One of the things that makes eating fish a daunting task for most humans is the difficulty of dealing with fish-bones. In many Indic languages, we use the same word for "fish-bone" and "thorn": In Sanskrit, the word is kaNTaka (कण्टक); and kaNTakin (कण्टकिन्), "thorny", can also mean "fish"! As you might have guessed already, the morsels of wit and wisdom I am offering today are chock-full of fish-bones.
(1) When talking about statecraft, the word कण्टक is used synonymously with kSudrazatru (क्षुद्रशत्रु), "petty foe (of the head of state / government)", to refer to any criminal operating within the borders of a state. The suppression of such internal threats to the security and well-being of the state (ranging from unscrupulous trading practices to robbery) is termed kaNTakazodhana (कण्टकशोधन), "the elimination of thorns", and is considered one of the foremost duties of the administration — a forerunner to modern-day policing.
The author of the following verse uses a play on words — that, to be honest, I don't fully understand — to bring out the similarities between "thorns" of the culinary and administrative varieties.
The author of the following verse uses a play on words — that, to be honest, I don't fully understand — to bring out the similarities between "thorns" of the culinary and administrative varieties.
कामं कुमीनसदृशं राज्यमपि प्राज्यकण्टकं कुशलः|
पाकान्वितमतिसुरसं भुङ्क्ते बहुधावधानेन||
पाकान्वितमतिसुरसं भुङ्क्ते बहुधावधानेन||
Harvard-Kyoto transliteration:
kAmaM kumInasadRzaM rAjyamapi prAjyakaNTakaM kuzalaH|
pAkAnvitamatisurasaM bhuGkte bahudhAvadhAnena||
Loose translation: Just as a skilled eater thoroughly enjoys fish, even when it is low-quality and full of bones, by (properly) cooking it to make it juicy and (then) using extreme caution (to avoid the bones), so does an adept ruler reap great benefits even from a problem-ridden state by paying close attention to various (administrative) affairs.
Notes: The word avadhAna (अवधान) refers to attention or attentiveness in general, and to careful listening in particular; this epigram is presumably meant to remind its reader of the importance of an intelligence and / or espionage system. I am clueless about what पाकान्वितम् means here as an adjective of राज्यम्; the word पाक has many meanings, none of which seem applicable here. Any help would be appreciated.
Source: Verse 12 of Chapter 7 rAjanItiprakaraNam (राजनीतिप्रकरणम्), "the section on politics", of Hariharasubhashita (हरिहरसुभाषित), a large collection of free-standing (मुक्तक) verses composed by one Shri Harihara (श्रीहरिहर) who is probably identical to the well-known member of the 13th century CE Vaghela minister Vastupala's literary circle; Mahasubhasitasangraha Verse 9527.
Notes: The word avadhAna (अवधान) refers to attention or attentiveness in general, and to careful listening in particular; this epigram is presumably meant to remind its reader of the importance of an intelligence and / or espionage system. I am clueless about what पाकान्वितम् means here as an adjective of राज्यम्; the word पाक has many meanings, none of which seem applicable here. Any help would be appreciated.
Source: Verse 12 of Chapter 7 rAjanItiprakaraNam (राजनीतिप्रकरणम्), "the section on politics", of Hariharasubhashita (हरिहरसुभाषित), a large collection of free-standing (मुक्तक) verses composed by one Shri Harihara (श्रीहरिहर) who is probably identical to the well-known member of the 13th century CE Vaghela minister Vastupala's literary circle; Mahasubhasitasangraha Verse 9527.
(2) In its eighth chapter that deals with various aspects of litigation, the Manu Smriti directs a colorful tirade at perjurers, and, in spite of generally frowning upon the consumption of fish, does not shy away from referring to it here in order to drive its point home.
Devanagari text:
अन्धो मत्स्यानिवाश्नाति स नरः कण्टकैः सह|
यो भाषतेऽर्थवैकल्यमप्रत्यक्षं सभां गतः||
andho matsyAnivAznAti sa naraH kaNTakaiH saha|
यो भाषतेऽर्थवैकल्यमप्रत्यक्षं सभां गतः||
Harvard-Kyoto transliteration:
andho matsyAnivAznAti sa naraH kaNTakaiH saha|
yo bhASate(a)rthavaikalyamapratyakSaM sabhAM gataH||
Loose translation: The man, who, (in his testimony) in a court of law, twists facts or claims what he has not witnessed, is like a blind person who consumes fish along with the bones.
Source: Manu Smriti Chapter 8 Verse 95; Mahasubhasitasangraha Verse 1699.
