Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c6.167

Language: English

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of restless persons is fraught with danger. But it is not wise to attack too many foes at once. Conciliation, gifts, and the arts of diplomacy, or producing disunion, should be employed to grind them down one by one. Towards the rest a friendly policy may be pursued. Throughout the Mahābhārata, valour is extolled as the prime attribute of a Kṣatriya, but here it is laid down that the king should save his skin by surrender to stronger foes. A different doctrine is, indeed, enunciated in passing; a king should make peace with a righteous enemy but, even when distressed, should fight an unrighteous one to the death. But the whole tendency of the passages in this connection is towards a time-serving policy—surrender before might. When, however, the victor is heedless, one should compass his destruction. On his side the king should remember that vanquished foes are always wide awake and are never to be trusted. One should do nothing to rouse the suspicions of powerful foes. Secret diplomacy, rather than conciliation, should be resorted to when dealing with powerful enemies. Apply diverse kinds of deception, different contrivances for setting them against one another. Hypocrisy of all sorts is allowed. Corrupt their forces; produce disunion in their ranks by subterranean means. Make lavish use of gold and poison. Never inflict wounds by wordy darts and shafts; never cause an injury which would rankle in the heart of the foe. Exhaust his treasury.

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“Do not applaud exertion in the presence of the foe, but speak highly of destiny.” When trying to recover a lost dominion, a person should first ingratiate himself with the conqueror and then sow dissensions in his ranks. A king should win over the allies and partisans of his foe. When faced with a calamity, a king should be humble in speech but, at heart, should be sharp as a razor. Conciliate the foe with sweet assurances as if he were a friend but distrust him as a snake. Give assurances about the past and make promises for the future. Join your hands in supplication, take oaths, use sweet words, shed tears and offer worship by bending down your head. Bear your enemy on your shoulder so long as the time is not favourable to you. But when an opportunity offers itself, smash him into fragments like an earthen jar on a stone. Make peace when necessary, but never trust the enemy. Desert him with all haste as soon as the purpose is served. Visit your enemies frequently and inquire about their welfare but always conceal your holes like the tortoise which conceals its limbs. Put forth the prowess of a lion. Lie in wait for your enemies like a wolf, then jump on them and pierce them as with a shaft. Be blind or deaf as the necessity demands. Inspire false hopes and project or pretend obstacles before suitors. Be religious and taciturn, assume the garb of ascetics, and wear matted locks and skins to inspire confidence in your foe and then jump upon him like the wolf.

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There are some insects which use their sharp stings to cut off the flowers and fruits of the trees on which they sit. So, a king should use honours, salutations and gifts to lull the suspicions of an enemy and then turn against him to reduce him to nothingness. Fear him who ought to be feared and fear him from whom there is nothing to fear. Never trust even those who deserve to be trusted. Never scruple to slay your son or father, your brother or friend, if they thwart your objects. Chastise and restrain an arrogant, unwise or unrighteous preceptor. Don't be afraid too much of risks. No one attains to prosperity without incurring dangers. No intelligent man should sacrifice present happiness in pursuit of the future. When in distress one should save oneself by any means, mild, or stern. After rising to prosperity, one should, when competent, practise righteousness. It is really impossible to attain high prosperity without piercing the vitals of others, without doing many dire deeds, without slaughtering living creatures after the manner of the fishermen. Never be moved by the piteous lamentations of the foe; never allow him to escape. Destroy every one who has done you an injury. Say agreeable things when taking possession of the wealth of others. Strike off a head with your sword and then grieve and shed tears. Three things continuously grow and multiply—the unpaid balance of a debt, the unquenched remnant of a fire, and the unslain remnant of foes.

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These should be completely extinguished and exterminated. Such a tiny thing as a thorn, if extracted incompletely, leads to gangrene. Every deed must be done thoroughly. One should always be watchful. Win over a hero by folded hands, a coward by terrorism, a covetous man with gifts and wage war with an equal. Be far-sighted like a vulture, motionless like a crane, vigilant like a dog, valiant like a lion, fearful like a crow; and penetrate the territories of a foe like a snake with ease and without anxiety. A hostile kingdom should be devastated by slaughtering the population, destroying the roads and burning and pulling down the houses. Far-reaching are the arms of an intelligent man with which he retaliates when attacked. But in this high game of diplomacy it is essential not to over-reach oneself. Never snatch from the foe what he may be able to recover. Never seek to cross what cannot be crossed. Never dig at all if you can't get to the bottom. Again, sternness is not always politic. It is felt as an affliction. Mildness, on the other hand, begets contempt. Be mild or stern according to the occasion. Sometimes mildness can out the mild and fierce alike and can achieve everything. It may be sharper than severity. A king desirous of prosperity should draw others unto himself by sweet words, honours and gifts. He should never engage in fruitless disputes and should refrain from malicious behaviour towards his own subjects.

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A king should always honour the enemy of his enemies. Needless to say, in all these matters of high politics, espionage had an all-important role to play. Spies are set on every one. They are to be drawn from all classes of people. In their ranks, ascetics and atheists rubbed shoulders together. In another section of the Mahâbhârata, Arjuna remarks that without slaughtering men, no one can achieve fame, wealth or dominion. Every one humbled himself before the prowess of gods like Rudra, Skanda, Śakra, Agni, Varuṇa, Kâla who were slaughterers. They were worshipped by all. But no one cared to bend before gentle gods like Brahman, Dhâtri, or Puṣan. Such is the law of nature. Animals live upon animals, the stronger upon the weak. Mice are devoured by the mongoose; the mongoose by the cat; the cat by the dog; the dog by the spotted leopard, and all in their turn by the great Destroyer. The universe, mobile and immobile alike, is food for living creatures. That is what the gods have ordained. No man of knowledge is stupefied at it. There is no higher duty than the support of one's life. In the Vana-parva, Draupadī preaches the cult of energy and decision. Bhīmasena counsels Yudhiṣṭhira to disregard promises, though the latter defends the sanctity of the plighted words. In the Ādi-parva Kaṇika counsels Machiavellianism to Dhritarâṣṭra as a policy to be followed whenever it might reasonably be expected to achieve the object in view.

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"The slaughter of a foe who does you evil is always praiseworthy." One may dexterously commit the direst deeds. Whenever convenient, one should invent pretexts, reasons for those pretexts and then reasons for those reasons.¹ The whole chapter on Āpaddharma reminds one of Machiavelli. There are sentences written with the "point of a stilette" which may pass for "the Prince." Here the poet of the Mahābhārata, like the quotations from Italian realist, "strips away the following garments of convention and commonplace; closes his will against sympathy and feeling; ignores pity as an irrelevance, just as the operating surgeon does." The section, as a whole, may be styled, as Diderot proposed to head certain chapters of Machiavelli, as "the circumstances under which it is right for a prince to be a scoundrel." In both, the purpose is the same, "the secular state, supreme, self-interest and self-regard, avowed as the single principle of state action; material force, the master-key to civil policy. Clear intelligence backed by unsparing will, unflinching energy, remorseless vigour, the brain to plan and the hand to strike—here is the salvation of states."¹