of sacrifices, should know that those sacrifices of his are never applauded by the righteous.  The king should perform sacrifices with such wealth as is willingly paid into his treasury by prosperous and unpersecuted subjects.  Sacrifices should never be performed with wealth acquired by severity and extortion.  The king should then perform great sacrifices with large presents in the shape of Dakshina, when in consequence of his being devoted to the good of his subjects, the latter bathe him with copious showers of wealth brought willingly by them for the purpose.  The king should protect the wealth of those that are old, of those that are minors, of those that are blind, and of those that are otherwise disqualified.  The king should never take any wealth from his people, if they, in a season of drought, succeed in growing any corn with the aid of water obtained from wells.  Nor should he take any wealth from weeping women.[326] The wealth taken from the poor and the helpless is sure to destroy the kingdom and the prosperity of the king.  The king should always make unto the righteous gifts of all enjoyable articles in abundance.  He should certainly dispel the fear of famishing which those men may have.[327] There are no men more sinful than those upon whose food children look with wistfulness without being able to eat them duly.  If within thy kingdom any learned Brahmana languishes with hunger like any of those children, thou shalt then incur the sin of foeticide for having allowed such an act.  King Sivi himself had said this, viz., ’Fie on that king in whose kingdom a Brahmana or even any other man languishes from hunger.’  That kingdom in which a Brahmana of the Snataka class languishes with hunger becomes overwhelmed with adversity.  Such a kingdom with its king also incurs reproach.  That king is more dead than alive in whose kingdom women are easily abducted from the midst of husbands and sons, uttering cries and groans of indignation and grief The subjects should arm themselves to slay that King who does not protect them, who simply plunders their wealth, who confounds all distinctions, who is ever incapable of taking their lead, who is without compassion, and who is regarded as the most sinful of kings.  That king who tells his people that he is their protector but who does not or is unable to protect them, should be slain by his combined subjects, like a dog that is affected with the rabies and has become mad.  A fourth part of whatever sins are committed by the subjects clings to that king who does not protect, O Bharata.  Some authorities say that the whole of those sins is taken by such a king.  Others are of opinion that a half thereof becomes his.  Bearing in mind, however, the declaration of Manu, it is our opinion that a fourth part of such sins becomes the unprotecting king’s.  That king, O Bharata, who grants protection to his subjects obtains a fourth part of whatever merits his subjects acquire living under his protection.  Do thou, O Yudhishthira, act in such a way that all thy subjects may seek thee as their refuge as long as thou art alive, even as all creatures seek the refuge of the deity of rain or even as the winged denizens of the air seek the refuge of a large tree.  Let all thy kinsmen and all thy friends and well-wishers, O scorcher of foes, seek thee as their refuge even as the Rakshasas seek Kuvera or the deities seek Indra as theirs.’”