Spies in ancient Indian kingdoms (Introduction)

It is impossible to rule a Kingdom by a single handed king. So Manu has said in his Manusaṃhitā:

“[...]”^[1] (7.55).

To rule the state the king should appoint minister, ambassador, spy etc.

In ancient India the King is called cāracakṣu. The king sees his Kingdom through the eyes of his spies.

It is said in the “Nītivākyāmṛta”—

“gāvaḥ paśyanti gandhena vedaiḥ paśyanti paṇḍitāḥ | cāraiḥpaśyanti rājānaḥ || cakṣubhyāmitare janāḥ ||”

(As it is seen in the ghaṇṭāpatha commentary of Mallinātha of the Kirātārjunīya, ¼).

It has been said in the Rāmāyaṇa also—

“yasmāt paśyanti durasthaḥ sarvān arthān narādhipāḥ | cāreṇa tasmād ucyante rājānaścāracakṣuṣaḥ ||”

A king is very much dependant upon spy. There is no alternative to rule the state or kingdom. The spy should be faithful. They would not confound the king submitting the false and pleasing messages.

In this context great poet Bhāravi said in his kāvya, the spy who is appointed by the king should not disappoint the king:—“na vañcanīyā prabhavo'nujīvibhi:”¼^[2] and the king should pay attention to the spy whether his informations are acceptable.

Truth is not always acceptable. Rare are the words which are both beneficent and acceptable.

“hitaṃ manohāri ca durlabhaṃ vacaḥ” ¼^[3].

The kingdom is not protected without the help of spy. The permanency and security of state is dependent upon the spy in many respects. The spy is the main power to save the kingdom.

‘Mahābhārata’ says:

“rājyaṃ praṇidhimūlaṃ hi mantrasāraṃ pracakṣate |”

The King would decide the home ministry and foreign policy according to the collected news of the spies without spy it is impossible to a king to know about the state of his Kingdom and the enemies one.

He feels like the blind person without spy.

Mentioning the quotation of the Nītivākyāmrṭa Mallinātha says in his commentary (2.82)

“[...]”^[4]

The King can not be able to know the force power about the enemies’ states. Sinking in the sea a sinker measures the depth of the sea. Active spies always become watchful towards the movement and strength of the enemy remaining in (18) eighteen places of consultations (mantraṇā) etc.

In the verse (2.111) of Śiśupālavadha canto two there is an implication how and through which role the spy watch the movement of the enemies.

The spy can be recruited from king’s dignitaries of the state or in otherwords these dignitaries can act as spies.

Vijigīṣu king shoul march against his enemy knowing his condition. In the Śiśupālavadha we get the verse—

[...] || 2.111 ||^[5]

“Let spies acquainted with their own works or duties (persons acquainted with rules) having placed their foot into the interior of officials (landing place) know the nature (bottom) of the enemy like water”.^[6]

Here pranidhi means spy.

A spy should collect information of enemy king. Being known about enemy king a vijigīṣu should march for fight against him.

In order to be successful in knowing the internal secrets of his enemy a crafty and cautious king must inaugurate a smart and splendid espionage. He must employ expert spies who will be able to pray and dive down into the internal policies of the whole host of ministerial bodies looking after the welfare of his antagonistic monarch. Just as a person in order to sound the depth of a body of water he is diving into, must set his foot on the interior of the landing stairs leading to the depth of the water.

One can very easily pay into the secrets of an enemy through his tīrtha’ s or officials just as one can very easily dive down into the interior of water through landing stairs. Therefore first of all one should examine the thing by entering into the interior.

At first getting landing place divers easily go down in a large and extended piece of deep water. Like that enemy too may be easily measured through the trusted officers (spies) of Śiśupāla.

The spies follow as like as minister etc. are called tirtha (high state dignitary). There numbers are eighteen (18).

In this respect Mallinātha has said in his commentary:

“nīrthani mantrādyaṣṭādaśasthanāni ||”^[7]

And also it has been said in the commentary of sarvaṃkaṣā:

“āmbhasa iva śatroḥ kṛtatīrthasya supraveśatvāt prāk antaḥ praviśya parīkṣya ityarthaḥ |” (2.111)^[8]

In this respect Halāyudha also said—“yenau `Ì¡ôÌ¥ÌtÌÌœṣú ZÌ ˜ÌwÌÌþhya®õÌzù¨Ì²¥ÌÍÌ |

“[...]” || 2.111 ||^[9]

In the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya (1.12.6) we get the records of eighteen kinds of spies or tīrtha.

They are as follows:—

1. Mantri—The Councillor.
2. Purohita—The Chaplain.
3. Senāpati—The Commander-In-Chief.
4. Yuvarāja —The Crown Prince.
5. Dauvārika —The Chief Palace Usher.
6. Antarvaṃśika—The Chief of the Palace Guards.
7. Praśastā —The Director.
8. Sannidhātā —The Administrator.
9. Samāhartā —The Director of Stores.
10. Pradeṣṭā—The Magistrate.
11. Nāyaka —The Commandant.
12. Pauravyavahārika—The City-Judge.
13. Karmāntika—The Director of Factories.
14. Mantripariṣadadhyakṣa—The Council of Ministers.
15. Daṇdapāla—The Superintendents, the chief of the army staff.
16. Durgapāla—The Commandant of the Fort.
17. Antapāla—The Commandant of the Frontier-Fort.
18. Āṭavika—The Forest Chieftain.

