History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.509
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.509
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Everything secures success (i.e. his and his kingdom's happiness) according as the king is able to put forth each of the śaktis to their utmost. The aspiring king taking into account his three śaktis may employ the six guṇas (methods of policy). The circle of the twelve States gives rise to the employment of the six methods. Differing from Vātavyādhi (who said that there were only two methods, sandhi and vigraha) and for once agreeing with the ācāryas, Kauṭilya accepts the position that there are six guṇas and briefly defines them. The Sarasvatīvilāsa (p. 42) quotes a sūtra of Gautama about the six guṇas, which is not found in the printed text.²⁹⁹ Kauṭilya defines the six as follows: *Sandhi*³⁰⁰ means making an arrangement or agreement; *vigraha* means taking up a hostile attitude; *āsana* means an attitude of indifference; *yāna* means preparing (for attacking one's enemy); *saṁśraya* means taking shelter (with another powerful king); *dvaidhībhāva* means making peace with one king and adopting a hostile attitude to another. He then states that a king who is less strong than his neighbour may make an agreement with him, one who is rising in power may take up a hostile attitude, whoever thinks 'the hostile king cannot hurt me nor can I hurt him' may remain indifferent (or neutral) in his own State.
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one who is endowed with all advantages may march against the enemy, whoever is devoid of strength should seek the protection (of a powerful ruler), and one should resort to a two-fold attitude when one's object can be accomplished by a friend. Some other works give more exact definitions and also define dvaidhībhāva somewhat differently, viz. dvaidhībhāva is dividing one's army into two parts. Vide Viṣṇudharmottara³⁰¹ II. 150. 3–5 and Mit. on Yāj. I. 346. Some say that saṁśraya means seeking the protection of the udāsīna or madhyama king. Kauṭilya (book VII) gives the most elaborate treatment of these six guṇas and so do Manu VII. 160 ff, Kām. IX-XVI, Viṣṇudharmottara II. 145-150, Agnipurāṇa 240, Mānasollāsa pp. 94-116, Rājanītiprakāśa pp. 324-413. Only a few remarks are all that considerations of space allow. Manu (VII. 162-168) states that each of the guṇas is of two sorts. Kām. IX. 2-18 and Agni 240 enumerate sixteen kinds of sandhis and Kām. defines them. His treatment is based on Kauṭ. VII. 3. Kauṭ. (VII. 3) says that when a weak king is attacked by a powerful king who is the leader in a circle of States, the former should at once submit and sue for peace on condition of offering his army, treasury, himself and his territory. Then he says that sandhis made on condition of offering the army are of three kinds viz. *ātmāmiṣa* (lit.
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offering himself as the prey, which involves the condition that the king himself with a fixed number of troops or with the flower of his army would present himself when called), *ātmarakṣaṇa* (saving himself, where the condition is that the commander-in-chief or the crown prince would present himself with an army), *adṛṣṭapuruṣa* (lit. in which no person is definitely prescribed, where the agreement is that some one on the king's behalf or the king himself should march with the army to some place as required by the invader). These sandhis are called *daṇḍopanata* (lit. in which submission is made with the army). Sandhis made on condition of offering the treasury (*kośopanata*) are *parikraya* (lit. price, where by offering the treasury the other elements of *rājya* are kept free), *upagraha* (where as much money is offered as can be carried on a man's shoulder), *kapāla* (lit. broken half of a pot, where an immense amount of money has to be paid). Sandhis called *deśopanata* (submission with offer of territory) are *ādiṣṭa* (where a part of the realm is ceded and the rest saved from the invader), *ucchinna* (where all the realm except the capital which has been deprived of all its wealth is offered), *apakraya* where by offering the produce of the land the kingdom is freed, *paribhūṣaṇa* where the agreement is to pay more than the produce of the land. Kām. adds some varieties and remarks (IX.
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21-22) that *upahāra* (offering a present) is the only *sandhi* (of which all the rest are varieties) in his opinion, that only the *maitra* sandhi (alliance of friendship without the offer of land, money or anything else) does not come under upahāra.³⁰² Kām. IX. 20 and Mānasollāsa (II. 11.