He may enjoy in an
equal degree the three pursuits of life, charity, wealth, and desire,
which are inter-dependent upon each other. Any one of these three,
when enjoyed to an excess, hurts not only the other two, but also
itself.
Sovereignty (rájatva) is possible only with assistance. A single
wheel can never move. Hence he shall employ ministers and hear
their opinion.
ASSISTED by his prime minister (mantri) and his high priest, the
king shall, by offering temptations, examine the character of ministers
(amátya) appointed in government departments of ordinary nature.
The king shall dismiss a priest who, when ordered, refuses to
teach the Vedás to an outcaste person or to officiate in a sacrificial
performance (apparently) undertaken by an outcaste person (ayájya).
Then the dismissed priest shall, through the medium of spies
under the guise of class-mates (satri), instigate each minister one
after another, saying on oath "this king is unrighteous; well let us set
up in his place another king who is righteous, or who is born of the
same family as of this king, or who is kept imprisoned, or a
neighbouring king of his family and of self-sufficiency (ekapragraha),
or a wild chief (atavika), or an upstart (aupapádika); this attempt is to
the liking of all of us; what dost thou think ?"
If any one or all of the ministers refuse to acquiesce in such a
measure, he or they shall be considered pure. This is what is called
religious allurement.
A commander of the army, dismissed from service for receiving
condemnable things (asatpragraha) may, through the agency of spies
under the guise of class-mates (satri), incite each minister to murder
the king in view of acquiring immense wealth, each minister being
asked "this attempt is to the liking of all of us; what dost thou think?"
If they refuse to agree, they are to be considered pure. This is
what is termed monetary allurement.
A woman-spy under the guise of an ascetic and highly esteemed
in the harem of the king may allure each prime minister (mahámátra)
one after another, saying "the queen is enamoured of thee and has
made arrangements for thy entrance into her chamber; besides this,
there is also the certainty of large acquisitions of wealth."
If they discard the proposal, they are pure. This is what is styled
love-allurement.
With the intention of sailing on a commercial vessel
(prahavananimittam), a minister may induce all other ministers to
follow him. Apprehensive of danger, the king may arrest them all. A
spy under the guise of a fraudulent disciple, pretending to have
suffered imprisonment may incite each of the ministers thus deprived
of wealth and rank, saying, "the king has betaken himself to an
unwise course; well, having murdered him, let us put another in his
stead. We all like this; what dost thou think?"
If they refuse to agree, they are pure. This is what is termed
allurement under fear.
Of these tried ministers, those whose character has been tested
under religious allurements shall be employed in civil and criminal
courts (dharmasthaníyakantaka sodhaneshu); those whose purity has
been tested under monetary allurements shall be employed in the
work of a revenue collector and chamberlain; those who have been
tried under love-allurements shall be appointed to superintend the
pleasure-grounds (vihára) both external and internal; those who have
been tested by allurements under fear shall be appointed to
immediate service; and those whose character has been tested under
all kinds of allurements shall be employed as prime ministers
(mantrinah), while those who are proved impure under one or all of
these allurements shall be appointed in mines, timber and elephant
forests, and manufactories.
Never, in the view of Kautilya, shall the king make himself or his
queen an object (laksham, butt) of testing the character of his
councillors, nor shall he vitiate the pure like water with poison.
ASSISTED by the council of his ministers tried under espionage,
the king shall proceed to create spies: --Spies under the guise of a
fraudulent disciple (kápatika-chhátra), a recluse (udásthita), a
householder (grihapaitika), a merchant (vaidehaka), an ascetic
practising austerities (tápasa), a class-mate or a colleague (satri), a
fire-brand (tíkshna), a poisoner (rasada), and a mendicant woman
(bhikshuki).
Such brave desperados of the country who, reckless of their
own life, confront elephants or tigers in fight mainly for the purpose of
earning money are termed fire-brands or fiery spies (tíkshna).
Those who have no trace of filial affection left in them and who
are very cruel and indolent are poisoners (rasada).
A poor widow of Bráhman caste, very clever, and desirous to
earn her livelihood is a woman ascetic (parivrájiká). Honoured in the
king's harem, such a woman shall frequent the residences of the
king's prime ministers (mahámátrakuláni).
Fiery spies, such as are employed to hold the royal umbrella,
vase, fan, and shoes, or to attend at the throne, chariot, and
conveyance shall espy the public character (báhyam cháram) of
these (officers).
Classmate spies shall convey this information (i.e., that gathered
by the fiery spies) to the institutes of espionage
(samsthásvarpayeyuh).
