From Sabha parva, Canto 5 (Lokapala sabhakhyana parva). Narada visits Indraprastha after Mayasura constructs a one-of-its kind Maya sabha for the Pandavas. He meets Yudhishtir and has a long conversation asking questions on his kingly duties such as do you have 33 spies who don’t know each other’s identities and do you pay artisans wages, but not more than 4 months.
Reference: https://archive.org/details/menon-ramesh-the-complete-mahabharata-volume-1-12/page/n921/mode/2up
The below content is copied verbatim from Ramesh Menon’s translated version of the Mahabharata.
When the Pandavas and the other Sages there have all worshipped him, Narada, who knows the Vedas perfectly, speaks thus to Yudhishtira about dharma, artha, kama and moksha.
Narada says, ‘Is the wealth that you earn being spent righteously? Does your heart take pleasure in dharma? Do you also enjoy the pleasures of life? But does your mind sink under their weight? Lord of Men, do you continue the noble tradition of dharma and artha by which your sires lived and ruled the three kinds of subjects, the good, the middling and the evil? You must never wound dharma for the sake of artha, and never dharma and artha for the sake of kama, which so easily seduces.
Best of victorious men, always devoted to dharma, knower of the timeliness of all things, do you divide your time judiciously between dharma, artha, kama and the pursuit of moksha? Anagha, sinless, with the six gunas of kings, do you attend to the seven ways which kings use to rule? Do you, after carefully considering the strengths and weaknesses of yourself and your enemies, scrutinise the fourteen possessions of your foe their country, forts, chariots, elephants, cavalry, foot-soldiers, the principal officials of state, the harem, store of food, their army’s wealth, the religious beliefs of their soldiers, their accounts of state, their revenue, the wine shops and other secret enemies?
Having examined, best of kings, your own resources and your enemy’s, and having struck peace with him, then do you attend assiduously to the eight everyday occupations - agriculture, trade and the rest? I hope, Bharatarishabha, that your seven principal officers of state, have not succumbed to the influence or blandishments of your enemies, or become idle and complacent because of their wealth? I trust they are all loyal and obedient to you?
I hope your secret counsels are never divulged by yourself or your ministers, or by your trusted spies who go disguised? I hope you are aware of what your friends and your enemies are engaged in? Do you strike peace and make war, each in its proper time? Are you neutral towards those who are neutral towards you? Kshatriya, have you made men like yourself, and old and sage, the restrained and continent, those who know what should and not be done, who are pure of blood and birth, and also devoted to you, your ministers?
Bhaarata, the victories of kings are attributed to sage counsel. Child, is your kingdom protected by ministers who know the Shastras, and who keep their counsel to you close? Are your enemies helpless to harm you? You have not, I hope, fallen victim to sleep? Do you wake up at the proper time? Knowing what yields artha, do you consider in the small hours what you should and should not do the next day?
I hope you neither take decisions by yourself nor consult with too many advisors. Do the secret decisions you take become known across the kingdom? Do you swiftly undertake such tasks, which are of great use and easy to accomplish? Are these measures never obstructed? You do not keep your farmers out of your sight? Do you achieve your purposes through agents who are experienced, incorruptible and trustworthy? Mighty King, I trust that the people only know about your undertakings that have already been accomplished, those that have been begun, and those that are partially completed, but nothing of those that are only being contemplated and have not been begun.
Have you appointed seasoned masters, men who can explain the roots of events, and who know dharma and every branch of knowledge, to instruct your princes and the commanders of your army? You must buy one learned man in place of a thousand fools. It is the learned man who provides comfort in times of distress.
Are your fortresses always stocked amply with gold, food, weapons, water, engines of war, arms and other tools, as with engineers and bowmen? Even one intelligent, brave minister, whose passions are under perfect control, and who has wisdom and judgement, can bring a king or the son of a king the highest prosperity. I ask you, do you have at least a single such minister?
Do you seek to know everything about the eighteen tirthas 6 of your enemy and the fifteen which are your own, through thirty and three spies, all of whom who must not know one another? Parantapa, do you watch your enemies vigilantly, and without their knowledge?
Is the priest whom you worship humble, pure in blood, renowned, and without either envy or illiberality? Have you engaged a Brahmana of faultless conduct, intelligence, and guileless, as well as thorough in the laws, to perform your daily rituals before the sacred agni? Does he inform you at the proper time when a homa needs to be performed?
Is your astrologer skilled at reading physiognomy, interpreting omens, and competent to neutralise disturbances of nature? Have you engaged respectable servants to serve in respectable offices, indifferent ones in indifferent offices, and lowly ones in offices that are low? Have you appointed loyal, honest ministers, men born into bloodlines which are pure, superior and noble for generations?
You do not, surely, oppress your people with harsh and cruel punishments? Bharatarishabha, do your ministers rule the kingdom in accordance with your dictates? Do your ministers ever slight you like sacrificial priests slighting men who have fallen and can perform no more sacrifices, or like wives slighting husbands who are haughty and incontinent in their behaviour?
