Verse 7.41

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

वेनो विनष्टोऽविनयात्नहुषश्चैव पार्थिवः ।
सुदाः पैजवनश्चैव सुमुखो निमिरेव च ॥ ४१ ॥

veno vinaṣṭo'vinayātnahuṣaścaiva pārthivaḥ |
sudāḥ paijavanaścaiva sumukho nimireva ca || 41 ||

It was through want of discipline that Vena perished, as also King Nahuṣa, Sudās, Paijavana, Sumukha and Nimi.—(41)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

In support of both assertions they cite instances of well-known Kings. The stories of these Kings are to be learnt from the Mahābhārata.—(41)

VERSE (42)

But through discipline pṛthu and manu obtained kingdoms, kubera obtained the lordship of wealth and the son of gādhi attained brāhmaṇahood.—(42)

‘The son of Gadhi (Gādhi?) attained Brāhmaṇahood.’—

Objection—“In connection with the subject of Kings and kingdoms, where was the occasion for citing an instance of the attaining of Brāhmaṇahood? It was necessary to cite cases of the obtaining of kingdoms only, as was done in the first half of the verse.”

Our answer is that as a matter of fact a higher caste is more difficult to attain than sovereignty over riches; because the higher caste carries with it all its privileges.

Objection— “But how can, vinaya, discipline, be the cause of that? ‘Discipline’ consists in such qualifications as—the proper employment of the six means of success, alertness, thrift, non-avariciousness, freedom from evil habits, and so forth; and not

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

“Vena is often taken as a type of an undisciplined king. He was the son of Sunīthā and father to Pṛthu......Nahuṣa, son of Āyuṣ (the Mahābhārata I and V), was ruined by love and ambition... Sudās was king at the time of the great Vaśiṣṭha, and a leader of the Tṛtsu (Ṛgveda VII. 18)... Sumukha is unknown to me. Nimi is said to be a Videha king”—Hopkins.

Gharpure notes the following references to the Mahābhārata;—(1) Droṇaparva (69);—(2) Śāntiparva (28-137, 58-102);—(3) Ādiparva (63-5, 69-29);—(4) Udyogaparva (101-12);—(5) Bhīṣmaparva (6-14);—(6) Sabhā-parva (8-9). These are meant to refer respectively to the six kings mentioned in the text.

This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti, p. 119), which notes that Sudāsa was the son of Paijavana.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Gautama (It. 3).—‘The king shall be fully instructed in the threefold science and in Logic.’

Yājñavalkya (1. 310).—‘Fully instructed in Logic, in Political Science, in Agricultural Science and in the Threefold Science (Vedas).’

Arthasāstra (pp. 34-35).—‘The discipline of the sciences is obtained through the authority of the professors of each; for the sake of this discipline one should always remain in constant touch with those learned in the sciences.’

Kāmandaka (1.59,03,66).—‘Association with the Preceptor bestows knowledge of the scriptures; knowledge of the scriptures increases humility. A king who is modest under culture never sinks under calamities. A king well-versed in polity, practising self-control, very soon attains to that shining pitch of prosperity that has been attained by other divine kings. The Preceptor is worshipped for the acquisition of learning; learning which has been mastered becomes instrumental in enhancing the prudence of the illustrious; and the habit of acting by prudence leads to prosperity.’