Ṣāḍguṇya (Six-fold policy)

The six aspects of foreign policy (ṣāḍguṇya) are–

1. sandhi,
2. vigraha,
3. yāna,
4. āsana,
5. dvaidībhāva and
6. samāśraya.

The further sub-divisions of the constituents of this policy are:

(a) Sandhi (Peace):

Sandhi is done by king for achieving some objective; this can be for a particular duration or forever (Nītiprakāśikā VIII. 80):

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One who is weaker shall forge an alliance with the strong. These may be temporary or permanent. The latter is a fixed treaty whereas the former has a time-frame. There are a variety of such alliances that are inked often for mutual benefit. Broadly speaking, this treaty system is an open procedure. Instead of fighting out a superior enemy and experiencing great losses, the ruler forms a deal.

(b) Vigraha (War):

War is resorted to when the enemy King acts differently whether it is proper time or not (Nītiprakāśikā VIII. 81):

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Tattvavivṛti explain that a fight could be had at anytime of the year suitable or not, if it is considered imminent.

One who is mightier shall wage a war with the weaker when he behaves in a different way. The cause of such wars could be broadly greed for annexing more land, for defending women or offending their caretakers or for sake of saving one’s friends or relatives who are troubled by foreign forces. This diplomatic war is brought to a close when one yields to the enemy with one’s soldiers, money or allies.

(c) Yāna (Marching):

This is of two types–either one marches alone or joins with a friend and march together against the enemy who has been weakened either by misfortune or by his deeds (Nītiprakāśikā VIII. 82):

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One who is fully equipped for war with men and machines shall advance towards the enemy either alone or march along with an ally.

(d) Āsana (staying quiet):

For Svaminaḥ balasya (for strengthening one’s army) and for kārya siddhyartham (accomplishing the task), one remains neutral at the suggestion of an ally (Nītiprakāśikā VIII. 83):

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This neutral condition is a sort of intermediate relationship between two different forces. Arthaśāstra talks about the madhyama and udāsīna rulers who fall under the grey zone of neutrality. They occupy the interior areas, quite distant from the diplomatic zones.

(e) Dvaidībhāva (Dual Policy):

Avagata-nyūnatva (pushing the enemy to a lower position) and ātmanaḥ ādhikya (improving one’s position) are the dual policy adopted by a king who knows the benefits of such a policy (Nītiprakāśikā VIII. 84):

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This policy is explained with two different actions–One is to seek help to wage a war with another; the second is the kākākṣivat approach wherein it seems that one adopts one course of action while actually another approach is also activated.

(f) Samāśraya:

Seeking shelter or refuge has two reasons–arthasampīḍnārtha–to cause enemy’s agony and sādhubhirvyapadeśārtha to benefit the good (Nītiprakāśikā VIII. 85):

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The weaker side shall take shelter with another. A ruler who cannot face a threat all by his own and who feels that he is not sufficiently equipped to meet his enemy seeks the support of allies. If the king finds himself stuck between two strong powers, he has to form alliance with both of them; wait for opportune moment to secretly bring down both of them.

In short sandhi is that action by which powerful foe becomes friendly; vigraha refers to war where the enemy is oppressed and defeated; yāna is to futher one’s interest and destruct enemy pursuits; āsana is to remain neutral when one is not powerful and by āśraya even a weak king becomes powerful; to meet the enemies dvaidhībhāva is to look for opportunities to strengthen oneself and weaken the enemy.