduces the subject matter of a drama.

2.9

Having made kings tributaries through his brothers, conquerors of the directions, / the son of asceticism is fully capable of the sacrifice even without us.

2.10

Yet a rising enemy must not be overlooked by one who desires sovereignty; / for both that enemy and a disease that is about to spread are declared equal by the wise.

2.11

I am not grieved that the son of the Sātvata woman offends against me; / but that he scorches the world—that grieves me.

2.12

So listen to this opinion of mine, you two as well, my dear friends; / for even a single person of known discernment may still be doubtful in an uncertain matter."

2.13

Uttering this speech whose words contained only what was needful, Mādhava / paused; the truly great are by nature concise in speech.

2.14

Then, trembling with indignation at the recollection of the enemy's misconduct, / Rāma, with a lip skilled in kissing the cherry lip of a lovely woman,

2.15

making the speech that Pavanavyādhi wished to deliver, yet instantly held back, / serve as the opposing position,

2.16

rolling his eyes whose glow was pink with the intoxication of tasting wine, / whose hollows were purified by the leftover drops from Revatī's mouth,

2.17

withering his forest-garland with his breaths warm with indignation, / which bore witness to the firmness of the breasts of women eager for his embrace,

2.18

bearing beads of sweat clinging to limbs coloured red with wrath at the foe, / resembling stars shining in the twilight-red sky,

2.19

causing the radiance of his dark upper garment to take on the hue of young mango shoots / with the brilliance of ruby flakes set in his sparkling earrings,

2.20

breathing out the fragrance of his mouth mingled with liquor / perfumed by its stay within the mouth of Kakudmin's daughter,

2.21

spoke, turning into whiteness with the radiant rays of his teeth / the bees that settled on the edges of the lotus disguised as his mouth:

2.22

"The noble and blameless speech spoken by Vāsudeva— / action alone is its immediate answer.

2.23

Even a concise statement like this cannot be surpassed by grander eloquence; / fire, even though burning a mass of fuel, does not surpass the sun in brilliance.

2.24

Therefore, though this sentence is concise, yet weighty in meaning, / let more expansive words serve merely as its ornament.

2.25

The speeches of the skilled make dumb even masters of eloquence whose words oppose them, / and make even dullards eloquent when their aims align.

2.26

The six expedients, the three powers, the three kinds of success and rise— / even fools are capable of explaining these after studying the texts.

2.27

The net of words of an eloquent man who has not investigated the practical matter is useless, / like the boasting of an archer whose arrow has missed the mark.

2.28

In all embodiments of policy, counsel is the only soul for kings, / leaving aside the group of five elements, just as for the Buddhists.

2.29

Counsel, like a timid warrior, cannot stand for long / through fear of breach from enemies, even though covered by all its limbs.

2.30

One's own rise and the enemy's ruin—this is twofold statecraft; / adopting that, the wise expand the teachings of Bṛhaspati.

2.31

There is no attainment of satisfaction for great souls, even through supreme greatness; / the great ocean, though full, longs for the rising of the moon—this is the example here.

2.32

Whoever considers himself secure with even slight fortune— / the Creator, I think, having accomplished his task, does not increase it for him.

2.33

Proud men do not rise without striking down their enemies root and branch; / the sun, which dispels total darkness, is the example there.

2.34

Stability is indeed hard to attain without utterly crushing the adversary; / water does not settle until it has turned the dust to mud.

2.35

So long as even a single enemy remains alive, how can there be happiness? / For the son of Siṃhikā harasses the moon right before the eyes of the enemies of Asuras.

2.36

A heavy friend and a foe are artificial, for they arise from action; / both friend and foe can also be natural by birth.

2.37

Peace should be made with an enemy who helps, not with a friend who harms; / for benefit and harm are the defining characteristics of these two.

2.38

The king of Cedi was wronged by you, O Hari, when you abducted Rukmiṇī; / for women are the root of the great, deep-rooted tree of enmity.

