Upāyas (Nītiprakāśikā VIII. 73-9)

The king is instructed to exercise the fourfold upāyas–sāma, dāna, bheda and daṇḍa against enemies (Nītiprakāśikā VIII. 73):

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(a) Sāma:

It is of five types namely,

1. Parānusaraṇa (following the enemy),

2. Parasparopakāra (mutually help one another),

3. Guṇakīrtaṇa (praising of one’s virtues),

4. Bandhutva-jñāpaṇa (acknowledging one’s relatives),

5. Svātma-samarpaṇa (surrendering oneself) (Nītiprakāśikā VIII. 74-5):

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Generally, sāma requires the conquering king to secure a conciliatory approach by offering protection of a territory so that it is annexed without bloodshed. This suits a conquered king as he will be loyal. It also helps in bringing the weak kings under one’s control. It should be borne in mind that, this policy shall bear fruit only when the rival kings happen to be dharmic. For an unrighteous king, this means will only worsen the position of the conquering king. This is due to the fact that the wicked king will study the weaknesses of the other king and add to his woes. Arthaśāstra lays down that this policy of sāma involves the promise is offered by the conquering monarch towards the protection of the cities, towns, cattle, subjects as well as restoration of the infrastructural facilities of the kingdom.

(b) Dāna:

The sub-divisions of the policy of dāna are mentioned as–

1. Svadana-samarpaṇa (submitting one’s wealth);

2. Anyadravya-grahāmoda (taking other’s wealth);

3. Apūrva-vastu-pradānaka (giving special gifts);

4. Paradravya-preraṇa (influence to grab enemy’s wealth) and

5. Ṛṇa-mocana [mocanam] (freedom from debt) (Nītiprakāśikā VIII. 76-7):

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Dāna is the policy adopted for inferior kings who can be satisfied by gifts when the method of conciliation does not give desired results. There is another situation where this policy is best suited. Often discontented subjects join hands with foreign forces to raise against the king. During those times, the king should offer gifts, suppress internal threats and then proceed to target the external threat.

(c) Bheda:

When the former two policies are ineffective then, bheda which has the following three stages is to be applied:

1. Anyatara-sneha-sampādana (getting the third party’s affection);

2. Mitra-bheda (creating dissension among friends) and

3. Saṃtarjana (intimidating enemy) (Nītiprakāśikā VIII. 78):

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The policy of bheda, is used to conquer the enemy by weakening him, sowing seeds of dissension in his kingdom. When the subjects of the enemy are thus disgruntled and disunited, the enemy is attacked. For this sake, a neighbouring king, a prince, or a wild chief or a scion of the enemy’s family could be instigated. Following this, is the policy of bheda which is to be adopted for the unrighteous rulers. It is very strong policy which will bring down even mighty empires. First, seeds of dissension are to be sown amongst the enemy ranks. Once, their unity is broken, subjugation of their ruler becomes easy. Arthaśāstra advocates this policy also. Śivatattvaratnākara (…) enlists six varieties in bheda nīti.

(d) Daṇḍa:

The final aspect of the four-fold policy daṇḍa is then described. It is also of three kinds:

1. Arthaharaṇa (confiscation of wealth);

2. Parakleśa (mental anguish) and

3. Dehasaṃśikṣaṇa (physical affliction) (Nītiprakāśikā VIII. 79):

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Daṇḍa is a diplomatic tool, is a threat of war and not actual war.This policy is suitable for the stronger powers. Sometimes, it might lead to actual open war. This is the last resort when the earlier three policies do not yield results. Here too, different methods are adopted. Open fight, treacherous warfare or secret conspiracy could be used. In addition to these, a fort could be besieged. This will create a pandemonious situation in the rival nation. Using the confusion, the king could be captured. But, if the conquered king behaves well, he has to be re-instated.

(e) Mantra, Auṣadhī and Indrajāla:

In the first sarga, the text (Nītiprakāśikā I. 49), however, talks about seven upāyas and the commentary Tattvavivṛti while explaining, lists mantra, auṣadhī and indrajāla in addition to the four upāyas mentioned above:

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But in concluding sarga there is just the elucidation of the four different upāyas of sāma,dāna, bheda and daṇḍa and no mention of the other three upāyās–mantra, auṣadhī and indrajāla. It is quite probable that, the three are different artifices that fall under the canopy of kūṭayuddha. It is fairly apparent that the terms mantra and indrajāla can be equated to that of māyā. The use of charms or magical spells (mantra and indrajāla) to attack the enemy in secrecy is quite synonymous to intrigue (māyā).

But, it is rather difficult to explain that term auṣadhī which is also classed under the upāyās. Apart from its name, there is barely any other detail available about it in the text or the commentary.

Arthaśāstra speaks of only the four-fold means. But later nīti texts add few more to this: upekṣa, māyā and indrajāla. This stands as a proof to the constant advancement in the art of peace time strategies.