680. Say No to Ransom Demand!

"Pay ransom to another country? Even if rejecting the ransom demand were to result in all of us dying, fighting a war with the country demanding ransom, paying ransom would be unthinkable" said King Rajavarma.

"Your Majesty! Your stand is laudable. But we are a small country. If the Solinga country wages a war with us, our troops cannot withstand the attack of the Solinga forces, even for two days. But, if we can strike a peace agreement with the King of Solinga, you can continue to rule our country" said the Minister.

"I don't like to be a king, by paying ransom to Solinga country" said Rajavarma, firmly.

After a few days, Rajavarma summoned the Minister and told him, "Minister! After pondering over the advice given by you earlier, I have decided to strike a peace agreement with the King of Solinga, by paying the ransom demanded by him."

"It is a wise decision, Your Majesty. But, may I know why you came to this conclusion?" asked the Minister, politely. 

"After we discussed the matter earlier, I visited various places of our country in disguise, to ascertain what people were thinking about the situation. I listened to the conversations among the people. I realized that many people were apprehensive of the tyrannical rule of the King of Solinga, if he were to take over our country, after defeating us in a war. People were saying 'Our King can levy additional taxes and use the sum raised from the additional taxes to pay ransom to the King of Solinga. We will be happy to pay more taxes as the price for continuing to live happily under the rule of our King. But, if the King of Solinga were to rule our country after defeating our King in a war, it will be a disaster for all of us!' Coming to know of the faith our people had in me made me feel proud. But, it also made me feel that I should not allow our people to come under the rule of the King of Solinga, under any circumstances. Though paying ransom to another country is dishonourable, I decided to accept Solinga's demand for ransom, in the interest of our people. I believe that dispelling the fear in the minds of our people is more important than upholding my honour. So, let us send a message to the King of Solinga that we are willing to negotiate a peace agreement with that country" said Rajavarma.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 68
The Method of Executing An Action

Verse 680 (in Tamil):
uRai siRiyAr uL nadungal anjik kuRai peRin
koLvar periyArp paNindhu.

Meaning:

The ruler of a smaller state, perturbed by its people fearing a bigger state attacking them, will submit to the superior power, if his concerns are addressed.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mudivai mARRik koNda mannan' by the same author.) 

Verse 681 (Soon)
Verse 679