Chapter 67 - The elders recommendation

[Full title: The elders recommend that a member of the house of Ikshvaku be appointed king].

To the inhabitants of the city, lamenting and weeping, the night was as a high mountain, scaled with difficulty. The sun having risen, the brahmin advisers to the kingdom came together in the royal assembly, even those illustrious ones, Markandeya, Vamadeva, Kasyapa, Gautama, Katyayana and Javali.

These renowned sages, together with the ministers, taking their seat in the presence of Vasishtha the excellent and chief priest, declared their mind, saying:

“The past night has been like a hundred years to us. Afflicted, on account of his son’s departure, the king has given up his life. The king is dead and Shri Rama has entered the forest, together with the mighty Lakshmana. The Princes Bharata and Shatrughna are in the the capital of the kingdom of their maternal grandfather. A member of the House of Ikshvaku must be appointed king lest the country fall into ruin. On a kingdom destitute of a ruler, clouds charged with lightning and thunder pour down rain and hail! In a rulerless land, the peasants sow no grain; fathers and sons oppose each other and wives no longer remain subject to their husbands! In a rulerless land, there is no peace, thieves and brigands exercise their power; women, unfaithful to their consorts, leave their homes! Where women lose their virtue, trust is also lost. In a rulerless land, there are no assemblies, nor do the people visit pleasant parks and gardens or build temples and homes of rest. In such a land, the self-controlled brahmins offer no sacrifice nor do those of pious vows, assist them in the sacred rite. In a rulerless land, the brahmins do not receive their due share of the sacrificial fees; neither do actors nor leaders of song or dance find joy in such a land. The holy festivals promoting the land’s prosperity are no longer held, nor do those reciting the holy tradition give satisfaction to their hearers. In a rulerless land, virgins adorned with golden ornaments, do not frequent the flower gardens at close of day, nor do the devotees of pleasure, riding swift chariots in company with charming damsels, repair to the forest. In such a land, the wealthy are not protected, nor does the husbandman, the cowherd and the shepherd sleep at ease with open doors. In a rulerless land, great elephants of sixty years of age do not wander on the royal highways adorned with tinkling bells. The twanging of the archer’s bow is no longer heard, nor do the merchants travelling the roads in security bring their goods to sell from distant lands. In a rulerless land, the self-controlled sage, fixing his mind, in contemplation, on his identity with the all-pervading spirit, receives no hospitality when night falls. Wealth is not unassailable, nor are man’s needs supplied, the armies have no leaders, nor can they match the enemy in war. In a rulerless country, no man, gorgeously apparelled, riding in an excellent chariot, drawn by swift steeds, can go forth without fear; nor can the learned disputant propound his doctrines in the city or forest. In such a land, garlands and sweetmeats, alms or other gifts, are not offered by worshippers as a sacrifice, nor in the springtime, do the princes, like blossoming trees, adorned with sandalwood and ambergris, walk abroad. A kingdom without a sovereign is like a river without water, a forest without vegetation, or a cow without a keeper. As a chariot is known by its standard, as a fire is indicated by smoke, so the king, a light representing the kingdom, has been extinguished. No man loves his own kind in a rulerless land, but each slays and devours the other. Atheists and materialists, exceeding the limits of their caste, assume dominion over others, there being no king to exercise control over them. As the eyes continuously point out what is dangerous to the body, promoting its welfare, so the king ever regards the advantage of his people, promoting truth and ethical conduct. The king leads his people in the path of righteousness and guides them in integrity, he is the parent of his subjects and the greatest of benefactors. In the path of duty he excels even Yama, Kuvera, Indra and Varuna. The king, discerning good and evil, protects his kingdom; bereft of him, the country is enveloped in darkness. O Holy Vasishtha, while the king lived, we obeyed your mandates as the sea keeps within its boundaries. O Great Brahmin, consider our words and the danger threatening this, our kingdom, and appoint someone as king if he be of the house of Ikshvaku.”