2.39

When you went to conquer Bhauma, he besieged this city, / just as darkness besieges the slope of Mount Meru when the sun is away.

2.40

Enough of recounting this, O Babhru, that he carried off your wife; / for even the mention of the wicked surely brings about misfortune.

2.41

Thus has he offended you, and in many ways has he offended us; / that enemy, the son of Śrutaśravas, must be dispatched by action.

2.42

Those who, having contracted enmity with an indignant foe, sit idle, / sleep into the wind after throwing a blaze into dry grass.

2.43

Let one who is forbearing readily forgive a minor or non-repeated [fault]; / but who would forgive one who offends with continuous repetition of deeds?

2.44

At other times patience is an ornament to a man, like modesty to a woman; / but in the face of humiliation, prowess [is the ornament], like boldness in amorous sports.

2.45

Let him not live who lives on, burnt by the pain of contempt from others! / Better non-birth for him who only brings distress to his mother!

2.46

Even the dust that rises when struck by the foot and mounts upon the head / is better than the living being who remains inert even when insulted.

2.47

For a man who achieves no purpose through genus, action, or qualities, / birth is merely for a label, like an arbitrary word.

2.48

Height alone is not found in the mountain, nor depth alone in the ocean; / but both are causes of inviolability in a spirited man.

2.49

Though the fault is equal, Rāhu swallows the cool-rayed moon quickly / and the sun only after a long time—that is clearly the result of softness.

2.50

Bowing down of its own accord even when the breeze of an enemy arrives, / a light man, full of straw, is the emblem of the worthless.

2.51

Among the fiery, one endowed with fiery energy is counted, even if distant; / the sun is the fifth among the fires of sacrificial offerings.

2.52

Without sportively setting its foot high upon the heads of adversaries, / how does fame, unsupported, climb up to heaven?

2.53

The moon, bearing a deer on its body, is called the deer-marked; / the lion, violently overthrowing the herd of deer, is the king of beasts.

2.54

Conciliation toward an enemy who is only to be subdued by the fourth expedient is a misdeed; / what wise man sprinkles water on an unripe fever that needs to be sweated out?

2.55

Words of conciliation toward one who is enraged only inflame him, / like drops of water suddenly fallen on heated clarified butter.

2.56

Those who, due to the misrepresentation of political measures, ruin the king's purpose / are corrupt elements disguised as ministers—they are known as enemies.

2.57

Some declare that marching to war should be when one's own power grows, others when the enemy is in distress; / both together summon you, who sit inactive, to rise up.

2.58

Your forbearance holds back the Yādava oceans wishing to inundate the worlds / which are not to be crossed and not small, like the shoreline [holds back the sea].

2.59

Let the victory of the army be assigned to you, even though you are merely a witness, / as the enjoyment of intellect is attributed to the self, which experiences the fruit in Sāṃkhya.

2.60

Now that the king born of two mothers has been slain in battle by the enemy of Hiḍimbā, / the son of Damaghoṣa, who is easily subdued, has long been in distress through his ally.

2.61

According to polity, that an enemy must be attacked when in distress causes shame to a proud man; / Rāhu [attacks] the moon when it is full—that is a festival for him.

2.62

One courage is unbridled; the other is governed by the scriptures; / for how can light and darkness share the same locus?

2.63

Let the expedition to Indraprastha wait; let the Cedis cease to be, / their trees made dwarfish by the proximity of our elephants!

2.64

Having cut off the enemy's supplies, reinforcements, and foraging, / let the Dāśārhas besiege Māhiṣmatī, the enemy's city, like cattle in a pen!

2.65

Let the son of Pāṇḍu sacrifice; let Indra protect heaven for the ascetics; / we shall slay our enemies—everyone strives for his own interest.

2.66

Let the splendor of lightning be attained through contact with the sun's rays / by weapons bathed in the blood gushing from severed heads of enemies!

