History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.393

v4.c62.393

17-20 verses 972 ff (pp. 117-122), Nītivākyāmṛta pp. 332-336 treat at length of these four upāyas. A few points only are noted here. Sāma is of five kinds viz. recounting the good turns done by each to the other; praising the qualities and actions of the persons to be won over; declaring the relationship of each other; representing the good that will result in future; declaring 'I am yours and I am at your service' (Kām. XVII. 4-5). Dāna consists in returning what is deposited with one by another, consenting to the taking away by another of one's things, making a gift of something new, giving what the other chooses to ask for, sending at fixed times what has to be given. *Bheda* (sowing dissensions) consists in giving heavy bribes or presents to ministers or feudatories, the crown prince and high officers of the enemy that are dissatisfied for various reasons, creating distrust between the king and his ministers, the rich men and the handsome men in the kingdom by the threat of the loss of life, honour, position, and wealth, by the fear of imprisonment, by the fear that the king may carry away the beautiful wife of a subject or by suggesting that a handsome young man has his eye on the king's harem, and suggesting to a king that a kinsman desires to secure the kingdom to himself and thereby inducing the king to put out his eyes or cut off his limbs. This is effected by secret spies or persons who are in the pay of both kings (*ubhayavetana*, acc. to Mānasollāsa p. 119 v. 995)²²⁵. Vide Kauṭ. XI. 1, Matsya chap. 223 and Śukra IV. 1. 25-54 for *bheda*, Kauṭ. XI. 1 explains at length how an aspiring conqueror is to sow dissensions between corporations and the leaders of corporations, between chiefs and other people. One or two passages may be quoted by way of sample: "Spies gaining access to these corporations (of warriors and others) and finding out jealousy, hatred and other causes of quarrel among them should sow seeds of a well-planned dissension among them, and tell one of them 'this man decries you'. Spies may give publicity to the consideration of priority shown to inferior persons in social intercourse in the face of the established custom of recognising the status of other persons by birth, bravery, and social position. In all these disputes the conqueror should help the inferior party with men and money and set them against the superior party. A woman who has disappointed her lover and has been forgiven may approach and say to a chief 'this chief is troubling me when my mind is set on you; when he is alive I cannot stay here' and thus induce the former to slay the latter." The Matsyapurāṇa 223. 4 states that united people are more than a match even for Indra unless bheda is employed, that dissensions are of two kinds, internal and external, of which the former is more serious. External dissension means the quarrel with a chief, but internal dissension means dissension between a king and his queen or heir apparent or ministers. One should try to prevent dissension with one's own relatives. Śānti 69. 23 also advises the conquest of territory by fomenting dissensions. Therefore the expedient of '*divide et impera*' has a respectable antiquity. Daṇḍa in the case of a king's country consists in sentencing to death or corporal punishment or fine and in the case of the enemy in fighting, destroying or devastating his country by seizing his crops and grain, cattle, wealth, forts and in imprisoning and injuring his people, burning his villages and forests.