Kautilya's Artha Shastra : Warrier's Collage 18082020

Prayer https://youtu.be/pXTW8caalUw Shankaracharya's Shivaparadha Kshamapana Stotram Warrier's Collage 18082020 : Kautilya's Artha Shastra Good Morning Happy to find that Collage is becoming more interactive. Many thanks to all of you. The two' real life experiences shared by Dr Surendran (D1) have relevance in the current C19 context. Though little scaring, the message is significant. M G Warrier A Interaction 1) V T Panchapagesan, Chennai " Feelings and Emotions are varying factors from Time to Time. One has to control it from its root to Reality... Desire Anger Delusion Greed Arrogance Envy Fear. Be Well, V. T. Panchapagesan" 2) C V Subbaraman, Mysuru " As usual V Babusenan's piece was informative and interesting. On the issue of who was greater between Kalidasa and Dandin, Bhoja sought the answer from the Devi. (Some say Saraswati and some others Kaali, though this is not important in the context). Indeed the Devi said, "Kavirdandihi, Kavirdandihi, Kavirdandihi, Na Samshayaha" - It is Dandin, Dandin, Dandin, No doubt). This pronouncement is like our auction, finalising the bid by announcing it three times! But when Kalidasa was sad, the same Devi said unto them, referring to Kalidasa: "Twamevaaham, Twamevaaham, Twamevaaham, Na Samshayaha" - You are myself, You are myself, You are myself! Now who is greater? A poet or the personality? Incidentally, but importantly, Dandin and Kalidasa were not contemporaries: Dandin is believed to be in the 7th or 8th Century while Kalidasa in the 4th or 5th Century. So, some historian may question the veracity of this story. But we are not worried about the history or geography of the incident. We are seeking the Truth of their relative greatness in the realm of Poetry and Personality! We enjoy their poetry and we cannot say which poetry or whose poetry gives us greater pleasure. Is there a comparison between Rasogolla and Mysorepaak, or a Rose and Jasmine? Each has its own fragrance and sweetness. Thanks to V Babusenan for providing material for this discussion. Subbaraman" 3) R Jayakumar " History - Kautilya's Arthshastra I found the comprehensive introduction to the treatise Arthashastra enclosed by you a very useful article to read.. Some of Kautilya's views are visionary and is useful to adopt for today, such as: 1) Peace is preferably to war 2) Women have many important roles to play. ( He strongly recommends women as spies to get information from adversaries ). 3) Women should have freedom to love a man of her choice irrespective of class divisions in the society. Though many historical references are given in the article it is difficult to keep them in mind due to old age. From what I studied in the college I remember only two things about Arthashastra. One, is that ' the bigger fish always devour the smaller fish ' (expansion of kingdoms) and two, ' enemy's enemy is my friend and enemy's friend is my enemy ' ( strategic alliance ) R Jayakumar" B Lead Article Artha, Madhu and Kautilya Vathsala Jayaraman Recently I happened to read a book in Tamil about Artha Sastra based on a Sanskrit text. It may be strange to know that Chankya, the author of the great work Artha Sastra was the man behind the mushrooming of tasmac shops in every nook and corner of our motherland.But this is stated to be be an unquestionable fact. When the disintegrated societies were consolidated into kingdoms,Manu Dharma Sastra, Artha Sastra and Kaama sutra,the three important works became the guiding factors to regularise social, political and domestic life respectively. All these three works have been written in the interest of the rulers and not the ruled. That is why these works have been objected to by the elite for long. So many people, especially women are protesting against formation of liquor shops. Chanakya, the great would have definitely known that madhu makes people intoxicated and addicts.But he used this as a weapon to desist people from agitating against the Govt, since the intoxicated people would be in their own world and may not be in a position to participate in struggles against the rulers. Artha Sastra speaks in detail about liquors and their evil influence on human beings but recommend strongly that only the Government is entitled to sell liquors.It is the same as announcing 'drinking is injurious to health and promoting sales also. Artha Sastra in essence made the rulers realise that there will be uninterrupted income to the Government and that many people who are victimized may not raise their voices. Two mangoes in one stone! In brief, the liquor was no longer a subject matter relating to Dharma, it was to a matter of political finance and commerce. What does Kautilya say? " excess drinking should be prohibited and would be a criminal offence. 