2.67

Thus the painted deities seemed in fear to repeat through echoes / off the walls of the assembly hall the words of the enraged Balarāma.

2.68

Having heard those words deep as Śeṣa's, Adhokṣaja, / with a glance, granted an occasion to the pupil of the master of the great to speak.

2.69

Then Uddhava, without arrogance, spoke weighty and true words / before the elder brother of Gada, like the younger brother of Utathya.

2.70

Now that the pestle-handed [Balarāma] has spoken, and the matter is determined, it is improper to speak; / having said what was in the letter, what need is there to speak further?

2.71

Yet since you show respect for me, considering me an elder, / that fact acts as the prompter making me speak.

2.72

Ah, though strung with only a few syllables, like [a melody] with musical notes, / infinite is the variety of literature, just as of song!

2.73

Even a vast amount of disconnected talk can readily be spoken at will; / but a continuous composition that does not abandon connection of thought is difficult to utter.

2.74

Skilled speakers spread out speech that is gentle yet dense, fashioned with manifold virtues, / just as skilled weavers spread out fine, dense cloth woven with many threads.

2.75

That the political science is recited before you, who know all particulars, / serves only to steady the speaker's familiarity with it—it is merely his practice.

2.76

A lord should endeavor to establish in himself discernment and energy; / for those two are the root of the arising prosperity of one desiring conquest.

2.77

The wise who turn their steadfast intelligence into a couch provided with pillows, / and rest upon it continually, never experience weariness.

2.78

Sharp [words] like arrows touch little and penetrate deep inside; / but the thick [word], though touching much, remains outside like a stone.

2.79

The ignorant undertake only a little, yet become utterly agitated; / the resolute undertake great deeds, yet remain untroubled.

2.80

Even if he employs the means, the goals of a negligent man perish; / a hunter lying down, even if in a hide, does not kill deer.

2.81

Not abandoning the desire to rise among the twelve kings, / a single conqueror proves capable, like the sun among the twelve Ādityas.

2.82

Having intellect as weapon, state constituents as body, thick secrecy as armor, / spies as eyes, and ambassadors as mouth, a king is an extraordinary person.

2.83

Fiery energy or forbearance is not absolute for an earth-ruler who knows the proper time, / just as neither vigor nor lucidity is absolute for a poet who knows aesthetic flavors and emotional states.

2.84

Even when wronged by others, he whose disturbance is unrevealed / makes [his foes] incurable, like a disease whose symptoms are hidden.

2.85

Energy mediated by gentleness is capable of enjoying riches, / just as a lamp absorbs oil through the wick placed within it.

2.86

He does not resort to exclusive reliance on destiny, nor does he sink into reliance solely on human effort; / a wise man looks to both, like a good poet to word and meaning.

2.87

Just as transitory emotional states function for the sake of the dominant state, / so manifold kings function for the sake of a single sovereign leader.

2.88

The circles of kingdoms, occupied through policy by a king who knows administration, / are easily subdued, like circles of hooded serpents by a charmer skilled in mantras.

2.89

Deep-rooted in the power of intellect, towering high, / the tree of resolve bears the fruit of sovereign power, which is accessible to the hand and exceedingly renowned.

Because of their weakness, or because of his overwhelming strength, the other kings / become attendants to the ambitious conqueror, just as other musical notes do to the primary tone of the bamboo flute.

2.91

Even when a powerful lord undertakes nothing, objects produced by others / turn into his own attributes, just as sounds in the sky turn into the quality of space.

2.92

In the garland of the target king, rearward enemy, and the rest, / threaded together on the single string of self-interest, the leader of superior splendour acts as the central gem.

2.93

Mindful of his strength, he should apply the sixfold policy as an elixir; / in this way, his constituent elements become lasting and strong.

2.94

In the right situation, when those possessed of calm exert themselves according to their strength, their constituents increase; / an undertaking beyond one's power is the prime cause of the ruinous loss of fortune.

