War in Ancient India c5.s4.11

c5.s4.11

One is the *Nitivākyāmṛta* of Somadeva, and the other is *Laghuarhannītisāra* of Hemacandra. While the former follows Kauṭalya almost *verbatim*, the latter is an abridged version in Sanskrit of a large Prākṛt work the *Bṛhadarhannītiśāstra*, now lost to us. Confining ourselves to an examination of these treatises from the point of view of the ethics of war, we find the whole thing is a copy of the Brahmanical codes which we have been examining. An almost futile attempt has been made to find out differences between the *Nitivākyāmṛta* and the *Arthaśāstra*.¹²⁷ In conformity with the Brahmanical treatises Hemacandra prescribes that the king shall not go to war before employing all the three diplomatic means, *sāma*, *dāna* and *bheda*,¹²⁸ for, it is said, battle involves loss of many lives. But once a war is started, it must be conducted on righteous lines, so that there may be little loss of man-power. Cruel, poisoned, or treacherous weapons should not be used. Hemacandra prescribes further that the following should be immune from slaughter in war: ascetics, Brahmans, those who do not wear weapons of war, the afflicted, eunuchs, the naked, those who are asleep, those suffering from illness, refugees, those holding blades of grass in their mouths, guests, and persons engaged in sacrifices.¹²⁹ Such slaughter was equal to murder and did not, therefore, belong to righteous warfare.¹³⁰