History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.514.3

v4.c62.514.3

15 deals with the attitude and conduct of a conquered king who has offered to the conqueror his army (*daṇḍopanata-vṛtta*), while VII. 16 speaks of the conduct of the *daṇḍopanāyī* (an aspiring king who wants to make by means of his army another king submit to him). *Yāna* means marching for invasion on the part of a *vijigīṣu* whose army and prowess are of the highest and whose subjects are contented on account of his good qualities (Kām. XI. 1). The Matsya 240. 2 and the Agnipurāṇa (228. 1-2) add that when the enemy in the rear is overwhelmed by an *ākranda*, then the vijigīṣu should start on an invasion or when the enemy is plunged in calamities. But before actually invading the enemy who is *yātavya* (chosen for attack) an ambassador (*dūta*) should be sent (Kām. XII. 1) to see whether the enemy will submit without fighting. That is, there was to be no war without negotiations and an ultimatum. In the Mahābhārata (Udyoga 83. 5-7) it is said that Kṛṣṇa started as an envoy from the Pāṇḍavas to the Kauravas at the end of *śarad* (autumn) on the Revatī nakṣatra in the month of Kārtika (verse 7, *Kaumude māsi revatyām śaradante himāgame*). In the Purāṇas and the medieval digests elaborate rules are laid down about the religious and propitiatory ceremonies before starting on an invasion. The Viṣṇudharmottara II. 176 and Agnipurāṇa 236.