Shloka 8
Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)
उन्होंने क्षेमदर्शीके सारे देशमें, उस राज्यका समाचार जाननेके लिये एक कौएको पिंजड़ेमें बाँधकर साथ ले बड़ी सावधानीके साथ बारंबार चक्कर लगाया ।।
adhīdhvaṁ vāyasīṁ vidyāṁ śaṁsanti mama vāyasāḥ | anāgatam atītaṁ ca yac ca samprati vartate ||
Bhīṣma said: “To learn the news of the whole realm, they took a crow bound in a cage and, with great caution, made their rounds again and again. As they went, they proclaimed to the people: ‘O worthy folk, learn from me the vayasī-vidyā—the art of understanding the speech of crows. I have mastered it; therefore the crows tell me everything: what is past, what is yet to come, and what is happening right now.’”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how claims of extraordinary knowledge (here, understanding crows) can be used to gain information and authority. Ethically, it invites reflection on rajadharma: prudent governance may require vigilance and intelligence, but public manipulation through deceptive spectacle risks undermining trust and dharmic integrity.
A group moves around repeatedly and carefully, publicly urging people to learn ‘crow-speech’ from them. They claim that because they know this art, crows reveal to them the past, the future, and the present—implying a method to collect news and assess the state of the realm while impressing or influencing the populace.