o chastise, they should pretend not to
notice the faults that call for chastisement. On occasions, such as
these, let them regard their bows as made of straw. But they should be
always on the alert like a herd of deer sleeping in the woods. When thy
foe is in thy power, destroy him by every means open or secret. Do not
show him any mercy, although he seeketh thy protection. A foe, or one
that hath once injured thee, should be destroyed by lavishing money, if
necessary, for by killing him thou mayest be at thy ease. The dead can
never inspire fear. Thou must destroy the three, five and seven
(resources) of thy foes. Thou must destroy thy foes root and branch. Then
shouldst thou destroy their allies and partisans. The allies and
partisans can never exist if the principal be destroyed. If the root of
the tree is torn up, the branches and twigs can never exist as before.
Carefully concealing thy own means and ends, thou shouldst always watch
thy foes, always seeking their flaws. Thou shouldst, O king, rule thy
kingdom, always anxiously watching thy foes. By maintaining the perpetual
fire by sacrifices, by brown cloths, by matted locks, and by hides of
animals for thy bedding, shouldst thou at first gain the confidence of
thy foes, and when thou has gained it thou shouldst then spring upon them
like a wolf. For it hath been said that in the acquisition of wealth even
the garb of holiness might be employed as a hooked staff to bend down a
branch in order to pluck the fruits that are ripe. The method followed in
the plucking of fruits should be the method in destroying foes, for thou
shouldst proceed on the principle of selection. Bear thy foe upon thy
shoulders till the time cometh when thou canst throw him down, breaking
him into pieces like an earthen pot thrown down with violence upon a
stony surface. The foe must never be let off even though he addresseth
thee most piteously. No pity shouldst thou show him but slay him at once.
By the arts of conciliation or the expenditure of money should the foe be
slain. By creating disunion amongst his allies, or by the employment of
force, indeed by every means in thy power shouldst thou destroy thy foe.'

"Dhritarashtra said, 'Tell me truly how a foe can be destroyed by the
arts of conciliation or the expenditure of money, or by producing
disunion or by the employment of force.'

"Kanika replied, 'Listen, O monarch, to the history of a jackal dwelling
in days of yore in the forest a