History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.211.3

v4.c62.211.3

53 above) the saṅgha of the Vṛṣṇis perished when it came in conflict with Dvaipāyana. In another place Kauṭilya says that (in some cases) the kingdom may be ruled by a clan, for the confederacy¹¹⁹ of a clan is invincible, it is free from the calamity of a kingless State and therefore exists on the earth very long. Kauṭilya devotes one section (Adhikaraṇa XI) to the dealings of the ambitious king with saṅghas. There he states that securing the saṅgha on one’s side is far better than securing an army or allies and makes the most interesting remark¹²⁰ that the corporation of the kṣatriyas and others in the countries of Kāmbhoja and Surāṣṭra practise *vārtā* (husbandry and trade) and the profession of arms, while those of the Licchivikas, Vṛjikas, Mallakas, Madrakas, Kukuras, Kurus and Pāñcālas live on the title of *rājan* applied to them (i. e. they are not cultivators of the soil and soldiers, but are only chiefs or nobles). What Kauṭilya means by 'vārtā-śastropa-jīvinaḥ' appears to be that they were agriculturists ordinarily but were ready with their swords to defend their country when occasion required. Kauṭilya then describes in detail without any scruples how the conqueror may by various subterfuges cause dissensions among the members of the saṅgha and its leader or leaders (*saṅgha-mukhya*). In VIII. 3 Kauṭilya remarks that dissension becomes particularly rife owing to gambling among saṅghas and noble clans that have the saṅgha constitution and they are destroyed.