Chapter 6 - Persons Associated with Traitors and Enemies

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

There are two kinds of innocent persons, those who have disassociated themselves from traitors, and those who have kept themselves away from enemies.

In order to separate citizens and country-people from traitors, the king should employ all the strategic means, except coercion. It is very difficult to inflict punishment on an assembly of influential men; and if inflicted at all, it may not produce the desired effect, but may give rise to undesirable consequences. He may, however, take steps against the leaders of the seditious, as show in in the chapter on “Awards of Punishments.”^[1]

In order to separate his people from an enemy, he should employ conciliation and other strategic means to frustrate the attempt of those who are the enemy’s principal agents or by whom the enemy’s work is to be carried out.

Success in securing the services of capable agents depends upon the king; success of efforts depends upon ministers; and success to be achieved through capable agents is, therefore, dependent both upon the king and his ministers.

When, in spite of the combination of traitors and loyal persons, success is achieved, it is mixed success; when people are thus mixed, success is to be achieved through the agency of loyal persons; for in the absence of a support, nothing that requires a support for its existence can exist. When success is involved in the union of friends and enemies, it is termed a success contaminated by an enemy; when success is contaminated by an enemy, it is to be achieved through the agency of a friend; for it is easy to attain success through a friend, but not through an enemy.

When a friend does not come to terms, intrigue should be frequently resorted to. Through the agency of spies, the friend should be won over after separating him from the enemy. Or attempts may be made to win him over who is the last among combined friends; for when he who is the last among combined friends is secured, those who occupy the middle rank will be separated from each other; or attempts may be made to win over a friend who occupies middle rank; for when a friend occupying middle rank among combined kings is secured, friends occupying the extreme ranks cannot keep the union. (In brief) all those measures which tend to break their combination should be employed.

A virtuous king may be conciliated by praising his birth, family, learning and character, and by pointing out the relationship which his ancestors had (with the proposer of peace), or by describing the benefits and absence of enmity shown to him.

Or a king who is of good intentions, or who has lost his enthusiastic spirits, or whose strategic means are all exhausted and thwarted in a number of wars, or who has lost his men and wealth, or who has suffered from sojourning abroad, or who is desirous of gaining a friend in good faith, or who is apprehensive of danger from another, or who cares more for friendship than anything else, may be won over by conciliation.

Or a king who is greedy or who has lost his men may be won over by giving gifts through the medium of ascetics and chiefs who have been previously kept with him for the purpose.

Gifts are of five kinds: abandonment of what is to be paid; continuance of what is being given; repayment of what is received; payment of one’s own wealth; and help for a voluntary raid on the property of others.

When any two kings are apprehensive of enmity and seizure of land from each other, seeds of dissension may be sown between them. The more timid of the two may be threatened with destruction and may be told: “Having made peace with (some one), this king works against you; his friend is entrusted with the work of making peace, of which you are no party.”

When from one’s own country or from another’s country merchandise or commodities for manufacture in a manufactory are going to an enemy’s country, spies may spread the information that those commodities are obtained from one whom the enemy wanted to march against. When commodities are thus gathered in abundance (the owner of the articles) may send a message to the enemy: “These commodities and merchandise are sent by me to you; please declare war against the combined kings or desert them; you will then get the rest of the tribute.” Then spies may inform the other kings of the combination: “These articles are given to him by your enemy.”

The conqueror may gather some merchandise peculiar to his enemy’s country and unknown elsewhere. Spies, under the garb of merchants, may sell that merchandise to other important enemies and tell them that that merchandise was given (to the conqueror) by the enemy (whose country’s product it is).

Or having pleased with wealth and honour those who are highly treacherous (among an enemy’s people), the conqueror may cause them to live with the enemy, armed with weapons, poison and fire. One of the ministers of the king may be expelled. His sons and wife may be concealed and declared that they were killed at night. Then the minister may introduce other ministers (to the enemy). If they do (kill the enemy) as they are told, they may be caused to be set free; if they are unable to do so, they may be caused to be caught hold of. Whoever has gained the confidence of the enemy may tell the enemy that he (the enemy) has to guard his own person from such and such a chief. Then the recipient of salaries from the two states (the conqueror’s and the enemy’s state) may send instructions to destroy the chief.

Or such a king as is possessed of enthusiasm and power may be told: “Seize the country of this king, our treaty of peace standing as before.” Then spies should inform the particular king of the attempt of these kings, and cause the destruction of the commissariat and of the followers of one of these kings. Other spies, pretending to be friends, should inform him that the other kings are aiming at his life.

When an enemy’s brave soldier, elephant, or horse dies, or is killed, carried off by spies, other spies may tell the enemy that the death is due to mutual conflict among his followers. The man who is employed to commit such murders may be asked to repeat his work again on the condition of his receiving the balance due to him. He should receive the amount from the recipient of salaries from two states; when the king’s party is thus divided, some may be won over (to the side of the conqueror).

This explains the case of the commander-in-chief, the prince, and the officers of the army (of the enemy).

Likewise seeds of dissension may be sown among combined-states. Thus the work of sowing the seeds of dissension.

Spies under concealment may, without the help of a fiery spy, murder by means of weapons, poison or other things a fortified enemy who is of mean character or who is under troubles; any one of the hidden spies may do the work when it is found easy: or a fiery spy alone may do the work by means of weapons, poison or fire; for a fiery spy can do what others require all the necessary aids to do.

Thus the four forms of strategic means.

Of these means, that which comes first in the order of enumeration is, as stated in connection with “Invaders,” easier than the rest. Conciliation is of single quality; gift is twofold, since conciliation precedes it; dissension is threefold, since conciliation and gift precede it; and conciliatory coercion is fourfold, since conciliation, gift, and dissension precede it.

The same means are employed in the case of local enemies, too; the difference is this: the chief messengers known to the manufactories may be sent to any one of the local enemies in order to employ him for he purpose of making a treaty or for the purpose of destroying another person. When he agrees to the proposal, the messengers should inform (their master) of their success. Then recipients of salaries from two states should inform the people or enemies concerned in the local enemy’s work: “This person (the local enemy) is your wicked king.” When a person has reason to fear or hate another, spies may augment dissension between them by telling one of them: “This man is making an agreement with your enemy, and will soon deceive you; hence make peace (with the king) soon and attempt to put down this man.” Or by bringing about friendship or marriage connection between persons who have not been hitherto connected, spies may separate them from others; or through the aid of a neighbouring king, a wild chief, a scion of an enemy’s family, or an imprisoned prince, local enemies may be destroyed outside the kingdom; or through the agency of a caravan or wild tribes, a local enemy may be killed along with his army; or persons, pretending to be the supporters of a local enemy and who are of the same caste, may under favourable opportunities kill him; or spies under concealment may kill local enemies with fire, poison, and weapons.

* When the country is full of local enemies, they may be got rid of by making them drink poisonous (liquids); an obstinate (clever) enemy may be destroyed by spies or by means of (poisoned) flesh given to him in good faith.^[2]

[Thus ends Chapter VI, “Persons Associated with Traitors and Enemies,” in Book IX, “The Work of an Invader” of the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya. End of the hundred and twenty-seventh chapter from the beginning.]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Chapter I, Book V.

[2]:

Vitamsagilavaccharīn... saṭthah [saṭṭhaḥ?] is another reading. This is interpreted by Mādhava as follows:

“With such tricks and contrivances as a bird’s effigy with flesh used by bird catchers, a clever king should destroy his enemies infesting his country with poisoned ñesh administered in good faith.”