Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c7.54

c7.54

It may be noted that Hunting was a standing pastime of kings. Kauṭilya (VIII. 3) fully discusses the virtues of hunting for the king. While Piśuna condemns it as a *vyasana*, or indulgence, chiefly for its physical dangers from robbers, enemies, wild animals, forest fires, accidents, hunger, thirst, and even mistake about direction and destination, Kauṭilya approves of it as a *Vyāyāma* or healthy physical exercise, destroying the excess of phlegm, bile, fat and perspiration, and improving one's marksmanship and knowledge of the tempers of wild beasts.