Great works on statecraft,
To Brihaspati, Kautilya and Vishnusarman, To all these who composed To Salana, Makhyavela and Ahobasa, To Mahadhishana and Narasimharaya, And above all to the incomparable Bhimaraya, Homage we now pay!
To all these who gave us The dharma of our day,
To the Daughter of the Lotus and the Lord of the Snakes, Gratitude we express! To Para, Adi and Tija and all Manavas, We humbly proffer this text.
Who are and will be Citizens of great janapadas,
They and all who read this text and everything else
Are hereby enjoined Not to accept received wisdom
But always employ critical inquiry, For critical inquiry is 'the lamp for all knowledge systems,
the right strategy for all activities, and the basis for all Laws'.
This, we have heard, is how it happened.
In the distant land of Gandhara, there once was a janapada called Chakrapuri. It was a republic, ruled by wise elders according to laws their ancestors had made and that they had the power to change. The people were not wealthy nor were they living in poverty. The elders of the Sabha ruled with wisdom and prudence, and, while they were not particularly warlike, had managed to fend off the Great King's soldiers every time they'd attacked. While they paid tribute to the raja of Takshashila, they were able to resist his advances too.
The elders of the Sabha were a worried lot. They were concerned that the good times might not last, as the times were changing and their children were uninterested in the upkeep of the janapada. Sure, they paid attention to their studies, their apprenticeships and their ritual duties. But most of them were consumed by self-interest, many by avarice and others in seeking advantage over their fellows. The elders feared that Chakrapuri might fall prey to the ambitions of this king or that, and that the freedoms they long enjoyed would be at great peril. For was it not true that many in the younger generation were already seduced by the lustre of the ways of the kings?
So, realizing that the young people must learn the arts and crafts of citizenship, the Sabha of Chakrapuri gathered to deliberate the matter. The patriarch of the merchants invited his fellow councillors to propose how they might ensure that the janapada they had been entrusted with could be safer and better in the hands of their offspring and their offspring's offspring, and so forth.
The mason suggested they change the teachers and masters who were perhaps failing in their duties. The farmer's wife, known for her perspicacious wisdom, explained that the teachers were sincere if sometimes distracted by other pursuits, and that changing one for another might not deliver better results. The old soldier was of the view that the young lacked discipline and that it may be useful to put all the boys through rigorous military training. To this, most others were opposed, for the janapada was already short-handed when it came to tending to the crops, looking after the animals and the various trades that put food in the mouths of families. The weaver remarked that if only the elders behaved in exemplary ways would the young follow, and it would be better if they all reflected on their own conduct instead. Thus the Sabha descended into inconclusive arguments. Every person who spoke offered useful ideas, but none was able to secure a consensus. Finally, the tavernkeeper said:
'Members of the Sabha! Hear me for I have a suggestion to make
It is said that when the water in the well is unsuitable The wise will go up the river. So it is that if we cannot find the answer to this question here We should look beyond our boundary.
