Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.6.20
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyAn Important Purpose May Require a Truce
“O demigods, fulfilling one’s own interests is so important that one may even have to make a truce with one’s enemies. For the sake of one’s self-interest, one has to act according to the logic of the snake and the mouse.”
What the purport teaches
- The Lord explains that an important purpose may require making a truce even with an enemy.
- A snake and a mouse were trapped in a basket. Eating the mouse immediately would not help the snake escape, so the snake asked the mouse to make a hole.
- The snake intended to eat the mouse afterward and escape through the hole. This illustrates the logic of the snake and the mouse: the truce served the snake’s own interest.
Try this today
Before agreeing to one shared task today, consider what each person hopes to gain.
Ask yourself
How does this example show that a truce need not mean genuine friendship?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.