Is your Senapati confident, brave, intelligent, patient, of good conduct and noble birth, devoted to you, and able? Do you treat the chief commanders of your army with utmost consideration and regard? Are they men skilled in every kind of warfare, bold, well-behaved, and endowed with prowess? Do you give your soldiers their sanctioned rations and wages at the appointed time? You do not trouble them by withholding these? You do know that, when troops are plunged in misery by receiving irregular or insufficient wages and rations, they are driven to mutiny, which the wise regard as among the most dangerous harms in a kingdom?
Are all the main noblemen devoted to you, and ready to lay down their lives, cheerfully, in battle for you? I hope that you do not allow any one man, of unrestrained passions, to rule many aspects of military concern, pertaining to your army.
Do you have any excellent servants, especially accomplished and of exceptional ability, who are disgruntled about not receiving some extra remuneration from you, as well as some more regard? I hope that youreward men of learning, humility, and mastery over every branch of knowledge with gifts and honour appropriate to their merit? Bharatarishabha, I trust that you support the wives and children of men who have laid down their lives for you?
Son of Pritha, do you cherish with a father’s affection the enemy whom you have weakened or vanquished in battle, and the one who has sought refuge in you? Lord of the Earth, are you equal to all men? Can anyone approach you without fear, even as if you were their mother and father?
O Bull of the race of Bhaarata, do you march against your enemy, immediately, having thought well about the three kinds of forces/ when you hear he is weak? Subduer of all your enemies, do you go forth, when the right time comes, having carefully considered all the omens you see, the resolutions you have made, and that final victory depends upon the twelve mandalas? Parantapa, do you give gems and jewels to the main officers of the enemy, as they deserve, without your enemy’s knowledge?
Son of Pritha, do you seek to conquer your inflamed enemies, slaves to passion, only after having first conquered your own mind and mastered your own senses? Before actually going to war against your enemy, do you correctly use the four arts of conciliation - with gifts, by creating dissent, with coercion, and only then with force? O King, do you march against your enemy only after first strengthening your own kingdom? And once having set out against them, do you then exert yourself to the utmost to triumph? Having conquered them, do you then protect them with every care?
Does your army comprise the four kinds of forces — the regular soldiers, allies, the irregulars and the mercenaries? Is each of these furnished with the eight necessities for war - chariots, elephants, horses, officers, infantry, camp-followers, spies who have a thorough knowledge of the country, and ensigns led out against your enemies after being well trained by superior officers?
Parantapa, I hope you kill your enemies. Great King, without regard for their seasons of harvest or famine? Rajan, I hope your servants and agents, in your own kingdom and in those of your enemies, attend diligently to their duties and watch over one another.
O King, I hope you employ trusted servants to look after your food, the clothes you wear, and the perfumes you use. I hope your treasury, barns, stables, arsenals, and women’s apartments are all protected by servants devoted to you, and always seeking your welfare. I trust that you first protect yourself from your domestic and public servants, and then from the servants of your relatives; and then your servants from the servants of these others.
Do your servants ever speak to you, in the forenoon, about your extravagant spending on wine, sport, food and women? Are your expenses always covered by a fourth, a third or at least half of your income? Do you look after your relatives, superiors, merchants, the old and other dependants, and those in distress with gold and with food?
Do your clerks and accountants come to you during the mornings, every day, and inform you of your daily income and expenditure? Do you ever dismiss, for no fault, servants who are good at their work, popular and devoted to you? Bhaarata, do you employ superior, average and lowly men, after examining them thoroughly, in offices they deserve?
Rajan, do you employ men who are thievish, or susceptible to temptation, who are hostile to you, or minors? Do you oppress your kingdom with thieves, greedy men, minors or with women?
Are the agriculturists in your kingdom contented? Have you caused large tanks and lakes to be created at fair intervals, throughout your lands, so that your farmers are never entirely dependent on the rains from heaven? Are the farmers in your kingdom wanting in seed or in food? Do you give loans generously to the tillers of the land, taking from them just a fourth of their produce in excess of each hundred measure?
Child, are the four professions of agriculture, trade, cattle-rearing, and money-lending for interest conducted by honest men? For the happiness of your people depends on these. Rajan, do the five brave and wise men those who watch over the city and the citadel, the merchants and the farmers, and those who punish criminals - always benefit your kingdom by working unitedly and closely with one another?
To protect your city, have your villages been made like towns, the hamlets and the outskirts of villages, like villages? Are all these entirely under your sway? If thieves and robbers sack a town, do your police hunt them through the flat and difficult parts of your kingdom?
Do you comfort the women in your kingdom and protect them? I hope that you never place any confidence in them, nor divulge any secret to them? O King, having heard of danger threatening, do you, after thinking deeply on it, still lie in your inner chambers enjoying every desirable object?
Having slept through the second and third yaamas of the night, do you lie awake during the fourth division of night, reflecting on dharma and artha? Pandava, do you rise from bed at the proper time, clothe yourself royally, show yourself to your people with ministers, who know which times are auspicious and which otherwise? Bane of all enemies, do men wearing red, armed with swords and adorned with ornaments stand beside you to guard your person?
