"'Then he must review his army; hear the reports of the commander of his forces; give orders for peace or war; and act upon the accounts brought by spies and emissaries.
"'However weary he maybe with all this, he must sit down and read diligently, like some poor student, for several hours. Then at last he may retire to rest; but before he has had half enough sleep, he will be awaked in the early morning; and the priests will come to him, and say: "There is an unfavourable conjunction of the planets; evil omens have appeared; there is danger impending; the gods must be propitiated; let a great sacrifice be made to-day. The brahmans are continually engaged in supplicating the gods on your behalf; your prosperity is dependent on their prayers; they are miserably poor, and have many children to support; let large donations be made." Thus the greedy wretches, under the pretence of religion, are continually robbing the king and enriching themselves.
"'This is the sort of life which you will have to lead, if you give yourself up to the guidance of those greybeards; and, after all, though you may have studied and studied, pored over their musty volumes, and listened to their tedious lectures, you are not sure of doing right.
"'And who are these fellows who set themselves up for wise men? Do they always do right? Are they not often themselves cheated by the unlearned? Common sense is far better than all this learning; instinct and feeling will guide us in the right way; even an infant without teaching finds out how to draw nourishment from the mother's breast. Cast aside, then, the rules and restrictions with which these old fools would bind you. Follow your natural inclinations, and enjoy life while you can. You possess youth, beauty, and strength. You have a large army, ten thousand elephants, and three hundred thousand horses; your treasury is full of gold and jewels, and would not be emptied in a thousand years. What more would you have? Life is short, and those who are always thinking of adding to their possessions, go on toiling to the last, and never really enjoy them.
"'But why should I waste your time with needless arguments? I see you are already convinced. Commit, then, the cares of government to your ministers; spend your time with your ladies, and congenial friends like me; enjoy drinking, music, and dancing, and trouble yourself no more with affairs of state.'
"Having thus spoken, he prostrated himself in very humble attitude at the feet of his master, who remained for a time silent, as if undecided.
"The women, who had been listening with delight to all that was said, seeing his hesitation, assembled round him, and, with sweet words and caresses, easily persuaded him to follow his own inclination and theirs.
"From that time the young king, given up entirely to pleasures and amusements, left the affairs of the kingdom to his ministers; and, while allowing them to manage as they pleased, provided they did not trouble him, openly treated them with insolence and neglect, and even took pleasure in hearing them ridiculed by the worthless parasites who surrounded him, so that even the wisest of his ministers, while lamenting the sad state of affairs, could only acknowledge their inability to remedy it, and wait till some great public calamity, or the invasion of the country by a neighbouring sovereign, who was gradually extending his dominions by force or cunning, should bring the young king to his senses.
"Ere long, what they had expected came to pass; for the King of Asmaka, who had for some time coveted the country, but did not dare openly to invade it while it was strong and prosperous, took measures in secret to weaken the authority of Anantavarma, and diminish his resources; and, lest he should perchance see the error of his ways and abandon his vicious courses, he secretly gave a commission to the son of one of his ministers, a young man of great abilities and agreeable manners, an eloquent flatterer and amusing companion, who arrived at the court of Anantavarma, attended by a numerous retinue, as if travelling about for his own pleasure.
"This man soon became intimate with the king, and took care to fall in with all his tastes, and to justify and praise every pursuit which he engaged in.