84 DEAR SON, WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?
fully articulated. A noble in Dahar's court visits an astrologer and is
impressed by his prophetic power. He reports back to Dahar: "May you
live long, 0 Raja! In prosperity or decline the Raja should never break
from the company of wise ones, poets, writers, and the learneo class
(Brahmin), because they are our leaders. One must visit them and give
them respect and praise. For the prophecy (fal) that emerges from them
is the best."^8
Taking this advice, Dahar also visits the astrologer and asks about
"the conditions to benefit my state, the laws governing society, and
other ways to benefit the population such that my just reward is in the
afterlife."^9 The astrologer tells Dahar that his stars are aligned and that
he will live and prosper as a .ruler. Then Dahar asks about his sister's
fate. The astrologer answers that according to his calculations, she will
never leave the fort of Aror, and her marriage will be to the raja who
will rule all of Hindustan. This news shocks Dahar, for if the husband
of his sister is the ruler of Hindustan, his fate is sealed. He goes to his
father's counselor, Minister Budhiman.
The minister hears the conundrum that while Dahar is guaranteed
prosperity and rule, his sister is meant to be married to someone who
will be the king of Hindustan. He speaks:
The work of maintaining a kingdom is delicate, 0 King, and there are
various claimants to it-the neighboring kings, the armies, the ser-
vants. The wise say that five things cannot survive if dislodged from
their natural settings: the king from his kingship, the minister
from his ministry, the wise from his knowle<lge, the hair and teeth
from the body, and the breast exposed. For the sake of kingship, the
king must take the lives of even his brothers and relatives, or at least
expel them from his kingdom. He does not allow anyone to meddle
in governance-even the nobility. If a king removes himself from
kingship, he is a mere commoner. Now that the astrologer has proph-
esied, you must make your sister Bai your wife and install yourself
as the king. If you avoid contact with her, she will still be your wife
in name, and your kingdom will be preserved.^10
The minister lays out a hierarchical order of public good: the king
in his kingdom is of primary importance. And although incestuous
marriage may be publicly condemned, the consequences can be borne
if the interior reality is not incestuous. The minister's formulation is