In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Naarada explaining fourteen items that should be under constant vigil under a leader. This is part of the Sage Naarada-Yudishtra conversation wherein Sage Naarada is reminding Yudishtra some key aspects of “Raaja-Dharma”, as he takes over as the king of Indraprastha. In this manner, we had witnessed the fourteen important items namely, “Desham”, “Durgam” “Ratham”, “Elephants”, “Horses”, “Armymen”, “Ministers”, “Antah-Puram”, “Food”, “Servants”, “Shaastram”, “Writing”, “Dhanam” (Wealth) and “Balam” (Strength) to be under constant check. We’ve witnessed how important it is to constantly protect and update the army so that the country gets ready to fight any enemy at any point in time. The army, cavalry, horses, elephants, and other important weaponry should always be “state-of-the-art” and should be tested every now and then. This is why even today we see many countries constantly “test-firing” certain important missiles and other modern weapons that are used in today’s warfare. Moreover, servants need to be under constant vigil, because they might fall on either side – Ours or the enemy’s. Chances are high that if these servants aren’t kept under vigil, they might poison us to death as well! Moreover, the king’s “Antah-Pura” should also be under constant notice. Like this, Sage Naarada explains fourteen important items that a king should always have under his control all the time.
Moving on thus, Sage Naarada is going to explain the next set here – A set of “Eight”! Now what are those eight things that the king should always keep taking care of every passing day? Let us witness today. Sage Naarada explains the eight items thus – “Krishi” (Farming and agriculture) , “Vanigam” (Trade / Business), “Durgam” (Building bridges and other connectivity constructions to enhance transport), “Kunjara-Bandhanam” (Building places to protect elephants), “Kanyaakaaram” (Creating mines for extracting precious metals like silver, gold, diamonds, etc.), “Karaadhaanam” (Taxes that are levied from people), “Shunyam” and “Nivechanam” (Some remote places which can be converted into beautiful residential areas). Sage Naarada explains that these eight items are essential for efficient administration of a kingdom.
We can apply all of these eight items to today’s governance as well. As we always keep witnessing in the news and also in the country’s budget every year, agriculture takes a prime place. We keep seeing that successive governments especially in India give enormous subsidies to farmers, so as to encourage them in taking up plantations and sowing crops. Thus, agriculture should always remain the fulcrum of any economy because this is the ultimate source of food for all of us. Of course, when agriculture is bountiful, other businesses around it would automatically flourish. This is where we see governments today trying their best to attract business houses to set shop, thereby providing employment to thousands of people. Business and trade should be encouraged as this gives enormous opportunities for people to make their own livelihoods. Ultimately, the more people can earn, the more they would spend, isn’t it? Hence, this is a cycle and with this cycle, the governments also see opportunities to collect taxes to fill its coffers. With these taxes, many developmental activities like infrastructure building (Building roads, railways, bridges for better connectivity, etc.) can be taken up by the government. Thus, with better infrastructure, the lifestyle of people would gradually improve, wherein new and planned residential areas can be developed. People would definitely have a higher standard of living and gradually the country would become prosperous. Moreover, the government can also increase its revenue by exploring places where precious metals, crude oil, etc. can be obtained from under the earth’s surface. This is also a huge opportunity for many people to get employment and this again contributes to the business cycle of the country.
This is exactly what Sage Naarada is also explaining here. We can see how Sage Naarada’s words are exactly applicable and totally relevant to today’s contexts as well. Thus, these eight items are eight pillars of administration in terms of business and development. So for today, let us understand these eight points clearly and let us wait for the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 