In the previous episode, we had witnessed the conclusion of the discussion on “Raaja-Dharma”, with “belief” being the final point being spoken about by Bhishmachaarya to Yudishtra with the help of Sage Thanu’s story. Now as we move on from here, we’ve witnessed Yudishtra asking an important question to Bhishmachaarya as to how should a king handle a situation wherein he has been completely deserted by his key people during a catastrophe and how to handle a situation when the coffers of the kingdom have been completely drained out. These are critical situations to be addressed and Bhishmachaarya commences his detailed accord on the “Aapad-Dharma” with his answers to this question. As we might know, the word “Aapad” means critical situations, and “Aapad-Dharma” means the path of “Dharma” that we have to follow while handling tough / critical situations. Commencing his answer to Yudishtra’s question, Bhishmachaarya outlines clearly that there should be no day in the kingdom wherein the coffers (Wealth) should be empty! At crucial times, it is imperative for the king to accumulate more wealth and at other times, the king can deploy these resources for the betterment of the people.
We can see this being applied even in today’s context – At critical times like war or a pandemic or any other natural calamity, smart governments try and collect more taxes from the public and shore up their reserves. This will come in handy during emergency operations and the government will be well-equipped to handle the catastrophic situation with ease. Thus, taxes are important for any government to collect from its people. We’ve seen in recent times that some countries completely go bankrupt during these critical times because of their government’s inability to manage the taxes properly. This is exactly what Bhishmachaarya is explaining here – At critical times, it is imperative that the coffers of the kingdom are full. There can be no negotiations on this.
Moving on further, Bhishmachaarya explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! During a critical situation, “Adharma” can become “Dharma” and “Dharma” can become “Adharma”! For instance, if a huge war is looming large and the enemy is extremely threatening in nature, the king has to up his ante with his army. He needs more resources in the form of people, animals, weapons, etc. For this, he has to request atleast one or two people from each and every family to join the army, in order to fight for the country. If people join voluntarily, there can be nothing better than this for the country, isn’t it? However, if a family is not willing to send its people to the army for participating in the war, the king has to send his people to their homes to beat and drag them out. While we might say that this is gross “Adharma” to torture people like this, we can justify it as “Dharma” because the country is in a dire need of human resources, and it is the duty of every citizen of the country to stand up and fight for the cause! Similarly, during crucial times, the king might collect more taxes / wealth from its people for manufacturing / procuring weapons. While we might say that it is “Adharma” to tax people more than what is required, it is viewed as “Dharma” in this context, because of the urgent and dire need of the country. Hence, during an “Aapad-Kaalam” (Critical / Dangerous situation), what we see as “Adharma” in normal times might be viewed as “Dharma”!”
Saying thus, Bhishmachaarya further explains – “Oh Yudishtra! During times of war with an enemy, it is the sole duty of the king to protect himself first, more than anything else! That anything else can even be his own “Antahpuram”! (“Antahpuram” is the place where the king’s wife / wives and family resides) For instance, if the “Antahpuram” of the king is captured by the enemy and the enemy is abducting his wives and children, a king should be ready to sacrifice this completely for protecting himself first. This is because, only if the king is protecting himself first, will he be able to defend his kingdom and people, isn’t it? Of course, the “Antahpuram” is important and it is the duty of the king to protect his own family members. However, when it comes to making a choice between himself and his “Antahpuram” during a catastrophic war, the king should be stone-hearted to put himself forward and be ready to let go off his “Antahpuram” for that particular time. Of course, once the king fights and defeats the enemy successfully, he can always go back and regain his “Antahpuram”, can’t he? Hence, the point here is that, protection of the king is of paramount importance during critical war times, rather than the protection of his “Antahpuram”!”
These are extremely important points of “Aapad-Dharma” that Bhishmachaarya is explaining to Yudishtra here, and for today, let us understand these two points very clearly. These are important lessons for us as well in the present context, as Bhishmachaarya is outlining how we should conduct ourselves during tough situations in life. We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 