Rāja Kaṇḍa — On Kings

112. How each kind of person sleeps

Sleep is something desired by humans and animals alike. Some sleep to rest and recover from weariness; some sleep to regain strength, to rise up and struggle to survive; some sleep to keep their bodily posture in balance. The diligent tend to sleep little; the lazy tend to sleep much.

A king has many royal duties both day and night; he conceives new projects, goes out on inspection to bring peace and happiness to his subjects, to relieve their suffering and foster their welfare, with scarcely any time to rest his body. He therefore has time to sleep and rest for but a single watch (four hours).

A wise man engaged in striving should sleep only two watches (eight hours).

A householder who tends his home, earning just enough to get by, sleeps three watches (twelve hours).

As for the beggar, who lives by going about begging, he sleeps four watches (all day and all night — that is, the whole night reckoned as three watches, and the whole day reckoned as one watch).

113. The five marks of a fit land

A fit land (paṭirūpadesa) — a place or country worth living in — has five components, namely:

1. The rich man — the one abounding in money and gold, the merchant and trader, the one who creates work and makes money circulate to people of every station, so that comforts can be had.

2. The learned scholar — the one who practises and advises on the customs that are the roots of good tradition, bringing about cooperation and united effort to build a society worth living in.

3. The righteous king — endowed with the wisdom and ability to relieve the suffering that arises from injustice in the land, and to foster welfare so that the people are generous and helpful to one another.

4. The river and stream — that bring abundance for the pursuit of farming and agriculture, sustaining the townsfolk in comfort and plenty.

5. The capable physician — skilled in diagnosing and treating disease, giving health and well-being to the townsfolk who suffer torment from illness and disease.

If any country lacks these five components, one should not stay there even for a single day.

114. The place not worth dwelling in

A place worth going to, worth dwelling in once you arrive, worth staying in for many days, is one where there are people who respect one another, people dear and intimate and familiar, kinsfolk who will help and support one another, and an institution or place of learning enough that one can study and acquire knowledge.

But whatever place has no people who respect one another, only people who look down on and despise one another; no people dear and intimate and familiar, only people who hate and are weary of one another; no kinsfolk to support one another, only those who watch to harm and oppress; no place of study to gain knowledge, only haunts of vice — if one has not yet gone there, one should not go; if there is pressing need to go, one should not stay past a single day; and if there is pressing need to stay, one should guard oneself well: do not mingle, do not clash, do not take delight in these unwholesome things, for that would be a cause of ruin.

115. What is bereft is not beautiful

A family that has only daughters and no son to carry on the line will come to the end of its line; for it is a son alone who can preserve and continue the lineage — a daughter cannot, for once she marries she is reckoned as belonging to another family.

A country that has no king to rule, or has only an unrighteous king who oppresses the people, will lose its good royal traditions.

One who has no knowledge, or little knowledge, when he expresses an opinion or advises and instructs others, has words that carry no weight and inspire no confidence; once spoken, they are counted as in vain and cannot be put into practice.

As for the poor and wretched, kinless and friendless, fallen on hard times, without refuge and forlorn, without shelter, without food to sustain life, without clothes to cover the body — they are reckoned as utterly bereft of everything.

116. Seeking in life

Most people think that wealth and money are the foremost necessity for a life lived in happiness and comfort, and so they all pursue it, thinking that when they have much they will have much happiness, and when they have little they will have little.

Since worldly people hold this view, the wise therefore advise: he who wants wealth must invest capital and effort, pursuing right livelihood honestly, without fraud or cheating; he who wants knowledge must approach the wise who possess knowledge of various branches, or those with skilled mastery in particular fields; he who wants a healthy, strong child must have a young wife; he who wants to be a royal attendant must diligently keep close and serve the ministers.

But he who wants merit must diligently give alms, keep the precepts, and cultivate concentration and meditation. If he does not yet know how, he should approach the wise to inquire about the right way of making merit, and not act merely out of gullible belief in glowing descriptions of the rewards; he must consider according to reason and cause.