2.95

Therefore, do not despise that ruler of the Cedis; / he destroys his enemies in a single step, just as an acute accent suppresses the [other] musical notes.

2.96

Let it not be thought that he is merely one king of Cedi to be conquered: / he is a combined host of kings, just as consumption is a combination of diseases.

2.97

Accompanied by allies and piercing his foes, having achieved his purpose through him, / he will take aim [like] an arrow that has found its target, fitted with feathers, penetrating enemies, fitted onto a strung bow.

2.98

And the others—Kālayavana, Śālva, the tree Rukmin, and the rest— / being dark by nature, follow him as dusk brings on the darkness.

2.99

A secret dissension provoked by him among those already angry with you, / even if slight, will instantly kindle them, like the wind kindling blazing firewood.

2.100

Even a very small entity reaches the completion of its purpose with a great ally: / joining a mighty river, a mountain rivulet reaches the ocean.

2.101

His friends, your foes, and those kings who are both— / if he is attacked by you, all those others will attack you.

2.102

Thus stirring up all the kings to disrupt the sacrifice, / alas, you would become the first enemy of him who has no enemy born.

2.103

Considering your shoulder capable of bearing an immense burden, Dharmarāja, together with his kinsmen, / wishes to summon you as an ally to bear the yoke of the sacrifice.

2.104

The magnanimous show favour even to enemies who resort to them: / great rivers carry their co-wives, the mountain streams, safely to the ocean.

2.105

Even after a long time, the application of force by a strong man succeeds against his enemies; / but estranged friends are hard to win back by humouring their desires.

2.106

If you think the slaying of the enemy is superior for the pleasure of the gods, / offering what is desired is exceedingly effective in pleasing those who partake of the sacrificial cake.

2.107

That which the virtuous offer upon the fiery tongues consecrated by mantras is indeed true ambrosia; / the description of the ocean agitated by Mount Mandara is mere poetic ornament.

2.108

As for your promise to your venerable father's sister, / 'I will endure a hundred offenses of your son'—that must be respected.

2.109

A wise man's intellect is sharp without being cutting; his action is calm yet spirited; / his mind is compassionate without being afflicted; and his single speech is truly eloquent.

2.110

Like the sun, whose brightness is made by itself, reaching the end of the day, / you too cannot bring about his end before the expiration of the agreed limit.

2.111

Let your spies, who know what must be done, set foot secretly into the enemy's council chambers / and fathom the depths of that great ocean of hostility.

2.112

Statecraft without spies does not shine, just as the science of grammar does not shine / when its steps depart from the aphorisms, when it lacks a good commentary, and is not well-composed.

2.113

The enemy's allies should be divided by your double agents, / who know the terrain, whose flaws are unknown, and who display manifest commands [to slander him].

2.114

Your spies, skilled in stratagems, should cause the hosts of princes / approaching the city of Ajātaśatru to unite in a single purpose with you.

2.115

While you show exceptional devotion to the son of Pāṇḍu, / those envious kings, fickle and unstable, will make themselves into your enemies.

2.116

Whatever kings here, knowing their own interests, are joined in growing prosperity amidst the hostile faction, / will soon be separated from it, like cuckoos reared among the flock of crows.

2.117

Arrogant with natural flaws and rashness, clinging to a tottering and frail side, / let that host of enemies become moths in the fire of your unassailable valour!

2.118

Having heard this speech of Uddhava, which clearly distinguished the matters at hand, followed the path of policy, barred improper conduct, / and produced great joy, he, on whose broad chest Śrī rests firmly, rose up with eminence.

Commentaries (2)

Sarvaṅkaṣā — Mallinātha Sūri, Sanskrit
Śiśupālavadhaṭīkā — Mallinātha, Sanskrit

Linked texts (1)

Śiśupālavadha — Māgha, Sanskrit