Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c15.121

c15.121

The atmosphere of suspicion and the momentous character of diplomatic negotiations invested envoys, messengers and spies with great importance and made them a regular topic of governmental theory. There is, first of all, a broad distinction between Dūtas, ‘open spies,’ that is, envoys and chāras or secret spies—real spies. Both have their classes and sub-classes.⁵ The former, according to the Mahābhārata, should possess these seven accomplishments, viz., they should be high-born, of good family, eloquent, clever, sweet-speeched, faithful in delivering messages with which they are charged, and endowed with good memory.¹ Manu, Kauṭalya, the Purāṇas and Nītiśāstras echo the sentiment. The persons of all diplomatic agents, whether ambassadors, plenipotentiaries or messengers, were sacrosanct. “A king should never slay an envoy under any circumstances. That king who slays an envoy who faithfully utters the message with which he is charged causes the names of his deceased ancestors to be stained with the sin of killing a fœtus.”² Vaiśampāyana in his Nītiprakāśikā adds that an ambassador is not to be put to death even if he had committed a grievous wrong.³ But Kauṭalya is rather ambiguous on the point.