ts of the king should always be protected by the king. If a
person, O Yudhishthira, that is paid or unpaid, comes to thee for telling
thee of the damage done to thy treasury when its resources are being
embezzled by a minister, thou shouldst grant him an audience in private
and protect him also from the (impeached) minister. The ministers guilty
of peculation seek, O Bharata, to slay such informants. They who plunder
the royal treasury combine together for opposing the person who seeks to
protect it, and if the latter be left unprotected, he is sure to be
ruined. In this connection also an old story is cited of what the sage
Kalakavrikshiya had said unto the king of Kosala. It hath been heard by
us that once on a time the sage Kalakavrikshiya came to Kshemadarsin who
had ascended the throne of the kingdom of Kosala. Desirous of examining
the conduct of all the officers of Kshemadarsin, the sage, with a crow
kept within a cage in his hand, repeatedly travelled through every part
of that king's dominions. And he spoke unto all the men and said, 'Study,
ye the corvine science. The crows tell me the present, the past, and the
future.' Proclaiming this in the kingdom, the sage, accompanied by a
large number of men, began to observe the misdeeds of all the officers of
the king. Having ascertained all the affairs in respect of that kingdom,
and having learnt that all the officers appointed by the king were guilty
of malversation, the sage, with his crow, came to see the king. Of rigid
vows, he said unto the king, 'I know everything (about thy kingdom).'
Arrived at the presence of the king, he said unto his minister adorned
with the insignia of his office that he had been informed by his crow
that the minister had done such a misdeed in such a place, and that such
and such persons know that he had plundered the royal treasury. 'My crow
tells me this. Admit or prove the falsehood of the accusation quickly.'
The sage then proclaimed the names of other officers who had similarly
been guilty of embezzlement, adding, 'My crow never says anything that is
false.' Thus accused and injured by the sage, all the officers of the
king, O thou of Kuru's race, (united together and) pierced his crow,
while the sage slept, at night. Beholding his crow pierced with a shaft
within the cage, the regenerate Rishi, repairing to Kshemadarsin in the
morning said unto him, 'O king, I seek thy protection. Thou art
all-powerful and thou art the master of th