Verse 7.175

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

निग्रहं प्रकृतीनां च कुर्याद् योऽरिबलस्य च ।
उपसेवेत तं नित्यं सर्वयत्नैर्गुरुं यथा ॥ १७५ ॥

nigrahaṃ prakṛtīnāṃ ca kuryād yo'ribalasya ca |
upaseveta taṃ nityaṃ sarvayatnairguruṃ yathā || 175 ||

That king who does the chastisement of his people as also of his enemy’s army,—him he shall ever serve with every effort, like a preceptor.—(175)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

It has been said that the other king should be ‘powerful’; the question arising as to what amount of strength would mark him out as ‘powerful’,—the present verse supplies the answer.

With that king alone he shall seek shelter who is capable of chastising the enemy’s forces, as also the disloyal subjects of the king seeking his shelter.

And such a king shall he served like a preceptor; and in so doing the king shall not consider his dignity at all; he should have no such notion as ‘he also is a great king, so I shall treat him as my equal’; in fact he shall be attended upon, like a master.

‘With every effort’— by all such means as saying agreeable things, attending on him, and so forth.—(175)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti, p. 328)