117. The ruin proper to each kind

Ruin can befall a person of any birth, class, or standing, without distinction of noble rank or beggar, young or old, man or woman, monastic or householder.

The monastic is one who lives simply, content with the requisites, and so supports the practice of the ascetic life. If he does not know contentment, he surely declines from the ascetic life.

The king — if he is content and wants little, and does not exert himself in royal duties to relieve his subjects' suffering and foster their welfare, the nation will sink to ruin.

The courtesan lives by selling her services; if she is forever bashful, without a woman's arts, she will not be in demand among men, and so declines from the income by which she lives.

The daughter of good family dwells in a family of repute, respected and widely known; if she is shameless, coarse in her manner, she surely brings disgrace upon her lineage.

118. The strength proper to each

One who would soar forth conspicuously must rely on a different supporting strength.

The bird flies up into the sky and glides beautifully because it has the force of the wind for its support. A bird that has never flown against the wind will not be strong. The wind, therefore, is counted the reinforcing strength of the flock of birds.

The fish darts swiftly through the stream because it has darted through swift currents before. If a fish lives only in still water, it will not be strong, and so is eaten by larger fish. The current, therefore, is the reinforcing strength of the school of fish.

The king has great sovereign majesty, relieving the suffering and fostering the welfare of all the weak and helpless. The king, therefore, is the strength of all the weak.

The infant, when it cries and struggles, kicks and squirms, and is playful, thereby comes to have a strong and sound body. Crying and playfulness, therefore, are the reinforcing strength of the child.

119. The six qualities of a leader

In this maxim of the Loka Nīti, the teacher sets forth six qualities of a leader of a country, namely:

1. Khamā — having patience, great forbearance, a cool head.

2. Jāgariya — having alertness, being fully aware of the state of the nation.

3. Uṭṭhāna — having diligence and effort, not lazy or faint-hearted.

4. Saṃvibhāga — being generous and helpful, apportioning and sharing.

5. Dayā — having kindness and care for one's fellow citizens.

6. Ikkhaṇā — having discernment, being clever and endowed with wisdom and ability.

These six qualities the person who is a leader of the nation must possess. If he does not yet have them, he must strive to train himself to have and to be them, so as to win the acceptance of the many in a democratic order.

120. One who keeps his word

The person honoured by the world at large is one who has many good qualities, and above all the quality of speech: before saying anything, he must consider it over and over, weigh it over and over, ponder it over and over; for if he blunders and says something amiss, it is hard to set right again. He must be one whose word is sure — accomplishing things with but a single utterance.

"A king speaks and does not take back his word" — this saying we have heard for a long time, and we see it to be truly so. It is said of a king that whatever he commands, he cannot command otherwise afterward; it must be carried out accordingly. And so he considers most carefully before he issues his command.

Ascetics, brahmins, and the virtuous are people of high moral quality, and so it is their nature to speak words of good counsel, words of truth, words joined with benefit.

These things are a custom held and practised down the ages from the past to the present.

121. The four faults proper to each

The layman who still enjoys sense-pleasures should not be lazy, but should be diligent and industrious in earning a living. The present world has fierce competition, competing in the pursuit of comforts, which makes the struggle to earn a living harder than need be. The very diligent therefore gain the advantage, the less diligent are at a disadvantage, and the lazy need not even be mentioned.

A monastic who does not restrain his faculties, going into an assembly, is unseemly and inspires no faith.

A king who does not consider carefully before undertaking royal duties surely spoils those duties.

A wise man who is ill-tempered, impatient, quick to anger, willful, and displays a stiff and sulky manner is unbecoming of one who is wise.

122. A body with many leaders

Whatever body selects and seeks out a knowledgeable person of the greatest ability — one who knows how to speak so as to unite and reconcile, who sacrifices for the group, who has initiative and creativity, and so on — to be its leader; and the group accepts him as truly knowledgeable, gives him support, agrees with his ideas, does not clash with him, or even in disagreement uses reason and cause — the work of such a body is surely developed and advanced, without stalling.

