to all kinds of work.  The king should honour the righteous and chastise the unrighteous.  He should, acting with resolution, set the several orders to their respective duties.  Ascertaining properly, by means of spies, the outward behaviour and the state of mind of the inhabitants of his city and provinces, he should adopt those measures that may be required.  The king should himself supervise his spies and counsels, his treasury, and the agencies for inflicting chastisements.  Upon these everything may be said to depend.  With spies constituting his sight, the king should ascertain all the acts and intentions of his foes, friends, and neutrals.  He should then, with heedfulness, devise his own measures, honouring those that are loyal to him and punishing those that are hostile.  The king should always adore the gods in sacrifices and make gifts without giving pain to anybody.  He should protect his subjects, never doing anything that may obstruct or thwart righteousness.  He should always maintain and protect the helpless, the masterless, and the old, and women that are widows.  The king should always honour the ascetics and make unto them gifts, at proper seasons of cloths and vessels and food.  The king should, with attentive care, inform the ascetics (within his dominions) of the state of his own self, of all his measures, and of the kingdom, and should always behave with humility in their presence.  When he sees ascetics of high birth and great learning that have abandoned all earthly objects, he should honour them with gifts of beds and seats and food.  Whatever the nature of the distress into which he may fall, he should confide in an ascetic.  The very robbers repose confidence upon persons of that character.  The king should place his wealth in charge of an ascetic and should take wisdom from him.  He should not, however, always wait upon them or worship them on all occasions.[250] From among those residing in his own kingdom, he should select one for friendship.  Similarly, he should select another from among those that reside in the kingdom of his foe.  He should select a third from among those residing in the forests, and a fourth from among those dwelling in the kingdoms paying tribute to him.  He should show hospitality towards and bestow honours upon them and assign them the means of sustenance.  He should behave towards the ascetics dwelling in the kingdoms of foes and in the forests in the same way as towards those that reside in his own kingdom.  Engaged in penances and of rigid vows they would, if calamity overtakes the king and if he solicits protection, grant him what he wants.  I have now told thee in brief the indications of the city in which the king should reside.’”

SECTION LXXXVII

“Yudhishthira said, ’How, O king, may a kingdom be consolidated, and how should it be protected?  I desire to know this.  Tell me all this, O bull of Bharata’s race!’