Rajan, are you like Dharma Deva himself to those deserving chastisement, and to those that deserve worship, to those whom you love, as well as to those whom you do not care for? Son of Pritha, do you seek to cure yourself of bodily sickness with medicines and by fasting, and mental afflictions with the advice of the old and the wise? I trust that your personal physicians are well versed in the eight kinds of treatment and that all of them are attached and devoted to you.
Does it ever transpire, O King, that, from pride, folly or greed, you fail to decide between a plaintiff and a defendant who come to you? From covetousness or neglect, do you ever deprive your dependants of their welfare or pensions, those who have sought refuge in you from love or in trust?
Do the people who live in your realm, having been bought by your enemies and uniting against you, ever seek to oppose or raise dispute with you? Do you suppress your weaker enemies with stronger troops and wise counsel? Are all the main chieftains in your lands loyal to you? Are they ready to lay down their lives for you, at your command?
Do you worship Brahmanas and Rishis according to their proficiency at the various branches of learning? I say to you, such reverence is of the highest benefit to you, beyond any doubt. Have you faith in the dharma based on the three Vedas, which was practised by men who lived before you? Do you meticulously follow the precepts by which they lived?
Do you entertain accomplished Brahmanas in your home, with fine food, and give them rich gifts when these feasts conclude? Passions perfectly controlled, with undivided mind, do you strive to perform the Vajapeya and Pundarika yagnas, with their entire complement of rituals? Do you worship your relatives and superiors, the elderly, the Devas, Rishis, Brahmanas, and the lofty nyagrodhas which stand in villages and bless the people in so many ways?
Sinless one, do you cause anger or grief to anyone? Do priests who are able to bestow auspicious fruit upon you always stand at your side? Anagha, are all your purposes and practices such as I have described, which inexorably increase the span of your life and spread your fame, and also further the cause of dharma, artha and kama? He who conducts himself thus, never finds his kingdom in distress or afflicted, and that king subdues the whole world and enjoys great felicity.
Rajan, I hope that no man of good conduct, who is pure and respected, is ever ruined or has his life taken, on a false charge or through theft, by your ministers, either because they are ignorant of the Shastras or out of their greed? Purusharishabha, I trust that your ministers, from greed, never free a real thief, having caught him red-handed with his booty? O Bhaarata, I hope that your ministers can never be bought with bribes, and that they never decide unjustly in disputes between the rich and the poor?
Do you keep yourself free from the fourteen vices of kings - atheism, untruthfulness, anger, carelessness, procrastination, not visiting the wise, idleness, restlessness of mind, taking counsel with only one man, consulting men unacquainted with the craft of artha, abandoning a project decided upon, disclosure of secrets, not accomplishing beneficial projects, and acting without reflection? These ruin even the most well established sovereign.
Have your study of the Veda, your wealth, your knowledge of the Shastras, and your marriage proved fruitful?’
When the Rishi finishes, Yudhishtira asks, ‘How, O Muni, do the Vedas, wealth, one’s wife, and knowledge of the Shastras bear fruit?’
The Sage replies, “The Vedas bear fruit when he who has studied them performs the Agnihotra and other sacrifices. Wealth is said to bear fruit when he who has it enjoys it himself and also gives it away in charity. A wife proves fruitful when she is useful and when she bears children. Knowledge of the Shastras bears fruit when it results in humility and good behaviour.’
Having thus answered Yudhishtira, Mahamuni Narada asks that righteous king, ‘Do your officers of government, who are paid from the taxes levied on the people, take only their just dues from merchants who come from distant lands to your kingdom, impelled by the desire to make profit? Are these Vaisyas, O King, treated with kindness in your capital and kingdom? Are they able to bring their merchandise here without being cheated either by the buyers or the officials of your government?
O Monarch, do you always listen to the wise and righteous words of old men who know the profound doctrines of artha? Do you make the offerings of honey and clarified butter to Brahmanas, which make the harvest bounteous, swell the numbers of kine in the kingdom, yield an abundance of fruit and flowers, and increase virtue as well?
Do you always give the artists and artisans whom you engage, the materials they need and their wages, for not more than four months together? Do you inspect their work and praise them before good men, and also reward and honour them?
Bharatarishabha, do you live by the precepts and aphorisms of the Rishis, and particularly with regard to matters relating to elephants, horses and chariots? Are the sayings which relate to the science of arms, also those about the engines of war, so useful in towns and fortresses, studied in your court?
Sinless, do you know the arcane mantras and all about the poisons which can kill your enemies? Do you protect your kingdom from fear of fire, serpents and other feral creatures, from disease and rakshasas? Knowing every dharma as you do, do you care like a father for the blind, the dumb, the lame, the deformed, the friendless, and for ascetics who have no homes? Have you banished the six evils, O King - sleep, idleness, fear, anger, weakness of mind, and procrastination?’