MONDAY MUSINGS SEASON 2 - EPISODE 303
3rd March 2025
Diplomacy demands Presence of Mind
परस्यवीर्यंस्वबलंचबुध्वास्थानंक्षयंचैवतथैववृद्धिम् । तथास्वपक्षेप्यनुमृश्यबुध्वावदेत् क्षमंस्वामिहितंसमन्त्री ।।Valmiki Ramayan 6.14.22।।
"A minister should advice after ascertaining the strength of the foe and his own strength so also one's own growth (in strength) and fall in strength (of foe) and advice that which is conducive to the king's welfare."
We watched in disbelief this week much publicized and anticipated peace negotiation, The world waited with bated breath for the peace negotiations to end Russia-Ukrain war only to get disappointed. But the diplomacy of an old tamil poet who stopped an impending war between two strong kingdoms just by her intelligence, diplomacy and poetic acumen is admirable. The poet is the famous tamil poet #Avvaiyar and the kings are #Adiyaman and #Thondaman. The story of #WarDiplomacy by a bard:
Successful War Diplomacy of a Poet
Adiyaman was a benevolent & brave king of Tagadur (current Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu) and had a great friend and well-wisher, poet Avvaiyar. Thondaman was a young king of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. He was jealous of King Adiyaman. The young king thought he was braver than Adiyaman and Adiyaman was no match to his valour. Thondaman sent him a message declaring his intention to attack Tagadur. Adiyaman’s valour was well known but wanted to avoid this war and expressed his desire to his friend Avvaiyar.
Avvaiyar, the famous poet used to visit courts of many kings. Kings used to welcome and patronize poets irrespective of their domicile and affinity. When she visited Thondaman, the young king took her to his armoury and showed her his collection of vast new, shiny weaponry. He wanted to impress upon her that he was more powerful than Adiyaman, who Avvaiyar held in high esteem. Avvaiyar sang a wonderful poem set in as #VanjaPugazhchiAni (வஞ்சப் புகழ்ச்சி அணி) meaning, treachery/falsity hidden under praise (or praise hidden under falsity).
இவ்வே, பீலி அணிந்து, மாலை சூட்டிக் கண்திரள் நோன்காழ் திருத்தி, நெய் அணிந்து, கடியுடை வியன்நக ரவ்வே : அவ்வே, பகைவர்க் குத்திக், கோடுநுதி சிதைந்து, கொல்துறைக் குற்றில மாதோ ; என்றும் உண் டாயின் பதம் கொடுத்து, இல் லாயின் உடன் உண்ணும், இல்லோர் ஒக்கல் தலைவன், அண்ணல்எம் கோமான், வைந் நுதி வேலே
She was using a nice bit of psychology here. She said, “Oh Thondaman, how different indeed are your clean and shiny weapons from those of Adiyaman, who has the noble trait of giving and sharing whatever he possesses, whose weapons are worn used to kill the enemies, stained with blood and under repair.” She indicated clearly to Thondaman that his experience and expertise in war is much less than that of Adiyaman and indirectly hinted that he stood no chance to win the war against much experienced Adiyaman.
The young king got the message and dropped the idea of waging war against Adiyaman, much to the relief of Avvaiyar and Adiyaman.
We need an Avvaiyar to stop the ongoing war between Russia & Ukraine. Thondaman listened to logic; would the current rulers listen?
#BhagavadGita Next
I started the current series on learnings from Valmiki Ramayan on 22nd January 2024 at Episode 245 as a special tribute to the consecration of the new Ramjanmabhoomi temple and continued till now. I never imagined that Valmiki Ramayan will have content to cover for more than an year. Valmiki Ramayan continued to fill the pages of #MondayMusings for 59 weeks but coming to an end this week. Learnings from Valmiki Ramayan can be compiled as a new and separate book.
What next? Looking at the ocean of knowledge and learning from Valmiki Ramayan, I am tempted to take up the learnings and knowledge from the other great guidebook, song of god, Bhagavad Gita. See you next Monday starting with the first musings from Bhagavad Gita.
WISHING ALL MEN AND WOMEN HAPPY WOMEN’S DAY
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#PositiveNewsPage
#TimesNetwork Digital hosted the inaugural edition of the ETNOW.in Business Conclave & Awards 2025 on February 25, 2025 in New Delhi.
Keynote address for the awards ceremony was delivered by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union MoS (Ind. Charge) for Science & Technology; Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, PP/ DoPT, Atomic Energy, and Space. The event honoured winners over 90 categories, recognizing outstanding contributions that drive India’s progress.
Award for ‘continuous contribution to cybersecurity for MSMEs of India’ went to my friend Dr. Shekhar Ashok Pawar, Founder & CEO, SecureClaw, Inventor of #BDSLCCI Cybersecurity Framework.
Watch the short video https://youtu.be/Q1b2bkAHdKw
Congratulations Dr. Shekhar Pawar
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My upcoming and fourth book #Select&Delete includes abundant coverage on cyber security technology concepts and protection. Instead of making it a treatise on cyber security, I compiled it as an interesting story line sprinkled with information technology in the storyline.
Look forward to the launch event in about two months.
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Conceived, compiled and posted as a weekly newsletter #MondayMusings every Monday in LinkedIn by Jaganathan (www.authorjaganathan.com)
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