The Social and Military Position of the Ruling Caste in Ancient India, as Represented by the Sanskrit Epic c2.s5.9

c2.s5.9

∗ The allusion to the empty house is explained by the fact that a house not yet occupied is glad to have its first inmate make a lucky entrance; so the inception of his plan he should strive to have done under favorable auspices. The reference to the boat is drawn from an antique law forbidding a man (avoiding toll) to swim a river where a ferry has been placed. So a king should wait for the proper means to convey him to his goal (Compare Vās. xii. 45, bāhubhyāṃ na nadīṃ taret; M. iv. 77, etc.). The Manu code has also many of the comparisons drawn from the acts of animals. Compare vs. 24 with M. vii. 105; 25 (a) = M. vii. 106 (a), etc. The spies are here recommended as usual for parks, halls, and places where priests meet. Compare above, p. 152. The allusion to the cow’s horn (anarthakam anāyuṣyaṃ goviṣāṇasya bhakṣaṇam, 56) is explained by the addition ‘the teeth touch it, but no food is obtained.’ Compare with these mottoes Kām. Nit. v. 1; Ag. P. 224. 27, etc. The heads of guilds mentioned in vs. 64 are the same as those already discussed above, p. 82. With vs. 69 ff. compare Böhtlingk’s Sprüche, mahate yo and na tat taret; with the last proverb, 68, compare v. 37. 56; 38. 8.