(A story from Mahabharata, Shanti parva, chapter 114)
Bhishma recites a conversation between the ocean and rivers.
Once the lord of rivers, the abode of asuras, the mighty ocean asked rivers. ‘O rivers, you are as destructive in floods as pleasant you are otherwise. None withstands your force during floods. You uproot even the biggest of trees and bring me their trunks. Yet, not even a single strand of reed reaches me. Why is it so? Is it because you cannot uproot the reeds or they appease you?”
The best of all rivers, Ganga, replied to the ocean. “O lord of rivers, we uproot the mighty trees because they stand stiff and don’t yield to our force. But, reeds recognize our force and bow down to us. Hence, they stand up when the floods cease. The reeds know the virtue of time and opportunity, unlike the trees. Hence, reeds remain firmly rooted in floods while trees are washed away. Thus, plants, shrubs, and creepers that bow to the force of wind and water alone survive.”
Moral: A king must know whom to fight with and whom to yield to. Yield to the unsurpassable foe to survive.
Next: (coming soon)
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