English Commentaries



Sarga-7
Desirable qualities of a righteous Minister 1.7.1-17

This portion suggests that every king should appoint eight virtuous ministers. Manu says, “He (the king) should appoint seven or eight ministers after thorough scrutiny. They should be knowledgeable in the respective sastras, should be brave and have capacity to achieve a target, be born in a noble family and preferably be brought up in the families that are in the service of the king for generations. The king whose ministers are born in noble families are not allured by bribes, are born and brought up in his vicinity, are capable of offering right advice to the king, are well-versed in the matter of maintaining (political) ties, have the capacity to shape the future, know the right time for the right action, do not keep grieving over the past is the one who derives full reward of kingship. He whose assistants share his happiness and sorrow, work in his interest, always think about enhancing his resources and are well-behaved is the king who attains full reward of kingship.”

Dharma of a king 1.7.18-22

This suggests the dharma (principle of polity) of a king so that even though he is himself capable, he should run the administration of the kingdom with the help of priests and ministers. Manu says, “Even an easy task is difficult to complete single-handed without necessary help. A prospering kingdom is even more so. A king should always entrust all the responsibility to him (the minister) and only after deciding in consultation with him should commence any activity”. Yajnavalkya, too, observes “The king should be equipped with ministers whose generations are in royal service, who are steady and of pure conduct. He should deliberate with them or with the head-priest and finally decide the matter himself”. In the Kamandakiya the same principle is laid down: “When taken care of by a profound minister, the kingdom leads with certainty to the attainment of fruits of the three aims. Ministers of noble lineage and of steady and virtuous mode of life are resting places to completely rely on, for kings, drooped by the burden of the regal responsibility”.