Finish an enemy as you'd a fire - fully

Thirukkural with the Times explores real-world lessons from the classic Tamil text ‘Thirukkural’. Written by Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, the Kural consists of 1,330 short couplets of seven words each. This text is divided into three books with teachings on virtue, wealth, and love and is considered one of the great works ever on ethics and morality. The Kural has influenced scholars and leaders across social, political, and philosophical spheres.Motivational speaker, author and diversity champion Bharathi Bhaskar explores the masterpiece.Great minds do think alike. The wise have often reflected upon the fundamental veracities of human nature, relationships and life experiences in precisely the same fashion without reading each other’s works. Not only did their ideas confluence, even the metaphors they used were similar.An example could be how Vyasa, the legendary author of the Mahabharatha; Chanakya, the polymath strategist and teacher from third century BCE; Valluvar, whose works date back to the first century CE; and Robert Greene, present-day American author, of the famous book ‘48 Laws of Power’, have all written about the dangers of leaving one’s enemy unfinished, in a similar manner. A half-finished enemy, according to them, is like a fire not thoroughly doused, as detrimental as a blazing inferno. Such an enemy can lead to unresolved conflicts and further animosity. Incomplete destruction may also result in retaliation or revenge, prolonging the cycle of hostility.A story from the Mahabharata discusses a moral dilemma: Should the enemy be destroyed entirely, or be forgiven?Once, when the Pandavas were in exile, they went in search of food, leaving Draupadi alone at the ashram. Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu and husband of Dushala, the only sister of the hundred Kaurava brothers, passed by and saw Draupadi. Awestruck by her beauty, he forgot that she was his sister-in-law and abducted her. In retaliation, Arjuna and Bhima rushed in their chariots and massacred all of Jayadratha’s men. Jayadratha left Draupadi and fled for his life. He was caught and brought to Yudhisthira by Arjuna and Bhima, who wanted to kill him for his grievous mistake.However, Yudhisthira restrained his brothers, considering Jayadratha was their cousin Dussala’s husband.Draupadi was of a different opinion. She said, “An enemy who abducts one’s wife though there is no cause for enmity, or steals the kingdom, should not be allowed to live, even if he craves for pardon in battle. Letting go of an enemy is like leaving a small portion of fire not extinguished.”But Yudhisthira persisted and requested her for a reconsideration. Finally, she agreed to forgive Jayadratha, and he was allowed to leave. That turned out to be a terrible decision, as Jayadratha later played a crucial role in the murder of Abhimanyu in the battle of Kurukshetra. Chanakya has no such ambiguities. In the Arthasasthra, he says, “A debt should be paid off to the last penny; A fire should be put out to the last spark; An enemy should be destroyed without a trace”. Robert Greene declares it as Law No 15, ‘Sometimes we learn the hard way that if one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smoulders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation. So, neutralise your enemies completely. Or else, the enemy will recover and come back, even stronger and determined to seek revenge’.Greene also shares an example of what happened in China during the 1930s. Chiang Kai-shek had almost decimated Mao Zedong’s soldiers, but before he completed the task, he turned his attention to the invading Japanese. Once he attended to the Japanese, he forgot about Mao’s men. But in ten years, Mao Zedong’s men recovered, came back and routed Chiang’s army, forcing him to flee to Taiwan. Valluvar emphasises the same rule in his poignant style, saying that a half-finished enemy and a half-finished task are similar. Leaving a task or a conflict half-done is identical to extinguishing only part of a fire. Both can lead to unforeseen consequences, potential re-ignition and increased risk.Vinai Pagai endrirandin echcham NinayungaalTheeyecham polath therum.(If you consider, unfinished tasks and undestroyed foes are akin toUnquenched remnants of fire that comes back.)One cannot but wonder how all these men were strikingly similar in their ideas and how they all used the same simile, though they belonged to different cultures, countries and centuries, and the enduring nature of certain universal truths.Audio production: Sahil Gupta