471. Are We Ready for the War?

"All of you are aware of the purpose of this meeting. It is to discuss our proposed invasion of Vikasa, our neighbouring country. General! Are our troops ready to launch the attack?" asked the King.

"They are, Your Majesty! Our soldiers are ready to act anytime" said the General.

"What is the numerical strength of our army?"

The General narrated the strength of each of the four regiments, viz. the infantry, the horse regiment, the elephant regiment and the chariot regiment.

"Your Majesty! As per the information gathered by our spies, the numerical strength of each of the regiments of Vikasa country is much smaller than ours" said the Minister.

"That means we can launch our attack immediately" said the King, with excitement.

"But, we need to consider some other factors too" said the Minister.

"What factors?"

"If we invade Viskasa country, their ally Kondrai country will join the war on the side of Vikasa."

"Will they dare? After all, only last year, they tried to attack us but tasted defeat at our hands."

"Yes, Your Majesty. They are craving to avenge their defeat. They may make use of this opportunity, expecting to settle the scores with us, using the combined strength of the troops of both the countries." 

"We also have allies, who would join the fight on our side!"

"We have, Your Majesty. But, we can't take them for granted. We should first send our emissaries to those countries and confirm that they would send their troops in support of us, if we launch an attack on Vikasa."

"Does it mean that we cannot launch an attack on Vikasa immediately?" asked the King, feeling frustrated and irritated.

"Your Majesty! It is my humble opinion that we should first ensure that we would get the support from our allies. We also need to make some other arrangements."

"What are those arrangements?"

The Minister looked at the General, then turned to the King and said, "The General is reluctant to talk about an important issue. It has just been a year since we fought a war with Kondrai country. In the war, we lost some weapons and some weapons were damaged. The task of repairing the damaged weapons and replacing the weapons lost with new weapons has not yet been completed. The soldiers who were injured in the war have not fully recovered their strength. The process of recruiting new soldiers in place of those killed in the war is still going on. It may take a few more months for these tasks to be completed."

"If we have to wait for a few months, a situation may also develop when the need for going to war with Vikasaa may no longer be necessary."

"What you say is correct, Your Majesty. It is quite possible that the need for this war may not be there!"

"What are you trying to say, Minister?"

"As you know, in the Mahabharata, though a war with Duryodhana appeared inevitable, Yudhishtira made an attempt to avert the war, by sending Krishna as a messenger of peace. We can send an emissary to Vikasa and try to settle our dispute through peaceful means. If the mission succeeds, there will be no need for a war. If it doesn't, we can launch a war, after ensuring the support from our allies and strengthening our troops and weapons. By buying some time, we will be able to launch the attack, from a stronger position."

The King became thoughtful.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 48
Knowing One's Strength

Verse 471 (in Tamil):

vinai valiyum than viliyum mARRAn valiyum
thuNai valiyum thUkkich cheyal.

Meaning:

Before taking up a task, consider the difficulty of the task, your own strength, the strength of the opponent and the strength of (your and the opponent's) allies.

 

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pOrukkuth thayArA' the same author.)

Verse 472 (Soon)
Verse 470