Chapter 1 - The Knowledge and the Time of Invasion

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Summary: The Knowledge of Power, Plage, Time, Strength, and Weakness; the Time of Invasion.

The conqueror should know the comparative strength and weakness of himself and of his enemy; and having ascertained the power, place, time, the time of marching and of recruiting the army, the consequences, the loss of men and money, and profits and danger, he should march with his full force; otherwise, he should keep quiet.

My teacher says that of enthusiasm and power, enthusiasm is better: a king, himself energetic, brave, strong, free from disease, skilful in wielding weapons, is able with his army as a secondary power to subdue a powerful king; his army, though small, will, when led by him, be capable of turning out any work. But a king who has no enthusiasm in himself will perish, though he is powerful and possessed of a strong army.

No, says Kauṭilya, he who is possessed of power over-reaches, by the sheer force of his power, another who is merely enthusiastic. Having acquired, captured, or brought another enthusiastic king as well as brave soldiers, he can make his enthusiastic army of horses, elephants, chariots, and others to move anywhere without obstruction. Powerful kings, whether women, young men, lame, or blind, conquered the earth by winning over or purchasing the aid of enthusiastic persons.

My teacher says that of power (money and army) and skill in intrigue, power is better; for a king, though possessed of skill for intrigue (mantraśakti) becomes a man of barren mind if he has no power; for the work of intrigue is well defined. He who has no power loses his kingdom as sprouts of seeds in drought vomit their sap.

No, says Kauṭilya, skill for intrigue is better; he who has the eye of knowledge, and is acquainted with the science of polity, can, with little effort, make use of his skill for intrigue, and can succeed by means of conciliation, and other strategic means and by spies and chemical appliances in over-reaching even those kings who are possessed of enthusiasm and power. Thus of the three acquirements, viz. enthusiasm, power and skill for intrigue, he who possesses more of the quality mentioned later than the one mentioned first in the order of enumeration will be successful in over-reaching others.

Country (space) means the earth; in it the thousand yojanas of the northern portion of the country that stretches between the Himālayas and the ocean from the dominion of no insignificant emperor; in it there are such varieties of land, as forests, villages, mountains, level plains, and uneven grounds. In such lands he should undertake such work as he considers to be conducive to his power and prosperity. That part of the country in which his army finds a convenient place for its manoeuvre, and which proves unfavourable to his enemy, is the best; that part of the country which is of the reverse nature is the worst; and that which partakes of both the characteristics is a country of middling quality.

Time consists of cold, hot, and rainy periods. The divisions of time are: the night, the day, the fortnight, the month, the season, solstices, the year, and the yuga (cycle of five years). In these divisions of time he should undertake such works as are conducive to the growth of his power and prosperity. That time which is congenial for the manoeuvre of his army, but which is of the reverse nature for his enemy, is the best; that which is of the reverse nature is the worst; and that which possesses both the characteristics is of middling quality.

My teacher says that of strength, place, and time, strength is the best; for a man who is possessed of strength can overcome the difficulties due either to the unevenness of the ground or to the cold, hot, or rainy periods of time. Some say that place is the best, for the reason that a dog, seated in a convenient place, can drag a crocodile, and that a crocodile in low ground can drag a dog.

Others say that time is the best, for the reason that during the day-time the crow kills the owl and that at night the owl the crow.

No, says Kauṭilya, of strength, place, and time, each is helpful to the other; whoever is possessed of these three things should, after having placed one-third or one-fourth of his army to protect his base of operations against his rear-enemy and wild tribes in his vicinity, and after having taken with him as much army and treasure as is sufficient to accomplish his work, march during the month of Mārgaśīrṣa (December) against his enemy whose collection of foodstuffs is old and insipid, and who has not only not gathered fresh foodstuffs, but also not repaired his fortifications, in order to destroy the enemy’s rainy crops and autumnal handfuls (muṣṭi). He should march during the month of Caitra (March), if he means to destroy the enemy’s autumnal crops, and vernal handfuls. He should march during the month of Jyeṣṭha (May-June) against one whose storage of fodder, firewood and water has diminished and who has not repaired his fortifications, if he means to destroy the enemy’s vernal crops and handfuls of the rainy season. Or he may march during the dewy season against a country which is of hot climate and in which fodder and water are obtained in little quantities. Or he may march during the summer against a country in which the sun is enshrouded by mist and which is full of deep valleys and thickets of trees and grass, or he may march during the rains against a country which is suitable for the manoeuvre of his own army and which is of the reverse nature for his enemy’s army. He has to undertake a long march between the month of Mārgaśīrṣa (December) and Taiṣa (January), a march of mean length between March and April, and a short march between May and June; and in order to be near, a fourth variety of march may be made against one in trouble.^[1]

Marching against an enemy under troubles has been explained in connection with “March after Declaring War.”^[2]

My teacher says that one should almost invariably march against an enemy in troubles.

But Kauṭilya says: that when one’s resources are sufficient, one should march, since the troubles of an enemy cannot be properly recognised; or whenever one finds it possible to reduce or destroy an enemy by marching against him, then one may undertake a march.

When the weather is free from heat, one should march with an army mostly composed of elephants.^[3] Elephants with profuse sweat in hot weather are attacked by leprosy; and when they have no water for bathing and drinking, they lose their quickness and become obstinate. Hence, against a country containing plenty of water and during the rainy season, one should march with an army mostly composed of elephants. Against a country of the reverse description, i.e. which has little rain and muddy water, one should march with an army mostly composed of asses, camels, and horses.

Against a desert, one should march during the rainy season with all the four constituents of the army (elephants, horses_? chariots and men). One should prepare a programme of short and long distance to be marched in accordance with the nature of the ground to be traversed, viz. even ground, uneven ground, valleys and plains.

* When the work to be accomplished is small, march against all kinds of enemies should be of a short duration; and when it is great, it should also be of long duration; during the rains, encampment should be made abroad.

[Thus ends Chapter I, “The Knowledge of Power, Place, Time, Strength and Weakness, and the Time of Invasion,” in Book IX, “The Work of an Invader” of the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya. End of the hundred and twenty-second chapter from the beginning.]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The text here is faulty.

[2]:

See Chapter IV, Book VII.

[3]:

When the weather is very hot, one should not march with, etc.