'Suraathayakshà' was the executive in charge of supervising this crime heading a committee called 'Athayaksha' consisting of thirty members who will have constant vigil. Only the royal people should be authorised to produce liquors and sell the same inside and outside royal fort. Individuals cannot engage in this trade. Trespassers would be charge sheeted by the above committee and produced before the king for implementing severe punishments. Royal and the rich could store madhu in their houses after getting proper licence. Others could use liquors only in the premises allowed by the government. Lodges, choultries and inns were not empowered to sell liquors. Government would open bars in those places. During festivels people were allowed to make liquors at home for 4 days. The above instructions contained in Artha Sastra filled the treasuries of maurya kingdom with unimaginable wealth, to be followed by other dynasties. Cholas introduced the same taxation by a different name( eezha poochchi vari) During British regime Abhari excise system was introduced in 1790 in terms of which liquor rights were handed over to the highest bidder. The amount collected which was just Rs1088- in 1790 rose to Rs9,28,000 in 1900 in Tanjore district alone. Britishers handled the liquor issue as an effective tool to control Independence struggle by entrusting liquor business by auction method to rich business giants.a very big liquor factory employing 10,000 people was opened in Pune. In 1898. Mc Dowells started the business and later acquired by Mallaiah family.Thus so many liquor companies started business throughout India even during British regime. Next to land tax, the revenue from liquor is the greatest even today. We blamed the British for keeping the people dull and unintrospective, suitable only for clerical posts. Even after 73 years after independence things have not changed much. Better thinking individuals have settled abroad. Nobody is interested in bringing prohibition and analysing alternate sources of income. Who is bothered about women who have to suffer at the hands of drunkard husbands? There are so many other essential aspects of Artha Sastra. The politicians have magnified this part alone and brand themselves as true followers of Artha sastra. Chanakya has been portrayed as guru not only of 'Artha Sastra but 'Madhu Sastra' also. **** **** C Current Concerns 1) Future is here https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2020/03/31/the-impact-of-the-coronavirus-on-hr-and-the-new-normal-of-work/ A process getting expedited by the invisible visitor. 2) Job options as we saw in 2018 https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/career-demand-for-future 3) Where do we go from here? https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2020/covid-19-and-the-future-of-work.html Rebuild trust in humanity. Science and technology have no existence independent of human intelligence. D Readers Write 1) Dr T V Surendran Episode I Anxiety and fear can cause... " Panic on one side, negligence on the other side. Doctor's dilemma again! In 1968, I was on casualty duty at Calicut Médical Cllege Hospital, when I received a call from Kannur S P, informing that one Inspector of Police was sent with symptoms of Rabies (hydrophobia). Within hours, ambulance accompanied by police jeeps arrived. A healthy well-built man was brought to the casualty, firmly held and hands tied. The patient was showing symptoms of Rabies ( hydrophobia), affecting his level of consciousness. Patient was violent and trying to scratch and bite the accompanying persons. The Professor of Medicine also examined the patient. We felt something fishy and atypical. Admitted, sedated and observed for a few days. Discharged, relieved, healthy. It was a case of anxiety neurosis, Rabies Phobia. ( He was scratced by a domestic dog, months before, and experienced horrible nightmares since then)" Episode II Negligence (not purposely) or ignorance? In 1969 I was in Primary Health Centre, Narikkuni (Kozhikode). A healthy, hefty young man came to OP with fever and throat pain, with slight difficulty in taking tea. Naturally, examined and and advised to take medicine for a couple of days. In the evening he was brought by some neighbours, with severe difficulty in swallowing.Anxious, irritable, referred to Médical College Hospital.. Confirmed Hydrophobia. Condition worsened, died in the"isolation cell" next day. Now panic in the village, as there was no"protocol" for the attending locals, including me. Whether we should take ARVaccine?... was the problem.. with different opinions from senior doctors. The deceased patient was a barber and more than 100 people had visited his barber shop over the previous one week.He wasn't bitten by dog ( only one stray barking dog was driven away with a stick, from attacking him. The dog's saliva might have fallen on hand, already with a previous wound) As there was no consensus of opinion, more than hundred people including the doctor (me) had to receive a course of vaccine over the abdominal wall" 2) V Babusenan Ref : Jyothilakshmi's query (August 14/15) about poisoning of Kalidasa... " Poison did not bother how it was administered. It acted effectively and the great poet passed away. When the lady presented the filled-up samasya to the king,he immediately recognized the hand behind it. Quick enquiries revealed the truth and the woman was punished.Legend has it that Kumaradasa, the king, out of inconsolable grief, ended his life in the funeral pyre of his