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Hindu Administrative Institutions c11.s4: Sec. iv. Information in War

Hindu Administrative Institutions c11.s4

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Sec. iv. Information in War

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Clauswitz whose work on ‘the art of war’ still holds the field as a classic defines ‘information’ in war as the knowledge of the enemy and his country. This is generally sought by letting loose informants and sending ambassadors to the enemy's kingdom. The institution of informants is as old as the composition of the *Ṛg-Veda Saṃhitā*. No other author than Kauṭalya gives a fuller treatment of this institution. The king-in-council shall appoint these secret officers after completely satisfying himself as to their character and ability.¹ According to Yājñavalkya these secret commissioners like the ambassadors must report to the king-in-council.² The *Kauṭalīya* says that the informants should be set in motion against inimical, friendly and neutral kings as well as the various departments of the state.³ The informants in the enemies' kingdom are to move with the people at large and intrigue against the king by inciting the people against him by playing on their weaknesses.⁴ The work of these informants consists mainly in informing their king of the attempts and movements of the enemy kings. They may also sow seeds of dissension among the enemies' army officers, ministers or royal princes.⁵ How much could be effected by sowing the seeds of dissension is seen from a careful perusal of section 1 of Book xiii of the *Kauṭalīya*. Again these informants encourage the army on the eve of the battle by speaking of their own successful operations and the failure of the enemy.⁶ This is because the soldiers knew full well that the information furnished by these officers should be correct as it was first-hand.

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¹ *Arthaśāstra*, Bk. i, Sec. 11.

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² > प्रेषयेच्च ततश्चारान्स्वेष्वन्येषु च सादरान् ।

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³ Bk. i. 12.

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⁴ Bk. i. 14.

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⁵ Bk. ix. 6; cf. *Mahābhārata*, *Āśrmva*, v. 36 and vi. 13.

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⁶ Bk. x, chap. iii.

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ऋत्विक्पुरोहिताचार्यैः आशोभिर्भिनन्दितः ।
(Yāj., i. 332.)

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The *Rajanīti Ratnākara* (p. 50) says that the king must first see the *cāras* or secret commissioners, and then the *dūtas* or the ambassadors for information regarding the strength or otherwise of the enemy.¹ The qualifications and duties of the ambassadors are many and varied. Manu gives the following qualifications of an ambassador: ‘versed in all sciences, skilled in reading the signs, gestures, and movements of other persons, pure, clever, hereditary, loyal, honest, of a strong memory, ready to adjust according to time and place, of strong physique, devoid of fear, and clever in debate.’² An ambassador is generally appointed from among the councillors. It is common that an able and successful councillor is sent on this mission. After making previous arrangements as to conveyance and subsistence he should start on his mission with the following reflection: ‘The enemy shall be told thus. This shall be the reply to him, and thus he shall be imposed upon.’³

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¹ पश्येत् चारान्ततोदूतान्प्रेषयेत्त्विसङ्गतः । (Yāj., i. 328.)

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² Matsya Purāṇa and Garuda Purāṇa, pp. 180-2 quoted in Viramitro-daya; Manu, vii. 63-4.

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³ “शासनमेवं वाच्यः, परस्स वक्ष्यत्येवं तस्येदं प्रतिवाक्यमेवमतिसन्धा-तव्यम्” इत्यधीयानो गच्छेत् । (Arthaśāstra, Bk. i, Sec. 16.)

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The ambassador was expected to make himself a friend of the enemy's officers on the wild tracts, on the boundaries of cities and of country parts. He should gather information in regard to the strength of the enemy's military stations, fourfold forces, fortresses, treasury and other weak and strong points in his kingdom. With previous permission he should enter the palace and speak out without any reservation whatsoever. In giving out his mission he should note how it was being received by the king from the gestures and the mode of his reply.

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Having settled his mission, successful or not, he might return without, in any manner, giving out information regarding his own state. He should endeavour to elicit information in full regarding the enemy without getting himself into trouble and then return.¹ The responsibilities of a *dūta* are very great. He alone brings in peace, or breaks off the peace, and makes a cleavage among the subjects of the country.² As the commencement of hostilities or their end depends on this all-important functionary, the sacredness of his person is accepted on all hands. Chandeśvara quotes from the *Śukranīti* to the effect that a *dūta* though a *mleccha* ought not to be slain. Even at the cost of his life he was expected to speak nothing but the truth. Whether he would speak in favour or not, he should be ever honoured and not disrespected.³

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¹ *Ibid.*; Manu, vii. 67.

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² दूतएवहि संधत्ते भिनत्येव च संहतान् । दूतस्तुकुरुते कर्म भिद्यन्ते येनमानवाः ॥ (Manu, vii. 66.)

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³ दूतो म्लेच्छोऽप्यवध्यः स्याद्राजा दूतमुखो यतः । उद्यतेष्वपि शस्त्रेषु दूतो वदति नान्यथा ॥ (*R.N.R.*, p. 46.) Also in the *Kauṭalīya* : शासनं च यथोक्तं ब्रूयात् प्राणाबाधेऽपि दृष्टे . . . . . उद्यतेष्वपि शस्त्रेषु यथोक्तं वक्त्तारः तेषामन्तावसायिनोऽप्यवध्याः ।

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When Hanumān was ordered to be killed by Rāvaṇa, king of Ceylon, it was Vibhīṣaṇa who saved the situation by pointing out to his brother the rulings of the *Śastra* in regard to the treatment of the ambassadors.¹

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¹ दूता न वध्या: समयेषु राजन् सर्वेषु सर्वत वदन्ति सन्तः ॥ असंशयं शत्रुरयं प्रवृद्ध: कृतं ह्यनेनाप्रिय मप्रमेयं । न दूतवध्यां प्रवदन्ति संतो दूतस्य दृष्टा बहवो हि दण्डा: ॥ वैरूप्यमङ्गेषु कशाभिघातो मौण्ड्यं तथा लक्षणसन्निपातः । एतान्हि दूते प्रवदन्ति दण्डान् वधस्तु दूतस्य न नःश्रुतोऽपि ॥ (Sundara Kāṇḍa, lii. 13–15.)

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There is an interesting inscription of the great Chola king Rāja Rāja (A.D. 985) who conquered *malaināḍu* and killed eighteen princes in retaliation for insult offered to his ambassador.² From this the inference is irresistible that the development of international law in ancient India was *de jure* if not *de facto*.

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² *Ind. Ant.*, vol. xxii, p. 142; cf. *Rāmāyaṇa*, vii, 67. 17 ff.

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