Agnipurana 240

English (machine translation) 240

Language: English

240.9 — 3 parts
240.19 — 4 parts
240.30 — 2 parts
240.41 — 1 part
240.52 — 3 parts
240.63 — 2 parts
240.68 — 3 parts

240.1

Rāma said:
Counsel-power is praised above power of majesty and energetic power;
endowed with majesty and energy, Śukra was defeated by the priest of the gods.

240.2

One should deliberate on affairs here neither with untrustworthy persons nor with the unwise.
For those whose conduct consists of attempting the impossible, whence can fruit come except distress?

240.3

Ascertaining the unknown, determining the known,
resolving doubt in two conflicting alternatives, and discerning the rest;

240.4

allies, means of accomplishment, allocation of place and time,
and counteraction against disaster—counsel is held to have five limbs.

240.5

Clarity of mind, faith, skill in execution,
and excellence in mobilizing assistants—these are the signs of success in actions.

240.6

Intoxication, heedlessness, passion, talking in sleep,
and concealed passionate women while dallying disclose counsel.

240.7

Bold, possessing memory, eloquent, proficient in weapons and treatises,
and practiced in administration—such a man is fit to be an envoy for a king.

240.8

With plenipotentiary power, with limited instructions, and a bearer of a decree—
an envoy is considered threefold, each inferior by a quarter in capacity.

240.9

He should not enter an unknown city of an enemy, nor an assembly;

240.9.p2

1 'naya iṣyate' in manuscripts kha and gha.

240.9_2

he should watch for the proper time to accomplish his task, and depart when permitted.

240.10

He should learn the vulnerable points of the enemy, and his treasury, allies, and armed forces;
he should ascertain affection and disaffection through glances and bodily gestures.

240.11

He should offer fourfold praise to both factions;
he should associate with good spies disguised as ascetics.

240.12

A spy is twofold: an open spy is an envoy, and a concealed spy;
merchants, farmers, religious mendicants, monks, and the like are spies.

240.13

He should march against an enemy beset by calamity when the work of the envoy proves fruitless;
observing whatever calamity affects the elements of sovereignty, he should spring into action.

240.14

Because through mismanagement good fortune deteriorates, it is therefore called a calamity.
Fire, water, disease, famine, and pestilence—

240.15

thus calamity from fate is fivefold; that caused by humans is another.
One should pacify [calamity] from fate through human effort and pacifying rites;

240.16

and he should avert human calamity through initiative and policy.
Counsel, securing the fruit of counsel, execution of tasks, future prosperity,

240.17

revenue and expenditure, the science of politics, restraining enemies,
remedying calamity, and protecting the kingdom and the king—

240.18

such is the duty of the minister; if afflicted with calamity, he ruins this.
Gold, grain, garments, and mounts come from the subjects;

240.19

likewise other collections of goods; subjects afflicted with calamity ruin them.
The protection of subjects placed in misfortune, and of treasury and army,

240.19.p2

1 'dṛṣṭivaktraviceṣṭitaiḥ' in manuscripts ga, gha, cha, jha, and ña.

240.20

and citizens and others assist here when refuge [is sought] in bad times;
silent warfare, protecting the people, winning over allies and enemies,

240.21

when harm is done by vassal kings and others, that perishes through their calamity.
Supporting servants, giving gifts, embracing subjects and allies,

240.22

pursuing dharma, kāma, and the like, and repairing and adorning the fortress—
[all this comes] from the treasury; calamity thereof destroys it, for a king is rooted in his treasury.

240.23

Gaining allies, enemies, territory, and gold, crushing foes,
and swift execution of distant tasks [come] from the army; calamity thereof destroys that.

240.24

It supports allies and even destroys the enemy;
assistance through wealth and the like comes from the ally; calamity thereof removes that.

240.25

A king afflicted with calamity destroys royal affairs whatever they may be:
harshness of speech and of punishment, and misuse of wealth;

240.26

drinking, women, hunting, and gambling are the calamities of the king;
indolence, stubbornness, arrogance, heedlessness, and duplicity—

240.27

these, taught previously, are considered the calamities of the minister.
Drought and oppression [by thieves], etc., are called the calamities of the realm.

240.28

Broken war-machines, ruined ramparts and moats, lack of weapons,
and being besieged by an exhausted army are called the calamities of the fortress.

240.29

Squandered, dispersed, non-productive, uncollected,
defiled, and kept in caves is called the calamity of the treasury.

240.30

Besieged, dispersed, unhonored, dishonored,

240.30.p2

1 The passage beginning with 'saṃstambhayati' and ending with 'mitrāttadvyasanāddharet' is missing in manuscript cha.

240.30_2

unpaid, diseased, exhausted, arrived from afar, newly arrived,

240.31

depleted, repulsed, whose frontline is struck down,
abounding in despair and dejection, and deceived by lies—

240.32

Where wives and children are placed in the center, where there is an internal thorn, / where supplies and reinforcements are cut off, where the base is left empty,

240.33

where there is no lord or unity, where the front rank is broken, / where the rear is difficult to protect, and [lacking] wealth—this is said to be distress of the army.

240.34

When an ally is oppressed by fate, seized by an enemy army, / or associated with lust, anger, and the like, [distress] may arise from energetic enemies.

240.35

Abuse of wealth arises from anger, as does harshness of speech and of punishment; / the vices born of desire are hunting, gambling, drinking, and women.

