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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00027 Sep 2003

 
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Post 8

Dear srivaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

Continuing the topic of "good governance- raamaa's style", we saw in post 7, 
the king's duty is to, always, keep his people or subjects happy. 

Another important point for any efficient administration, 
*       be it a corporate entity  
*       the government 
*       a small family 
is the "information management" or "information system" to keep that particular 
set up in its 'spirits'. This is the highlight of modern management concepts. 

But the same is described very effectively in srimadh raamaayaNam. Since modern 
gadgets what we have nowadays like email, telephone, radio and TV etc,were not 
there, those days, the most effective information flow system wasusing a 
network of spies [oRRar or vEvukaarar in tamil - not exactly who spy on the 
military information alone]. 

This spy network system was preferred then, along with the direct reportingby 
ministers and other officials to the king. This also enabled the king to check 
the veracity of information coming to him, through his team of ministers and 
other officials, through his own trusted spies. So a longer dealing is found on 
this 'spies' in all sargams mentioned earlier. 

Raamaa asks his brother bharathaa in the kaschith sargam - Do you keep an eye 
on the eighteen functionaries of other kings and the fifteen functionaries of 
your own kingdom, through three tiers of independent spies?"

kachchidh ashtaa dhasa anyEshu sva pakshE dhasa pancha cha |
thribhi: thribhi: avijnaathai: vEthsi theerthaani chaarakai: || 2 - 100 - 36

kachchidh ashtaa dhasa = the eighteen [functionaries]
anyEshu = of others [meaning other kings]
sva pakshE = in own side
dhasa pancha cha = fifteen [functionaries]
thribhi: thribhi: = in multiples of three or in triplets
avijnaathai: = with out others knowing
vEthsi = do you weave a network
theerthaani = sources
chaarakai: = of spies

meaning: hey bharathaa, have you created a net work of spies in three tiers, to 
keep a tab on the eighteen functionaries of other kings, and the fifteen 
functionaries of your own kingdom.

[Point: The eighteen functionaries referred here are: 
1.      The Chief Minister 
2.      The King's family Priest 
3.      The Crown Prince 
4.      The General of the army  
5.      The chief warder 
6.      The chamberlain 
7.      The Superintendent of jails 
8.      The Chancellor of the exchequer 
9.      The Herald 
10.     The Government Advocate 
11.     The Judge 
12.     The Assessor 
13.     The revenue officer disbursing salaries to army men 
14.     The treasury officer drawing money from the state exchequer to 
disbursewages to the workmen of the kingdom 
15.     The City Kotwal (mayor of the city) 
16.     The protector of the borders of a kingdom, who also performed the 
duties of a forester 
17.     The magistrates 
18.     The officer entrusted with the conservation of waters, hills, forests 
and tracts difficult to access. 

The fifteen functionaries of one's own side are the last fifteen of this very 
list, omitting the first three, viz., the chief minister, the family priest and 
the crown prince.]

Point: The king must get information from three different spies, watching the 
same offcial identified above, so that the king can cross check the veracity of 
the information and act in conjunction or in isolation of the chiefminister.

See here, soorpanaka asks her brother king raavaNa you do not have proper spies.

ayuktha chaaram dhurdharsam asva adheenam naraadhipam |
varjayanthi naraa dooraath nadhee pankam iva dhvipaa: || 3-33-5

a yuktha chaaram = improper or not associated or unarranged spies [who are not 
loyal to king]
dhur dharsam naraadhipam = impossible to see or imperceivable king
a sva adheenam naraadhipam = king not in one's own control [ king who is not 
self-disciplined] 
naraa: varjayanthi = people eschew [the king]
dhooraath nadhee pankam dhvipaa: iva = from a distance, like the elephantcaught 
in a quick sand 

Meaning: When spies are improper or unarranged, not loyal to the king, and the 
king is imperceivable to the people, he is also not self-disciplined, people 
eschew such a king from a distance, like an elephant caught in the quicksand in 
a river. 

Point: soorpanakha knows that Ravana has spies all around, but she also knows 
that they are worthless fellows. The spies narrate stories and mythologies 
after every thing is ruined, as was done by Akampana in the previous chapter of 
aaraNya kaaNda. 

See here the selection of word "ayuktha chaaram" - improper spies - for a king 
who has selected a bad group of spies, naturally his information management is 
poor. So naturally his decisions taken on such poor info will also be 
defective. The lesson to be learnt from this advice is, have yuktham chaaram - 
proper spies.  

