Sarga VIII: Rājavyāpāra-kathana (100 Verses)

The eighth and final chapter is a comprehensive account on the royal duties and privileges. It provides a detailed time-table for the king, the manner in which officials are to be appointed, types of punishments for the various war crimes. It also hints out on village and city administrative set-up.

verses 1-8: Greatness of the king:

The introductory portion of this sarga speaks on the royal duties and privileges of a king. A king is considered, irrespective of his age, to be divine; hence, he is sarvāśraya. Success of kingship lies in the prosperity of the people.

verses 9-14: Royal time-table:

Waking up at the end of night, towards dawn, the daily function of the king are listed out like finishing the daily chores, work with the assembly, concentrate in governance and counsel with the wise for spiritual development.

verses 15-28: Appointments:

Judges to carry out individual matters, ministers to deal with administrative functions, counsellors to advice on matters of state, ambassadors and envoys, bodyguards and other officials are appointed. The qualifications of these officials and the duties to be executed by them are also detailed.

Tattvavivṛti on verses 22:

It re-inforces the duty of the king to take the advice of the purohit and extends the scope of the term nṛpa to include not just kṣatriya but to others involved in taking care of subjects.

verses 29-43: Crimes, criminals and prescribed punishments:

Taking the information from spies, the king should administer punishment for the miscreants. The different types of penalties and punishments to be carried for various kinds of offences and offenders are enlisted. The officials who err from their duty and harm the governance of the country are also to be punished. The text makes it clear that the punishments are not merely to condone the crime but also to mould the officials as dutiful executives of the administrative principles. Finally, the text declares that a king should at one and same time be gentle and stern since people fear a king who is very harsh and never obey a king who is too gentle.

verses 44-54: Administrative set-up:

A good king is the first asset for a nation; that is, stable government and good governance is a must for a prosperous country. Village is the smallest unit; ten villages, 100 villages and 1000 villages form different units of a country; the official set up begins with a village-head and ends with officer-in-charge of the capital city who is the highest cadre of officials. The concept of well-governed state is properly spelt out.

Tattvavivṛti on verses 44:

It quotes ‘[...]’ from the Rāmāyaṇa, to highlight utmost importance of the king.

Tattvavivṛti on verses 50-51:

It adds information on the disbursal of revenue and on the hierarchy of the heads of various rungs of village and city administration.

verses 55-66: Kingly duties:

Taxes should be laid on people in such a way that they do not feel the burden. The text gives the best management principle that the king should generate income in a larger proportion compared to the expenditure of the state; but it should ensure the welfare of the people. Public welfare works like building reservoirs, planting trees and laying roads fall under the king‘s duty towards his country. All those should be accomplished by dharmic means. All these shall be carried out by having counsel with able ministers and officials.

verses 67-88: Advice for vijigīṣu:

He has to employ the fourfold measures of rājanīti–sāma, dāna, bheda and daṇḍa and their varieties are explained; the ṣāḍguṇya or the six-fold foreign policy with their sub-divisions are also outlined. The position of a state and its development, its internal problems leading to stagnation, the powers of the officials–all these form the main points of discussion for the king and his counsel. An alert king always looks into all these details.

verses 89-100: Conclusion of the sarga and the work Nītiprakāśikā:

As the king‘s official duties end by the noon, the latter half of the day is allocated for his personal life. Thus the day of the king ends with the study of Śāstras and Purāṇas. Brahmā declares that when the king adheres to this time-table he achieves the four-fold goal of life with ease. Then Brahmā disappeared after advising Pṛthu thus. Vaiśampāyana tells Janamejaya that he shall be happy by following all these instructions, and attain everlasting fame. Janamejaya ruled his kingdom well following the instructions he received from Vaiśampāyana.