The King should employ these with a credible disguise as regards country, dress, profession, language and birth, to spy in conformity with their loyalty and capability in his own territory.

In this connection it has been said in the Pañcatantra of Viṣṇu Śarmā that, these high state dignitaries employed in the enemy state will be eighteen in number.

Fifteen of them would act as spy in own country.

ripauraṣṭādaśaitāni svapakṣa daśa pañca ca |
tribhistribhiravijñātairvetsi tīrthāni cārakaiḥ ||

(As it is seen in the Śiśupālavadha (2^nd canto) edited by Annada Shankar Pahari, p.306).

The welfare of the state sometimes depends on the duties which have been carried out by the spies. Great poet Māgha speaks about the necessity of spies. Without paspaśāhnika of the Mahābhāṣya, grammar is incomplete, inactive as the elementary subjects have been asserted here.

As paspaśāhnika in grammar, the role of spies is also important in politics.

“anutsūtrapadanyāsā sadvṛttiḥ sannivandhanā |
śavdavidyeva no bhāti rājanītirapaspaśā || 2.112 ||^[10]

“Politics or science of government even where in footsteps do in outstrip rules, even wherein there is good livelihood and even wherein there are permanent grants of cows, gold etc. if there be no spies, does not shine, like the science of words or grammar shining without an introductory discourse through having the nyāsa exposition not outstripping the words of aphorisms, though having the good commentary kāśikā and though having good scholium Bhāṣya”^[11]

The role of spy is very important in the field of politics. Without reliable spy a king is like a blind person.

There must be an exquisite and explicit introductory dissertation in every science of words or grammar else. It is bound, for aught, to be thrown overboard. A world of commentaries will be of no use unless there is an elaborate introduction dealing with minute and subtle points and cracking the hardest grammatical nuts. The same manner is applicable in politics. Mere observances of rules of transactions, good maintenances granted to officers and profitable grants of lands—reward and remunerations bestowed upon workers will be of no importance unless there is a splendid system of cleve espionage established. The most vital importance of politics hinges upon an useful and ardent espionage like the essence of science of words or grammar pivots upon a lucid and useful introduction.

There has been said in the commentary of Śiśupālavadha (verse no. 112)–

“tasmāt cārapreṣaṇamāvaśyakaṃ tadrahitasya rājñaḥ andhaprāyatvāt |”

This verse, at the same time Māgha’s skill in politics as well as in grammar.

Characteristics of the spy and their engagement is discussed in Māgha’s Śiśupālavadha.

For the king—

vuddhiśastraḥprakṛtyaṅgo ghanasaṃvṛtikañcukaḥ |
cārekṣaṇo dūtamukhaḥ puruṣaḥ ko'pi pārthivaḥ || 2.82 ||^[12]

“The monarch is extraordinary whose intellect is his weapon, whose various parts of his state are his limbs, whose close counsel is his armour, whose spies are his eyes and whose messengers are his mouth.”^[13]

“Ordinary, runs of monarchs are not expected to be praise worthy, paragons of administrative excellence. The King who strikes down his enemy by dint of his sober intelligence, who identifies the parts of his body such as hands, feet head etc. with the various members of his state such as master, minister, allies etc. i.e. who considers these members of the state to be his veritable limbs wherewith he can move an act, whose close counsel serves the purpose of a strong armour, who sees not with his own eyes, but with his eye like spies, who speaks through the mouth of his messengers, is indeed a rich rarity for whom it is foolish and futile to look for a parallel.”^[14]

The word carekṣṇo or cāracakṣu is very familiar epithet of the king.

Royal administration without spy does not succeed. So, the expert spies of yādava would become close with faithful employees of Śiśupāla. They would try to know the forcepower of them. Nītiśāstra directs that giving sufficient salary. The appointed spies would be given permanent land. After this if the politics remain spyless, it is a shameless matter. So, the King should appoint spy in his kingdom and enemy state.

It is not enough for vijigīṣu king to know the news of his enemies and their force power from the mouth of his spies. But also has to create—bheda producing misunderstanding among the enemy kings and his courtiers. Four principles sāmā, dāna, bheda and baṇḍa are mentioned here.

The object of the kings spies is to required gather information living at the enemies state. As they are appointed by their own vijigṣu King, they get the salary from him as well as from enemy king being his employee. This type of spy would be ambisalaried named apasarpa.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Manabendu Bandyopadhaya, (Ed. & trans.): Manusaṃhitā, p. 656.

[2]:

Ashoka Kumar Bandyopadhaya: Kirātārjunīya, p. 22.

[3]:

loc.cit.

[4]:

Haridas Siddhantavagisha, (Ed. & trans.): Śiśupālavadha, p. 86.

[5]:

ibid., p.99.

[6]:

Sitanath Kavyaratna & Madhab Das Sankhyatirtha, (Ed. & trans.) Śiśupālavadham, pp. 324-325.

[7]:

Haridas Siddhantavagisha, Op.cit., p.99.

[8]:

loc.cit.

[9]:

loc.cit.

[10]:

ibid., p.100.

[11]:

Sitanath Kavyaratna & Madhab Dass Sankhyatirtha: Op.cit., p.331.

[12]:

Haridas Siddhantavagisha: Op.cit., p. 85.

[13]:

Sitanath Kavyaratna & Madhab Dass Sankhyatirtha: Op. cit., pp.234-235.

[14]:

ibid., p. 235.