See the continuation by soorpanaka -

aathmavadhbhi: vigruhya thvam dhEva gandharva dhaanavai: |
ayuktha chaara: chapala: katham raajaa bhavishyasi || 3-33-7

thvam aathmavadhbhi: vigruhya = you, rejected belligerent [with clear-headed 
and sensible gods, gandharvaas] 
dhEva gandharva dhaanavai: = with gods gandharvaas, other demons 
a yuktha chaara: = having improper intelligence agents 
chapala: = you the vacillant 
katham raajaa bhavishyasi = how can you thrive as king

Meaning: hey raavaNa, You are belligerent with sensible gods, gandharva-s and 
other demons, and devoid of good intelligence agents. How a vacillant like you 
can thrive as a king.

Point: Soorpanaka asks - Your enmity with the sensible gods will make them 
sensitive to be vigilant for your lack of intelligence agents. Lack of yourown 
intelligence and lacking insistence in kingship is also added minus point of 
you. Will, not, they take opportunity to hit you back for every thing is 
lacking in you except lust? 

Again the insistence is on having a good spy network for efficiency in 
conducting the raajya Bhaaram. See two more slokas of soorpanaka on this 
"spies" position.

yEshaam chaara: cha kOsa: cha naya: cha jayathaam vara |
asvaadheenaa narEndhraaNaam praakruthai: thE janai: samaa: || 3-33-9

yEshaam chaara: cha = those spies also
kOsa: cha naya: cha = the treasury and also the strategies
jayathaam vara = oh, among triumphant ones, the best one 
a sva adheenaa = not in one's own control
nara indhraaNaam samaa: = equate among kings 
thE janai: praakruthai: = to peasant people

Meaning: Those kings who have their spies, treasuries and strategies not 
intheir own control [but bequeathed them to others,] they are like the 
peasantry among kings. 

yasmaath pasyanthi dhoorasthaan sarvaan arthaan naraadhipaa: |
chaarENa thasmaath uchyanthE raajaanO dheergha chakshusha: || 3-33-10

nara adhipaa: = oh, king of kings
yasmaath dhoorasthaan pasyanthi = whereby one sees even distantly situated 
sarvaan arthaan = all situations 
chaarENa = through or by the help of spies
thasmaath uchyanthe = thereby called  
dheergha chakshusha: raajaana: = far sighted kings [prescient ones] kings with 
a vision.

Meaning: Whereby some king can see all the distantly positioned situations 
through their spies, oh, king of kings, thereby those are called prescient 
kings.

Point: To take proper and timely action king must have flow of 
information.Though the spies bring in various pieces of information, they are 
to be collated and analysed by the king. So sister advises her brother, you 
neitherhave those intelligent spies nor the least intelligence required of a 
'prescient king' - far sighted enough to analyse and take timely action. thus 
your doom is certain.

Now see the modern side - information must flow, not only that the leader must 
be quick enough to react to the information with his own analysis and take 
proper decisions through his own intelligence or the collective wisdom of his 
panel of advisors. That is what is said here though in different words. 
See here the result of having such useless spies. The king does not know his 
own kith and kin killed in a war and his sister has to reach him to convey this 
important information. 

ayuktha chaaram manyE thvaam praakruthai: sachivai: yutha: |
sva janam cha janasthaanam nihatham na avabudhyasE || 3-33-11

thvaam manyE = I believe you
a yuktha chaaram = improper spies 
praakruthai: sachivai: yutha: = artless associated ministers 
sva janam nihatham cha = killing of you own subjects also
jana sthaanam = in a place called Janasthaana 
na avabudhyasE = not perceptive.

Meaning: I believe that you have no spies worth their profession, and you are 
associated with artless ministers worthy only to worship you, and you are 
unperceptive of the killing of all your subjects in Janasthaana. 

Point: Again the highlight of this slOka is also having proper spies. So the 
efficiency of the administration lies in effective spy network, who bringin 
information from all directions. For that efficient administration, seeanother 
sloka from baala kaaNdam - of course, we have seen this earlier inlight of the 
efficient ministers. Same sloka reference is for the good andefficient spy 
network also.

thEshaam avidhitham kinchath svEshu naasthi parEshu vaa |
kriyamaaNam krutham vaa api chaarENa api chikeershitham || 1-7-9

thEshaam = to them 
avidhitham = unknown 
kinchath = a little
svEshu = in their own [country]; 
na asthi = not there 
parEshu vaa = in other [countries] either 
kriyamaaNam = that is happening
krutham = already happened 
vaa api = either that too 
chaarENa = through spies or agents 
chikeershitham = that is going to happen.

Meaning: There is nothing unknown to them [these ministers], even a little,in 
their own country or in the others either, and everything that is happening or 
has happened or that is going to happen, is known through their spyagents. 
[1-7-9]

The efficiency of dhasaratha's, in turn, bharathaas sovereign, was in having a 
very good spy network in three tiers.

We will continue on other points in next post.

Dhasan

Vasudevan m.g.





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