War in Ancient India c4.s6.t4.9

c4.s6.t4.9

The next question is how the instinct of pugnacity came to stay in the world and what was its contribution towards making it an important factor in the evolution of human nature? This question is answered by the psychologist thus: ‘The selection of the fit and the extermination of the less fit (among both individuals and societies) result from their conflicts with one another’.³⁹ This is a very significant statement; for it is, in other words, the theory of mātsya nyāya. Literally rendered, the term mātsya nyāya means the ‘Rule of the Fish’. What is the rule of the fish except the unwritten law of the bigger fish devouring the smaller ones? Elsewhere I have applied this term to the arājaka state. We have an elaborate description of such a state of anarchy, as we should call it, both in the Mahābhārata40 and in the Rāmāyaṇa.41 The substance of these accounts in the epics shows that in an anarchical state the country is subject to plunder and devastation. Life becomes unsafe. There is no security of person or property. The strong rob the weak and the innocent of their wealth. Rape or violation of women is common. Like fish in a pool of water or a herd of cows with no cow-herd, people injure and kill one another. There is no reverence for parents, teachers, or the aged. Agriculture and industry suffer. There are no regular marriages, and the intermixture of castes is free. Religious authorities are openly defied. No one sleeps without fear.⁴²