friend Kalidasa. The poet's jealous detractors would have felt inwardly happy at his end.Many others, who greatly admired him, would have concluded that he ,having been an incorrigible womanizer, got his due despite being a very great poet.But there is another version(that too is a fiction) untouched by malice. It is like this: Young Kalidasa, a Malava product ,was adored by the lovely daughter of the old man of the village. He too loved her intensely.The king Bhoja, who loved arts and women equally, happened to hear about the girl's beauty and he made her a member of his harem. However,he made it a point to train her up as an excellent dancer and actress .He invited Kalidasa also to Ujjain, his capital, where the latter duly adorned the King's court as its most precious gem. All the famous plays of Kalidasa were enacted there with the girl from Malava performing the leading role. The poet recognized her and reestablished contact, but on a platonic level. The king came to know about this and tactfully sent the poet to a somewhat faraway hill resort called Ramagiri (where he wrote Meghasandesa) In the meantime, the king, though unwillingly, lent the girl's service to the king of Vakataka, his alley, but she died on the way. She was buried in her native village and the palanquin that carried her was kept as a relic in the palace in Ujjain. After one year in Ramagiri, Kalidasa came to Ujjain incognito. There He learned about the sad death of the woman whom he loved deeply. Looking at the palanqin,the poet passed away. The late Malayalam poet O.N.V.Kurup, the Jnanapeet award winner who was a great admirer of Kalidasa, had transformed this version of the legend into a beautiful long 'fiction poem' consisting of14 parts. Published in1994, it is captioned "Ujjayini."" 3) E T Rajendran @What these nonagenarians are doing now? " Lockdown amidst pandemic is a challenging time for many; but there are brave-hearts too, spending their time wisely and creatively. Here we have the experience of four such persons. One person, a grandfather of 93 years, doing hammocks business, now faced with the objection of the loving family from going out, started concentrating on his latent passions : film and music. He recently filmed a fictional short tale depicting senior citizens’ travails during lockdown. He practises film dialogues with family members and domestic help. Also engages in scripting and is putting together a song titled ‘Corona Prayer’ based on a popular melody. When he feels let down, he tries dancing to popular fast numbers, his grandson taking a film of it. The second, a grandma of 95 years, who used to drive till she was 90 years, brought out her latent music talent singing Rabindra sangeet and playing piano, which she learnt during school days. Recently she joined a music video session with students of music therapy in Boston. She reads The Hindu, every page of it every day; some of the interesting news items she repeats reading. She loves stitching, especially darning and offers to do it for others. The third, a grandma of 93 years, who had studied upto Class 8 and was married at the age of 13 years, wards off her boredom by doing sketch work. An earlier postal class on art, in her sixties, helps her now in revealing her hidden creative talent. She gets ideas from a book of sketches on multiple facets of Madurai, where she had lived with her banker husband number of years. She has already completed four sketches during the lockdown and is now engaged in sketching another one intended to be presented to her guru on his birth day next month. She gets immense pleasure in sketching iconic locations of Madurai. She collects money from grand children and uses it to educate the underprivileged children. She is tech-savy and uses smart phones. She sends voice messages to family members and video calls to 11 grand children and 13 great grandchildren in different parts of the world. She loves to browse YouTube. She is hoping the lockdown will end soon so that she can present the sketch to her guru. She is a dog lover too. The fourth, a grandma of 93 years, is engaged in a pastime of crocheting (making fabric from yarn). Her speciality is table clothes. She learnt this art from her classmates while studying in Class 4 and 5. Later, after marriage she had to leave this because of family responsibilities. She picked up the threads of her hobby a few years back. She claims that hard work and dedication are her hallmark. During lockdown and otherwise she enjoys crocheting and she is with threads till 11 pm on any day. Her grandson gifted her a basket of coloured threads, which filled her heart more than gold she got earlier. Her only regret is that none in her family is interested in learning crochet. Really inspiring to know how the nonagenarians make use of their latent passions during the lockdown braving the Corona fear. There will be a number of such persons actively facing the challenging time of pandemic. @ (Excerpted from The Hindu Metroplus, Chennai) E Blogs and Links 1) Independence Day https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/positivity/independence-day-2-24597/ Posted online comments