Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c11.s2.t1.54

c11.s2.t1.54

The country comes next as an element of sovereignty. Its prosperity in grain, cattle and wealth, is the prime concern of statesmanship. So far as possible, military mobilisation should be avoided at harvest time. Well-nourished and well-protected, the earth is like the divine cow which bestows everything to the heart's content. Oppression, on the other hand, converts it into a desert and dries up the sources of revenue.² As means of defence, forts are extremely important. They fall into two classes, natural and artificial. A country which lacks fortification is an object of contempt to everybody. Like a bird lost at sea, a king who has no forts to fall upon is shelterless in adversity.³