by
ascetic power, saw it all by his spiritual knowledge. Possessed of great
wisdom, the sage, having ascertained the intentions of the beast,
addressed him in these words.

"'"The sage said, 'O dog, thou wert first transformed into a leopard. From
a leopard thou wert then made a tiger. From a tiger thou wert next
transformed into an elephant with the temporal juice trickling down thy
cheeks. Thy next transformation was into a lion. From a mighty lion thou
wert then transformed into a Sarabha. Filled with affection for thee, it
was I that transformed thee into these diverse shapes. Thou didst not,
and dost not, belong by birth, to any of those species. Since, however, O
sinful wretch, thou desirest to slay me who have done thee no injury,
thou shalt return to thy own species and be a dog again.' After this,
that mean and foolish animal of wicked soul, transformed into a Sarabha
once more assumed, in consequence of the Rishi's curse, his own proper
form of a dog."'"

SECTION CXVIII

"'Bhishma said, "Having once more assumed his proper form, the dog became
very cheerless. The Rishi, reproving him, drove the sinful creature from
his hermitage. An intelligent king should, guided by this precedent,
appoint servants, each fit for the office assigned to him, and exercise
proper supervision over them, having first ascertained their
qualifications in respect of truthfulness and purity, sincerity, general
disposition, knowledge of the scripture, conduct, birth, self-restraint,
compassion, strength, energy, dignity, and forgiveness. A king should
never take a minister without first having examined him. If a king
gathers round him persons of low birth, he can never be happy. A person
of high birth, even if persecuted without any fault by his royal master,
never sets his heart, in consequence of the respectability of his blood,
upon injuring his master. An individual, however, that is mean and of low
birth, having obtained even great affluence from his connection with some
honest man, becomes an enemy of the latter if only he is reproached in
words.[351] A minister should be possessed of high birth and strength; he
should be forgiving and self-restrained, and have all his sense under
control; he should be free from the vice of rapacity, contented with his
just acquisitions, delighted with the prosperity of his master and
friends, conversant with the requirements of place and time, ever
employed in attaching men to himself or