But whatever body has many knowledgeable people, many leaders, many volunteers, each contending to be chief, exalting himself and putting down the others, sowing discord so that it splits into many factions, unable to unite its strength; where whoever acts is blamed and they slander one another — such a body is surely not developed or advanced, but only sinks to ruin. The work, too, they shirk upon one another; and when no one does it, they cast the fault on this one and that one. In the end, these people who boast of knowing lead the whole body to catastrophe.

123. What a leader should know

Whatever king attends to his royal duties, diligently inspects his officials, has the borderlands patrolled, and keeps abreast of news concerning the four kinds of thief — the forest thief, the village thief, the city thief, and the yellow-robed thief.

• The forest thief is the thief who gathers a force in the forest and goes out to plunder; when he has a large force, he grows ambitious to the point of thinking to overthrow the throne.

• The village thief is the petty thief who filches small things, who breaks in, sneaks in by stealth, counterfeits goods, and the like.

• The city thief is the administrator of the realm and the official who is crooked in bone and marrow, dishonest in his duty, refusing to pay income tax, diverting the state's funds — which are the people's taxes — to use for the benefit of himself and his cronies, and so on.

• The yellow-robed thief is the ascetic or brahmin of bad conduct who lives by deceiving others.

When he attends to these matters thus, he comes to know the causes of decline and prosperity, and should punish those deserving punishment and honour those deserving honour.

124. Occasions and places to beware of

People tend to do things as they please, at ease, informally, without strict seriousness — and that is no matter. But one must do things fittingly on the following occasions.

When warming oneself in the sun in the cold season, one should turn one's back to the sunlight, not one's face, for that would make the sun strike one's eyes.

When warming oneself at a fire in the cold season, one should face the fire, not turn one's back to it, so that when sparks fly out one can see them and dodge in time, and not be burned.

When approaching one's lord, or when going into audience with the king, one should crouch and crawl in, showing both front and back — which is counted an act of reverence and homage.

When death draws near, one must take care not to lose mindfulness; for one who loses mindfulness before death will thereby be reborn in a state of woe.

125. Six things to avoid

Fire, though but a small heap, should not be heedlessly thought harmless, for it may spread swiftly until it becomes a great blaze that burns everything to ruin.

Water, though its current be still and not swift, should not be heedlessly thought harmless; for once one has fallen in, one may be unable to scramble to the bank, and drown in the end.

A woman, though she goes about alone, should not be thought to have no owner; if one heedlessly goes to court her, one may be harmed in body by her owner.

The fool has no wisdom to consider what is fit and unfit, and may lead one to do what one ought not, until one is arrested and fined or imprisoned by the officers of the realm.

A venomous snake, though it be small, should not be heedlessly thought harmless; for what is called a venomous snake, be it small or large, has venom all the same, and when one is bitten one may lose one's life.

A young prince, though he be of tender years, should not be scorned; for when he ascends the throne he may seek revenge and bring ruin in the blink of an eye.

126. Three things that are deadly to live with

An unfaithful wife, a bad-tempered servant, and a venomous snake in the house — these three are of great danger and can bring calamity at any time.

A wife who is unfaithful, having an affair with another man — when this is known, one should hasten to agree upon a divorce; do not let it drag on, do not let her excuse herself, do not give her the opening. Once her heart has turned, she will only squander the property, or turn treacherous and, together with her lover, plot to kill her husband.

A servant of a malicious temper, ill-tempered and quick to anger, should be quickly maneuvered out; do not trust him, do not scold him, do not rouse his rancour, for in anger he may destroy life and property to utter ruin.

In a house where there is a venomous snake, one should not stay past a single day, for one may be bitten and die.

These three, the wise warn, must not be heedlessly trusted, for it is to dwell close to death, and one day they are sure to bring death.

