War in Ancient India c9.s3.t1.5

c9.s3.t1.5

With such preliminaries the invader might begin the siege if he found that everything else was in his favour and not in the enemy's.⁶³ The opportune moment to commence siege operations might be when the enemy was in distress or suffered from disease, when his officers were disloyal and given to bribery, or when he possessed inadequate or ill-equipped defences, or had no ally to support him. The invader should wait for some such opportunity, and when it presented itself should not let it go, for there is only one tide in the affairs of men. Again, if the invader could not effect his purpose satisfactorily and found the enemy's people and officers above corruption or bribery, then he must have recourse to other and more effective means. Particularly when the enemy's subjects assumed the offensive, the invader might destroy their crops, water sources and stores, cut off their communications and place all kinds of obstruction in their path. This is only the pratikriya of Indian political literature. It is not, therefore, considered a sin. For instance, Hanumān burnt down the whole city as his tail was set fire to. Thus by destroying their crops and depriving them of their cattle, an invading king prepared the ground for laying a siege to the enemy's fort.