"'Yudhishthira said, "What acts should be done by a king, and what are
those acts by doing which a king may become happy? Tell me this in
detail, O thou that art the foremost of all persons acquainted with
duties."
"'Bhishma said, "I shall tell thee what thou wishest to know. Listen to
the settled truth about what should be done in this world by a king and
what those acts are by doing which a king may become happy. A king should
not behave after the manner disclosed in the high history of a camel of
which we have heard. Listen to that history then, O Yudhishthira! There
was, in the Krita age, a huge camel who had recollection of all the acts
of his former life. Observing the most rigid vows, that camel practised
very severe austerities in the forest. Towards the conclusion of his
penances, the puissant Brahman became gratified with him. The Grandsire,
therefore, desired to grant him boons.
"'"The camel said, 'Let my neck, O holy one, become long through thy grace,
so that, O puissant lord, I may be able to seize any food that may lie
even at the end of even a hundred Yojanas.' The high-souled giver of
boons said, 'Let it be so.' The camel then, having obtained the boon,
returned to his own forest. The foolish animal, from the day of obtaining
the boon, became idle. Indeed, the wretch, stupefied by fate, did not
from that day go out for grazing. One day, while extending his long neck
of a hundred Yojanas, the animal was engaged in picking his food without
any labour, a great storm arose. The camel, placing his head and a
portion of the neck within the cave of a mountain, resolved to wait till
the storm would be over. Meanwhile it began to pour in torrents, deluging
the whole earth. A jackal, with his wife, drenched by the rain and
shivering with cold, dragged himself with difficulty towards that very
cave and entered it quickly for shelter. Living as he did upon meat, and
exceedingly hungry and tired as he was, O bull of Bharata's race, the
jackal, seeing the camel's neck, began to eat as much of it as he could.
The camel, when he perceived that his neck was being eaten, strove in
sorrow to shorten it. But as he moved it up and down, the jackal and his
wife, without losing their hold of it, continued to eat it away. Within a
short time the camel was deprived of life. The jackal then, having (thus)
slain and eaten the camel, came out of the cave after the storm and
shower had ceased. Thus did that foolish camel meet with his death.
Behold, what a great evil followed in the train of idleness. As regards
thyself, avoiding idleness and restraining thy senses, do everything in
the world with proper means. Manu himself has said that victory depends
upon intelligence. All acts that are accomplished with the aid of
intelligence are regarded as the foremost, those achieved with the aid of
arms are middling, those achieved with the aid of feet are inferior,
while those done by carrying loads are the lowest. If the king is clever
in the transaction of business and restrains his senses, his kingdom
endures. Manu himself has said that it is with the aid of the
intelligence that an ambitious person succeeds in achieving victories. In
this world, O Yudhishthira, they who listen to wise counsels that are not
generally known, that are, O sinless one, possessed of allies, and that
act after proper scrutiny, succeed in achieving all their objects. A
person possessed of such aids succeeds in ruling the entire earth. O thou
that art possessed of prowess like that of Indra himself, this has been
said by wise men of ancient times conversant with the ordinances laid
down in the scriptures. I, also, with sight directed to the scriptures,
have said the same to thee. Exercising thy intelligence, do thou act in
this world, O king!"'"