termagant
wives that eat up their flesh like the progeny of a crab eating up their
dam. There are men who through loss of understanding become very
cheerless at the prospect of leaving home. They say unto
themselves,--These are our friends! This is our country! Alas, how shall
we leave these?--One should certainly leave the country of one's birth,
if it be afflicted by plague or famine. One should live in one's own
country, respected by all, or repair to a foreign country for living
there. I shall, for this reason, repair to some other region. I do not
venture to live any longer in this place, for I have done a great wrong
to thy child. O king, one should from a distance abandon a bad wife, a
bad son, a bad king, a bad friend, a bad alliance, and a bad country. One
should not place any trust on a bad son. What joy can one have in a bad
wife? There cannot be any happiness in a bad kingdom. In a bad country
one cannot hope to obtain a livelihood. There can be no lasting
companionship with a bad friend whose attachment is very uncertain. In a
bad alliance, when there is no necessity for it, there is disgrace. She
indeed, is a wife who speaks only what is agreeable. He is a son who
makes the sire happy. He is a friend in whom one can trust. That indeed,
is one's country where one earns one's living. He is a king of strict
rule who does not oppress, who cherishes the poor and in whose
territories there is no fear. Wife, country, friends, son, kinsmen, and
relatives, all these one can have if the king happens to be possessed of
accomplishments and virtuous eyes. If the king happens to be sinful, his
subjects, inconsequence of his oppressions, meet with destruction. The
king is the root of one's triple aggregate (i.e., Virtue, Wealth, and
Pleasure). He should protect his subjects with heedfulness. Taking from
his subjects a sixth share of their wealth, he should protect them all.
That king who does not protect his subjects is truly a thief. That king
who, after giving assurances of protection, does not, from rapacity,
fulfil them,--that ruler of sinful soul,--takes upon himself the sins of
all his subjects and ultimately sinks into hell. That king, on the other
hand, who, having given assurances of protection, fulfils them, comes to
be regarded as a universal benefactor in consequence of protecting all
his subjects. The lord of all creatures, viz., Manu, has said that the
king has seven attributes: he is mother, father, precepto