of men, rescuing them from danger, relieving the distressed
and the oppressed, all these occur among Kshatriya
duties practised by Kings. Persons that do not
regard wholesome restraints and that are governed
by lust and wrath, do not commit overt acts of sin
from fear of kings. Others that are docile and
of righteous behaviour succeed, in consequence of
the same influence, in performing all their duties.
For this reason Kshatriya duties are regarded to be
righteous. Without doubt, all creatures live
happily in the world, protected by kings exercising
Kshatriya duties like children protected by their parents.
Kshatriya duties are the foremost of all duties.
Those eternal duties, regarded as the first in the
world, embrace the protection of every creature.
Themselves eternal, they lead to eternal emancipation.’”
“Indra said, ’Kshatriya duties, O king,
which are possessed of such energy, which include
in their exercise all other duties, and which are
the foremost of all duties, should be observed by persons
that are, like thee, so high-souled and so employed
in seeking the good of the world. If those duties
are not properly discharged, all creatures would be
overtaken by ruin. The kings possessed of compassion
for all creatures, should regard these to be the foremost
of his duties, reclaiming the land for cultivation
and fertilizing it, performance of great sacrifices
for cleansing himself, a disregard for begging, and
protection of subjects. Abandonment (gift) is
said by the sages to be the foremost of virtues.
Of all kinds of abandonment, again, that of the body
in battle, is the foremost. Thou hast seen with
thy eyes how the rulers of the earth, ever observant
of Kshatriya duties, having duly waited upon their
preceptors and acquired great learning, at last cast
off their bodies, engaged in battle with one another.
The Kshatriya, desirous of acquiring religious merit,
should, after having gone through the Brahmacharya
mode, should lead a life of domesticity which is always
meritorious. In adjudicating upon ordinary questions
of right (between his subjects), he should be thoroughly
impartial. For causing all the orders to be observant
of their respective duties, for the protection they
afford to all, for the diverse contrivances and means
and the prowess and exertion (with which they seek
the accomplishment of their objects). Kshatriya
duties, which include all other duties within their
scope, are said to be the foremost. The other
orders are able to observe their respective duties
in consequence of kingly duties. For this reason
the former are said to be dependent upon the latter
in respect of the merit they produce.[205] Those men
who disregard all wholesome restraints and who are
too much attached to the pursuit of worldly objects
are said to be of the nature of brutes. They
are compelled to act with justice by the exercise of
kingly duties. Those duties, therefore, are said
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