Verse 7.105

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

नास्य छिद्रं परो विद्याद् विद्यात्छिद्रं परस्य च ।
गूहेत् कूर्म इवाङ्गानि रक्षेद् विवरमात्मनः ॥ १०५ ॥

nāsya chidraṃ paro vidyād vidyātchidraṃ parasya ca |
gūhet kūrma ivāṅgāni rakṣed vivaramātmanaḥ || 105 ||

His enemy should hot know his weak points, but he must know the weak points of the enemy; he should hide the departments (of government) as the tortoise does its limbs; and he should guard his own weak points.—(105)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The same idea is farther reiterated.

The king shall so act that while he becomes apprised of the enemy’s weak points, his own remain carefully guarded. When he finds out, through his trusted spies, that any of his own people belongs to one of the aforesaid four sets of the ‘angered’ and the rest, he should try to conciliate them.

His departments he shall hide, like the tortoise, and he shall also guard his weak points. The guarding of one’s own weak points against the enemy’s approaches is highly important;—this is what is meant by the present verse.—(105)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti, p. 117), which adds the following explanation:—He should try his best to keep his weak points from being known by the enemy, and yet he himself should find out the weak points of the enemy, such as disaffection among the people and so forth; just as the tortoise hides within its body its head and other limbs, in the same manner should he always keep won over to his side, by bestowing gifts and honours, his own ministers and other officers of state; and if, by chance, some disaffection should happen to arise among his people, he should take remedial measures at once.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Māhābhārata (12.83.49).—(Same as Manu, the second foot being read as ‘chidreṣu paramanviyāt.’)

Do. (12.140.24).—(Same as Manu, ‘nāsya’ being read as ‘nātma.’)