240.36

Harshness of speech in this world causes extreme agitation and is profitless; / punishment should accomplish what has not been accomplished; the king should apply it prudently.

240.37

A king given to harsh punishment terrifies living beings; / and terrified beings seek the protection of his enemies.

240.38

Those enemies, grown powerful, lead to his destruction. / The abandonment of a worthy person in order to corrupt a corruptible one,

240.39

is called abuse of wealth by those who know the principles of polity. / From drinking arises lack of judgment in duty and the like; from hunting comes destruction by an enemy.

240.40

To overcome fatigue, one should practice hunting in a protected forest. / In gambling, there is loss of righteousness, wealth, life, and the like, as well as quarrels and such.

240.41

Loss of time and obstruction of righteousness and wealth arise from attachment to women; / from the vice of drinking comes loss of life and inability to discern what should and should not be done.

240.42

One who knows how to lay out an encampment and knows omens will conquer the enemy. / In the center of the encampment should be the king's dwelling, together with the treasury.

240.43

The hereditary forces, guild troops, friendly troops, enemy [auxiliaries], and forest-dwelling troops / should be stationed in sequence, surrounding the royal residence.

240.44

A section of the army, fully equipped and preceded by the commander-in-chief, / should patrol the squares outside the perimeter at night.

240.45

He should gather his own intelligence regarding those roaming the distant frontiers; / everyone who goes out and comes in must be carefully observed.

240.46

Conciliation, bribery, causing division, punishment, overlooking, and trickery, / along with deception—these seven are the expedients; he should employ them against others to achieve success.

240.47

Conciliation is declared to be of four kinds: proclaiming past benefits, / recounting mutual ties, speaking gently,

240.48

granting an audience when one arrives, and surrendering oneself in speech, saying, 'I am yours.' / The gift of wealth received is considered highest, lowest, or middling:

240.49

returning a gift, approving what has been received, / giving unprecedented wealth, and allowing self-seizure [of booty].

240.50

Things to be given, and release [of what has been seized], dāna is remembered as being of five kinds. / Likewise, the removal of affection and love, and the generation of rivalry,

240.51

and discord among one another: [thus] dissension is remembered as three-fold by those skilled in dissension. / Killing, seizure of property, and harassment—[thus] punishment is three-fold.

240.52

It is open and secret. Those hated by the people [should be dealt with] openly. / The people tremble at those who have been slain, so a [direct] blow is commended against them.

240.52.p3

2. "tathaiva supravartanam" in manuscripts ja. and ṭa. / [p. 376]

Especially through esoteric devices he should strike enemies with weapons and the like; / he should never strike a twice-born merely by caste;conciliation should be the foremost means in bringing [him] under control.

240.54

As if anointing minds, drinking it in, looking gently, / as if swallowing nectar, one should employ conciliation, [namely] sweet speech.

240.55

One falsely accused, one seeking wealth, one summoned and not respected, / one who hates the king, an extortionist of taxes, and one who thinks too highly of himself,

240.56

one deprived of virtue, pleasure, and wealth, one enraged, proud, insulted, / one abandoned without cause, and even one reconciled after enmity has been made,

240.57

one whose property and wife have been seized, and one worthy of honor who was not honored— / he should cause dissension among these when they reside with the enemy, being constantly suspicious of them.

240.58

When they arrive, he should honor them with desires and pacify his own men. / Reconciliation, scrutiny of aims, presentation of severe terrors,

240.59

and gifts and honors to chiefs are proclaimed as the expedients of dissension. / An ally who is struck falls apart like wood eaten away by woodworms.

240.60

Endowed with the three powers and knowing time and place, he should bring foes to ruin with force; / one whose chief aim is friendship and whose mind is benevolent he should manage through conciliation.

240.61

The greedy and the weakened [he should manage] with gifts; allies, by [instilling] mutual suspicion; / the wicked, through the display of punishment; sons, brothers, and the like, through conciliation;

240.62

generals, by gifts and dissension; warriors and regional inhabitants [by the same]; / neighboring forest dwellers through dissension and punishment, and wrongdoers likewise.

240.63

By means of men placed inside images of deities during worship, / or a man clothed in women's garments, looking wondrous at night,

240.63.p1

[...]

240.63.p2

1. "dānabhedaiś caiva mukhyān paurān" in manuscript ja. / [p. 375]

240.64

taking on the forms of vetālas, meteors, piśācas, and jackals, / assuming shapes at will, raining weapons, fire, stones, and water,

240.65

darkness, wind, fire, and clouds—this is superhuman illusion. / Bhīma slew Kīcaka by assuming the form of a woman.

240.66

Not restraining one engaged in injustice, vice, or battle— / this is known as indifference; and [her own] brother was disregarded by Hiḍimbā.

240.67

Showing the marvels of clouds, darkness, rain, fire, and mountains, / and displaying a frightening station of troops possessed of banners,

240.68

and displaying [warriors] cut down, torn apart, broken, and moving about— / thus one should employ sorcery for the terror of enemies.

240.68.p1

Thus ends the two hundred and fortieth chapter, named "Conciliation and the Other Expedients," in the Great Agni Purāṇa.

240.68.p3

Now, the two hundred and forty-first chapter:

240.68.p4

Statecraft.

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Agnipurāṇa (Nag Publishers edition, Delhi) — Sanskrit

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Agnipurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit

Agnipurana 240

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