For it hath been said that in the acquisition of wealth even the garb of
holiness might be employed as a hooked staff to bend down a branch in
order to pluck the fruits that are ripe. The method followed in the
plucking of fruits should be the method in destroying foes, for thou
shouldst proceed on the principle of selection. Bear thy foe upon thy
shoulders till the time cometh when thou canst throw him down, breaking
him into pieces like an earthen pot thrown down with violence upon a stony
surface. The foe must never be let off even though he addresseth thee most
piteously. No pity thou show him but slay him at once. By the arts of
conciliation or the expenditure of money should the foe be slain. By
creating disunion amongst his allies, or by the employment of force,
indeed by every means in thy power shouldst thou destroy thy foe.'
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Tell me truly how a foe can be destroyed by the arts
of conciliation or the expenditure of money, or by producing disunion or
by the employment of force.'
"Kanika replied, 'Listen, O monarch, to the history of a jackal dwelling
in days of yore in the forest and fully acquainted with the science of
politics. There was a wise jackal, mindful of his own interests who lived
in the company of four friends, viz., a tiger, a mouse, a wolf, and a
mongoose. One day they saw in the woods a strong deer, the leader of a
herd, whom, however, they could not seize for his fleetness and strength.
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