84.
One should confide neither in an enemy nor a friend; when a friend becomes angry he makes known all your faults.[1]
85.
He who once becomes angry with a friend and wishes to be reconciled, he follows him even unto death, like a mare pregnant with a Tarâ colt.[2]
86.
Until the time (for vengeance) has not arrived, one might carry his enemy on his shoulders; the time having come, he should break him to pieces like a jar on a rock.[3]
87.
A debt balance as well as a remaining fire increases repeatedly; so also increases remaining enmity: one should, therefore, have nothing remaining.[4]
- ↑ This and the following two stanzas are of an epigrammatic, satirical character.
- ↑ The Tarâ, like the Âjânîyâ horses, are fabulous animals with supernatural powers. It is said that as soon as the Tarâ colt is born, the mother at once dies. Hence the allusion. The Tarâ horses are also called assatarâ (fem. assatarî).
- ↑ The idea set forth here is of a somewhat repulsive nature. In the Burmese anthology it can only be construed as sarcastic. The advice, however, appears in the Mahâbhârata as a Machiavelian counsel, and there are others of a similar nature in the poem most repugnant to the moral sense. Muir has collected several in his supplement to "Metrical Translations from Sanskrit Writers." The following are examples:— "Let a man be very humble in his speech, but in heart as sharp as a razor: let him speak with a smile when bent on a terrible act" [Mahâbh. i. 5606]. "By kindling fire, by sacrifice, by a beggar's saffron garb, by braided hair, and clothing of skin, let a man fill his enemy with confidence, and then seize him like a wolf" [i. 5560].
The Sanskrit version (Mahâbh. i. 5563) is well rendered by Muir:—"Whilst thou dost watch thy chance, with seeming care
Thy mortal foe upon thy shoulder bear;
Then down to earth thy hated burden dash,
As men against a rock an earthen vessel smash."Compare Mahâbhârata, xii. 4167: "What is broken is with difficulty united, and what is whole is with difficulty broken. But the friendship which has been broken and again cemented does not continue to be affectionate."
- ↑ Ćâṇakya says: "To pay off debts, to quench a fire, and remove desire is good, for should they in-