127. Even the wise can be brought to ruin

What is called sugarcane, though crushed and ground by the press, does not give up its sweetness.

What is called salt, though burned and boiled, does not give up its saltiness.

What is called the wise, though threatened, plotted against, and oppressed, does not give up the Dhamma. Yet even though one be accepted and respected as wise, if one only wears oneself out teaching foolish, dull-witted pupils — pupils who cannot remember what they are taught, who are taught again and again yet remain as foolish as before, who are made no wiser however much they are taught — this can make people lose faith, and one can be reproached: "Not truly skilled, not truly wise — he cannot even teach a pupil to be clever." Or if one supports a bad wife who takes lovers and does disgraceful things, so that the world reproaches one: "Unbecoming of a wise man — he is merely the husband of a wicked woman." Or if one associates with wicked people — eating together, working together, sleeping together, going about together — one may be shunned by others as being just the same as those wicked people, and how then is one to be called wise? When it is thus, one can surely come to ruin.

128. The bond of those who are close

Among people who are bound to one another, when one of them does good or does evil, the other also shares in the praise or the reproach that follows.

When a child does evil, the parents too are branded as evil, either for not knowing how to guide and teach the child to be good, or because they never taught the child at all what is good and what is evil, what should and should not be done — and so the child does evil in the wake of his friends.

When a pupil does evil, the teacher too is reproached as evil; the world may understand that the teacher taught the pupil to do evil for the teacher's own benefit.

When a king does evil, the royal chaplain and the ministers too share in the penalty; for the world will reproach them, saying that the king does evil because the chaplain or the ministers or those close to him do not remonstrate but give their support.

If either side does good, the other too receives the praise.

129. True victory

There are many ways to conquer others. Some conquer by bringing disgrace upon the opponent; some conquer by building up good relations with one another.

If one would conquer a fool by crushing him, causing him pain so that he nurses hatred and rancour, such a conquest is never lasting; for one day one is sure to be conquered back and made to lose in turn.

To conquer a wise man by building up good feeling toward one another, so that the opponent comes to accept, respect, and honour one — such a conquest is a lasting victory, for once one has conquered, one never loses again.

As for the wrathful person, he must be conquered by forbearance without retort; the wicked person must be conquered by doing good; the miser must be conquered by sharing; the liar must be conquered by constantly speaking the truth.

130. Giving tames those hard to tame

This maxim of the Loka Nīti shows a special mark of a leader. To be a leader, one cannot use only the force of authority; power alone is not enough — one must use grace alongside it.

Giving, helping, promoting, and supporting will turn a hard and stubborn person, hard to tame, into one easy to tame, willing to do everything as bidden. When the animal-trainer bids the animal do this and that, he then gives it food as a reward, making the animal want the food and so obey every command.

The trainer of people is no different: when they do as bidden, he should praise them and give them rewards. Even knowing how to use gentle speech can subdue a hard, stubborn, and harsh person into gentleness. When they see that we help and support them, they will offer themselves to serve; at a mere word, they will hasten to do it.

Giving and gentle speech, therefore, accomplish benefit in every place and at all times.

131. Giving is a love-charm, stinginess a repellent

This maxim of the Loka Nīti further stresses that giving turns the bad into good, turns hatred into love, turns the heartless into the kindhearted, turns those who look down and despise into those who honour and praise, turns obstruction into ease and readiness, turns the selfish into the generous, turns those without kin or friends into those richly endowed with kin, friends, and retinue, and turns hesitation into swift decision.

The teacher therefore says that giving is a great and popular love-charm: everyone loves a giver, and wherever he goes he is respected. Stinginess is a poison that makes people hate: no one likes a stingy, grasping person who, having given nothing, still wants yet more.

The giver surely has honour, rank, fame, and people who admire him.

The stingy surely lose honour, rank, and fame, and people despise them.

132. The united strength of the weak

Unity and a grass rope both signify firmness — nothing can come and snap them apart.

