Sarga I: Rājadharma-upadeśa (57 Verses)

verse 1: Prayer:

The author begins with an invocation wherein he pays obeisance to Lord Ganeśa, Sarasvatī, the goddess of speech, all preceptors starting with Brahmā and proceeds to compose the work Nītiprakāśikā.

verses 2-10: Vaiśampāyana visits Janamejaya:

Sage Vaiśampāyana visits king Janamejaya, stationed at Takṣaśilā, with the intention of narrating to him the political and military concepts. On hearing about the arrival of the sage, the king immediately receives him with due regard and offerings, enquires about his welfare and seeks his blessings. The king conveys his pleasure at the sight of the ṛṣi. He says that by this darśana, even his ancestors have got liberated of their sins and become purified souls. The sage confers his blessings saying “dharme te ramatām buddhiḥ”. Then, facing the ṛṣi, the king bowed down and asked him to clarify doubts about rājadharma, which was earlier expounded by the sage in the Mahābhārata.

verses 11-20: King’s lament on Kaliyuga:

King Janamejaya says that, as kaliyuga arrives, it is quite natural for dharma, satya, śauca, kṣamā, dayā, āyuḥ and balam to diminish; wealth would surpass noble qualities like truth, patience and piety; marriage is not for the sake of dharma but for indulging in sensory pleasures; there is no loyalty in business transactions; external signs for being spiritual are deemed sufficient; keeping away from bad deeds is considered a virtue; meritorious man, devoid of money is treated with contempt; bathing is considered to make oneself pure; people work with the selfish motive of filling up their udara; doing good is for receiving recognition; all men behave without morality; there is no genuine religious pursuit; even kings behave like thieves. In such circumstances, king Janamejaya poses a question to the sage as to how the rules of polity, Dhanurveda as well as the manner of using śastras and astras can be instructed to such morally disoriented people. Then, the sage reveals that the real intention of his visit is to satisfy the king‘s interest in Nītiśāstra.

verses 21-8: Nīti-paramparā:

Sage Vaiśampāyana enlightens king Janamejaya about the earlier works on polity. He points out that Brahmā, Rudra, Subrahmaṇya, Indra, Pracetas, Bṛhaspati, Śukra, Bharadjvāja, Gauraśiras and Vyāsa had respectively written 1,00,000, 50,000, 25,000, 12,000, 6,000, 3,000, 1000, 700, 500 and 300 cantos on Nīti. He adds that the ṛṣis have reduced the volume of the work for the sake of mankind which has limited life-span.

He then goes on to narrate the story of king Pṛthu who was instrumental in bringing dhanurvidyā to human beings.

verses 28-40: Pṛthu’s rule:

Pṛthu ruled the Earth flawlessly. The Earth brought forth her produce even without tilling. In Pṛthu‘s kingdom, natural fibre like darbha grass was golden. It was used by men widely for personal and household needs. Pṛthu rendered water immovable and walked over ocean. Mountains gave way to him and his royal emblem never slipped. He gave ornamented elephants, land and mountains of gold as gifts to brāhmaṇas. Pleased with the merits of Pṛthu, the four-faced Lord appeared before him. Pṛthu considered himself, extremely fortunate to have had the darśana of the Lord and requested the creator to impart dhanurvidyā with its four pādas, and all the secrets about the weapons, to him.

(The treatise from the second sarga onwards is that detailed exposition of dhanurveda, narrated by Brahmā to Pṛthu and re-told by sage Vaiśampāyana to king Janamejaya.)

Tattvavivṛti on verse 38:

Here the four pādas of the dhanurveda are enumerated as–mukta, amukta, muktāmukta and mantramukta. A detailed enumeration of the thirteen different types of lakṣyas–śabda, sparśa, gandha, rasa, dūra, cala, adarśana, pṛṣṭhasthita, sthira, bhramaṇa, pratibimba and uddeśa–and the corresponding Puranic or epic instances are cited.

verses 41-51: Stage set for Dhanurvidyā Upadeśa:

Brahmā tells Pṛthu that just as his (Pṛthu‘s) mind is inclined to receive instruction regarding dharnurveda, he (Brahmā) too has come for imparting knowledge about weapons. Brahmā then tells him about the mythological origin of the sword and other weapons. The sword was created by Brahmā to subjugate the wicked. He expresses willingness to hand over the sword and other weapons to Pṛthu so that he can overthrow societal evils. Then, he tells about the descent of the śastras and astras. Sage Bṛśāśva (Kṛśāśva) had two wives, Jayā and Suprabhā, Dakṣa‘s daughters. Jayā gave birth to all weapons and missiles due to a boon and Suprabhā bore the powerful saṃhāra weapons.

Then, Brahmā blesses Pṛthu to protect his subjects by practising dhanurveda. He discusses the six-fold foreign policy in a nutshell. He recommends areas where the king has to refine his conduct in office to serve the purpose of efficient administration of the country. The key areas he draws attention to are: cultivation of appropriate royal virtues; employment of seven upāyas; analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the foe keeping in mind the fourteen elements as well as officials and development of knowledge of eighteen tīrthas.

Tattvavivṛti on verses 44-5:

While describing the origin of astras Tattvavivṛti discusses the term ‘saṃhāra‘and explains that while the first wife of Sage Bhrśāsva named Jaya gave birth to some astras the second wife, Suprabhā too gave birth to fifty astras. The commentary refers to this when it enumerates the second division of the muktāmukta weapons and clearly states that both the wives of the Sage gave birth to fifty weapons each (Nītiprakāśikā II. 29-38).

Tattvavivṛti on verses 48-9:

Ṣāḍguṇya, Saptopāya and Caturdaśa balābala are discussed elaborately citing Kāmandakīya nītisāra and other Nīti texts. In the porcess, the fourteen doṣas to be avoided by a king according to the Rāmāyaṇa is enumerated and explained. Also the twenty types of chieftains with whom one should not commit alliance according to Kāmandakīya nītisāra is added. A comprehensive understanding of foreign and internal policies is found here.

Tattvavivṛti on verses 50-1:

Aṣṭakarma (the eight-fold activities) and aṣṭādaśatīrtha (the eighteen officials) are enlisted and explained while the text just gives the numbers.

verses 52-6: Conclusion of first Sarga:

After instructing thus, the creator says that by following these guidelines, the king will be able to establish his authority, conquer his enemies and protect his subjects. He finally blesses Pṛthu to have a stronger army (with eighteen constituent divisions) than that of his enemies.

Tattvavivṛti on verses 52-4:

Trividhabala & Rājamaṇḍala are explained by drawing citations from Kāmandakīya nītisāra and other nīti texts.

Tattvavivṛti on verses 55:

The constituent components of Aṣṭāṅga & Caturbala of the army are enumerated and explained.