History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.378
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.378
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The first quality required in a king according to Yāj. I. 309 quoted above (p. 44) is great energy and Kauṭ. also (in VI. 1) mentions ‘great energy’ (mahotsāha) among the qualities called ‘ābhigāmika’. Works on dharmaśāstra and arthaśāstra emphasize the fact that a king must always be full of activity and must not be lethargic or fatalistic. In the Mahābhārata the topic of human effort and *daiva* (fate or destiny) comes up for treatment in numerous places and is put in the mouth of several characters with different emphasis according to circumstances. In Ādi 1. 246-247, 89. 7-10, Sabhā 46. 16, 47. 36, 58. 14, Vanaparva 179. 27-28, Udyoga 8. 52, 40. 32, 159. 4, 186. 18, Āśramavāsika 10. 29 the emphasis is on *daiva* as all powerful, it being said that human effort is useless as against *daiva*. A golden mean is advocated in Ādi. 123. 21, Sabhā 16. 12, Udyoga 79. 5-6, Śānti 56. 14-15, Sauptika 2. 3, in all of which it is said that worldly affairs require both *puruṣakāra* (effort) and *daiva*. In certain other passages it is recommended that effort is superior to daiva and that one's business is to make efforts and not to care for fate; e. g. in Droṇa 152. 27, Śānti 27. 32, 58. 13-16, 153. 50, Anuśāsana 6. 1 ff, Sauptika 2. 12-13 and 23-24. A few of the striking passages indicative of the three lines of thought are set out in the note below.²¹⁴ Energetic action, according to Śānti. 58. 13-15, is declared by Bṛhaspati to be the root of rājadharma.
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Nectar was obtained and asuras were killed by the gods by means of energetic action and Indra secured his high position in heaven and here by energetic action. Bṛ. makes the characteristic remark ‘A man who is a hero of action leads those who are heroes in speech and the latter are seen to cater for the pleasures of the former and wait humbly on him’. The Bhagavadgītā in its final summing up of the philosophy of Activism without an eye to the fruit of it but from a sense of duty declares (XVIII. 13-16) ‘that in the Sāṅkhya philosophy five categories are mentioned as conducive to the accomplishment of all actions viz. the place, the agent, various kinds of instruments, diverse and separate activities and lastly *daiva*; that whatever action a man commences either with his body, words or mind these five are its causes, whether the action be righteous (nyāyya) or the opposite of it, and that this being the true state of things (i. e. the fruit depending on the co-operation of five elements and not on one alone) that man who regards himself alone as bringing about a result is a fool and has no correct perception.’ Kauṭilya also (I. 19 last two verses) says ‘activity (*utthāna*) is the root of wealth and the opposite of it is the root of evil. In the absence of activity the loss of present and future acquisitions is sure; by activity a king can obtain his desired object and plenty of wealth’. Yāj. (I.
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349 and 351) states that success in undertakings depends upon both fate and human effort, yet fate is nothing but the human effort of past lives manifesting its effect (in this life) and that as on a single wheel a chariot cannot progress, so fate cannot accomplish anything without human effort. Yāj. I. 350 refers to other views viz. fate alone leads to success, human effort alone does so, that success results of itself (without any cause), while others say that it is Time that brings about all results. Manu VII. 205, Matsya 221. 1-12 (all of which are quoted in the Rājanītiprakāśa pp. 313-314) and Viṣṇudharmottara II. 66 (which has the same verses as in Matsya 221) inculcate the same doctrine as that of Yāj. I. 349 and 351 and emphasize that one must always make efforts (tasmāt sadotthānavatā hi bhāvyaṁ-Matsya 221. 12). The Matsyapurāṇa 221. 2 emphatically²¹⁵ states that effort is superior. Medhātithi on Manu IV. 137 quotes a *subhāṣita* 'those devoid of effort are engaged in calculating the aspects of planets; there is nothing impossible of accomplishment for those who are determined and who are able to put forth spirited efforts.' Kauṭ. (IX. 4 last two verses), Kām. V. 11, XIII. 3-11 emphasize the importance of strenuous efforts. Śukranītisāra (I. 46-58) holds a long disquisition on effort and *daiva*. It contains the following fine sentiments (I.
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48-49): 'Men of intellect whose career is honourable regard human effort as the highest (and not fate), while impotent men not being able to make efforts have recourse to fate; but all is centred in both daiva and effort'. Vide Rājanītiprakāśa pp. 312-315 and Nītimayūkha pp. 52-53 for further remarks on daiva and effort. In one place the Mahābhārata (Udyoga 127. 19) contains the bravest and loftiest advice 'man should always press forward (make efforts), should never bend; striving is manliness; one may even break at a point which is not the joint, but should never bend'²¹⁶. The Bṛhat-Parāśarasmṛti X pp. 282-283 contains a long discourse on daiva and puruṣakāra. Vide Vāyu 9. 60-61 and Mārk. purāṇa 2. 61-62 and 23. 25-26 for similar passages on daiva and effort.