People of little bodily strength, though many, can do nothing; they cannot even lift a heavy load, let alone go to do battle with the enemy — they would only be beaten and scattered by the foe, fleeing almost too late. But when they gather and close ranks, they surely have a strong might, awesome to behold, able to overawe the enemy, or able to fight and conquer the enemy.

Grass or straw is not firm enough to bind or tether an animal; but when it is twisted together into a great strand, it becomes firm enough to bind or tether an animal, even a great elephant. Therefore society should have unity and cooperate.

133. A friend without ability

Whatever task one cannot accomplish alone, one must seek an able friend to help. The more important the task, the more one must select a friend of high ability to help. But most friends tend to boast that they are clever, that they all have ability, making a show of it, putting on a fierce and eager air as though skilled; yet when it comes to the point, they can do nothing.

The wise therefore say that where there is no ability, however great a display of fire one may put on, one cannot help anyone accomplish anything.

Like a fire that, however fiercely it blazes and makes a display to strike dread and terror, once it falls into a place with no wind, or into a vacuum, cannot burn anything, but only gradually goes out of its own accord.

Whatever task one undertakes, one should seek out an able person to help; only then will it succeed.

134. The royal servant should beware of his belongings

In no age should a royal servant use articles of enjoyment such as the king uses. He should not carry himself so as to resemble the king, nor mimic his voice to sound like the king; he should not use the same kind of flowers the king favours; he should not use perfume like the king's; he should not use cosmetics of the same kind as the king's; he should not wear garments of the same colour and pattern as the king's; and he should not use ornaments — crown, necklace, ring, footwear, belt, or any other ornament — so as to resemble the king's. For this is counted an affront to the king's sovereign majesty, or he may be seen as plotting to overthrow the throne; or, if an enemy attacks and closes in, he may be mistaken for the king and be seized and slain.

135. The king is no comrade

However familiar, close, and intimate a royal attendant may be with the king, he must always be mindful in his heart that His Majesty is not a dear friend, not a playmate, not a companion for outings, not a friend to confide troubles to, not a friend to hear private secrets, not a friend to borrow things from, not a friend to share food and belongings with, not a friend to jest and banter with, not a friend to crack jokes with, not a friend to invite along anywhere, not a friend to come and go as one pleases with, not a friend to sit side by side with, not a friend to tease and play tricks on.

The king is called the Sovereign Lord, the Lord of the Realm, the noble master of high rank, a divinity by convention, one whom the townsfolk revere, honour, and hold above their very heads. When one goes into audience, one should be careful of one's manner and one's words, and in one's heart be loyal — for His Majesty is the lord of one's life.

136. Six things to avoid in approaching the king

When one is to go into audience with the king, one must first study the proper method and custom, and only then approach. For instance, one must avoid six unsuitable positions, namely:

1. Atidūre — approaching too far off, so that when one addresses him, one's voice is not clearly heard.

2. Accāsanne — approaching too close, thereby obstructing his face.

3. Upavātake — approaching upwind, so that one's bodily odour may disturb him.

4. Ujuke — approaching directly in front, obstructing the path of the royal progress.

5. Atininne — approaching from behind, making him suspicious and uneasy.

6. Uccāsane — approaching in a place higher than his, seeming to lack reverence and homage.

137. A good person needs a patron

One who would rise to be a leader, though he has an abundance of good qualities, is highly capable, and can bring every task to success, yet lacks those who accept him, lacks supporters, lacks those who honour him, lacks a patron, cannot rise to be a leader, and does not look as resplendent as he should. But when the many accept, respect, honour, exalt, and support him, once he has risen to be a leader, he is surely resplendent in every place.

It is like a gem: though of value beyond measure, if it has no golden mount to rest on, or no ring-setting to hold it, it will not be beautiful and dazzling to the eye.

The good person and the gem, therefore, are in the same case. Those with wisdom should ponder this.