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Kautilya's Arthashastra 8.2.16

Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra 8.2.16

Language
Sanskrit

8.2.16

navas tu rājā balāvarjitaṃ "mamedaṃ rājyam" iti yatheṣṭam anavagrahaś carati //

No, says Kautilya, a diseased king continues to observe his duties as usual. But a new king begins to act as he pleases under the impression that the country, acquired by his own might, belongs to himself; when pressed by combined kings (for plunder), he tolerates their oppression of the country. Or having no firm control over the elements of the state, he is easily removed. There is this difference among diseased kings: a king who is morally diseased, and a king who is suffering from physical disease; there is also this difference among new kings: a high-born king and a base-born king.

R. Shamasastry 1915, Kautilya's Arthaśāstra

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