Kāmandaka-Āṅgarishṭha Saṃvāda

The Kāmandaka-Āṅgarishṭha Saṃvāda is a dialogue (saṃvāda) between the ṛshi Kāmandaka and a king named Āṅgarishṭha. It is an itihāsa that Bhīshma tells to Yudhishṭhira in the Śānti Parva of the Mahābhārata, in Chapter 123.

Āṅgarishṭha comes to Kāmandaka with a question. A king has fallen into adharma because desire (kāma) and delusion (moha) overcame him. How can he repair this? Kāmandaka names kāma as the destroyer of both dharma and artha, and he gives six practices that burn away pāpa (sin).

Yudhishṭhira’s question

Yudhishṭhira asks Bhīshma what the whole business of life in the world (lokayātrā) rests on. He asks for the essential teaching on dharma, artha and kāma. What is the root (mūla) of each? Where did they come from? How are the three related to one another? How does each work on its own?

Bhīshma answers with an itihāsa from an earlier age, the Kāmandaka-Āṅgarishṭha Saṃvāda. Before he tells it, he first explains the ground on which the three rest.

The root of the trivarga

Dharma, artha and kāma together are called the trivarga (the three aims). Bhīshma teaches this about them:

  • The root of artha is dharma. Artha (wealth) always has dharma as its root. Lasting and rightful wealth is the fruit of acts done by dharma. Not every kind of wealth, gained by any means, is artha.
  • The fruit of artha is kāma. Kāma (the fulfilment of desire) is the fruit (phala) of artha. When wealth is gained, it allows the enjoyment that satisfies desire.
  • All three have saṃkalpa as their root. All three rise from saṃkalpa (intention). Saṃkalpa turns towards vishayas (objects of the senses). Those vishayas exist for the experience of āhārasiddhi (the feeding and keeping of life). This is the root of the trivarga.
  • Nivṛtti is moksha. Engagement with the three (pravṛtti) leads to a round of enjoyment and rebirth. Withdrawal (nivṛtti) is the fourth aim, moksha (liberation).

The three flaws

Each of the three has its own weakness (durbala, also called mala):

  • The flaw of dharma is apradhyāna: going after its fruits instead of practising it for its own sake.
  • The flaw of artha is nigūhana: hoarding wealth without giving it or using it in service.
  • The flaw of kāma is saṃpramodā: the intoxication of pleasure for its own sake.

When the three are free of these flaws, they become the source of great fruit. That fruit is citta-śuddhi (a purified mind) and, in the end, brahma-ānanda (the joy of Brahman).

Āṅgarishṭha’s approach and question

King Āṅgarishṭha came and sat before the ṛshi Kāmandaka. He spoke to the seated ṛshi without the proper greeting (abhivādana). He did not keep the rule of courtesy (maryādā) for approaching a ṛshi.

Āṅgarishṭha asked: a king, overcome by the force of kāma and moha, has committed pāpa. What is his way of making amends (prāyaścitta)? How can such a king turn back from adharma?

Āṅgarishṭha added that human beings, out of ignorance (ajñāna), do adharma while thinking they are doing dharma. That, too, becomes known to all. How should a king turn this around?

Kāmandaka’s answer

Kāma the destroyer

Kāmandaka names kāma as the chief enemy. A king who clings to kāma at the cost of dharma and artha loses his prajñā (clear judgement) first. Once prajñā is gone, both dharma and artha are lost. Then moha spreads loss of faith in dharma (nāstikatā) and bad conduct (durācāra).

What follows when the king does not restrain himself

When a king does not hold back his own bad conduct, his people copy him. The kingdom fills with such ways, as a house fills with a snake. All beings are gripped by fear and unease. Such a king loses the loyalty of his people. Good brāhmaṇas (sādhava brāhmaṇas) do not honour him. His very life becomes uncertain. He becomes vādhya, one who deserves to be destroyed. Even if he goes on living, it is a śuddha-maraṇa, a living death.

The way of making amends

Kāmandaka lays down six practices:

  1. Veda-sevā: devoted service to the study and teaching of the Veda.
  2. Brāhmaṇa-pūjā: honouring and serving great brāhmaṇas of dharma, with patience and humility.
  3. Sattvabuddhitā: building a strong mind (buddhi) that is turned towards dharma.
  4. Japa: unbroken japa (repeating a mantra), living on water alone, sitting calm and still.
  5. Satsaṅga: keeping company with those who stand firm in dharma, and removing those who do pāpa.
  6. Sāma and satkāra: winning back trust through sweet speech and good conduct, naming the good in others, and always saying, “I am yours.”

These practices burn even the most stubborn pāpas. Those who follow them become paṭa (purified) at once. Even the worst pāpas are put out by them. The king must also seek out the guru of paramadharma (the highest dharma) and do what that guru teaches.

Sources

  • Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva, Chapter 123