Poisoners such as a sauce-maker (súda), a cook (arálika),
procurer of water for bathing (snápaka) shampooer, the spreader of
bed (ástaraka), a barber (kalpaka), toilet-maker (prasádaka), a waterservant;
servants such as have taken the appearance of a humpbacked person, a dwarf, a pigmy (kiráta), the dumb, the deaf, the
idiot, the blind; artisans such as actors, dancers, singers, players on
musical instruments, buffoons, and a bard; as well as women shall
espy the private character of these officers.
A mendicant woman shall convey this information to the institute
of espionage.
The immediate officers of the institutes of espionage
(samsthánámantevásinah) shall by making use of signs or writing
(samjnálipibhih) set their own spies in motion (to ascertain the validity
of the information).
Neither the institutes of espionage nor they (the wandering
spies) shall know each other.
If a mendicant woman is stopped at the entrance, the line of
door-keepers., spies under the guise of father and mother (mátápitri
vyanjanáh), women artisans, court-bards, or prostitutes shall, under
the pretext of taking in musical instruments, or through cipher-writing
(gudhalekhya), or by means of signs, convey the information to its
destined place (cháram nirhareyuh.)
(Spies of the institutes of espionage) may suddenly go out under
the pretext of long standing disease, or lunacy, or by setting fire (to
something) or by administering poison (to some one).
When the information thus received from these three different
sources is exactly of the same version, it shall be held reliable. If they
(the three sources) frequently differ, the spies concerned shall either
be punished in secret or dismissed.
Thus with regard to kings who are inimical, friendly,
intermediate, of low rank, or neutral, and with regard to their eighteen
government departments (ashtáldasa-tírtha), spies shall be set in
motion.
The hump-backed, the dwarf, the eunuch, women of
accomplishments, the dumb, and various grades of Mlechcha caste
shall be spies inside their houses.
Merchant spies inside forts; saints and ascetics in the suburbs of
forts; the cultivator and the recluse in country parts; herdsmen in the
boundaries of the country; in forests, forest-dwellers, sramanás, and
chiefs of wild tribes, shall be stationed to ascertain the movements of
enemies. All these spies shall be very quick in the dispatch of their
work.
Spies set up by foreign kings shall also be found out by local
spies; spies by spies of like profession. It is the institutes of
espionage, secret or avowed, that set spies in motion.
Those who are deluded with false promise of large rewards;
those of whom one party, though equally skillful as another party in
artistic work or in turning out productive or beneficial works, is
slighted by bestowing larger rewards on its rival party; those who are
harassed by courtiers (Vallabhá-varuddháh); those who are invited to
be slighted; those who are harassed by banishment; those who in
spite of their large outlay of money have failed in their undertakings;
those who are prevented from the exercise of their rights or from
taking possession of their inheritance; those who have fallen from
their rank and honours in government service; those who are shoved
to the corner by their own kinsmen; those whose women are violently
assaulted; those who are thrown in jail; those who are punished in
secret; those who are warned of their misdeeds; those whose
property has been wholly confiscated; those who have long suffered
from imprisonment; those whose relatives are banished---all these
come under the group of provoked persons.
He who has fallen a victim to misfortune by his own misdeeds;
he who is offended (by the king); he whose sinful deeds are brought
to light; he who is alarmed at the award of punishment on a man of
like guilt; he whose lands have been confiscated; he whose rebellious
spirit is put down by coercive measures; he who, as a superintendent
of all government departments, has suddenly amassed a large
amount of wealth; he who, as a relative of such a rich man aspires to
inherit his wealth; he who is disliked by the king; and he who hates
the king,--all these come under the group of persons alarmed.
He who is impoverished; he who has lost much wealth; he who
is niggardly; he who is addicted to evil propensities; and he who is
engaged in dangerous transactions,---all these constitute the group of
ambitious persons.
He who is self-sufficient; he who is fond of honours; he who is
intolerant of his rival's honour; he who is esteemed low; he who is of
a fiery spirit; he who is foolhardy as well as he who is not content withwhat he has been enjoying,--all these come under the group of
haughty persons.
Of these, he who clings to a particular faction shall be so
deluded by spies with shaved head or braided hair as to believe that
he is intriguing with that party. Partisans under provocation, for
example, may be won over by telling that ‘just as an elephant in rut
and mounted over by a driver under intoxication tramples under its
foot whatever it comes across, so this king, dispossessed of the eye
of science, blindly attempts to oppress both citizens and country
people; it is possible to restrain him by setting up a rival elephant
against him; so have forbearance enough (to wait).’
Likewise alarmed persons may be won over by telling that ‘just
as a hidden snake bites and emits poison over whatever alarms it, so
this king apprehensive of danger from thee will ere long emit the
poison of his resentment on thee; so thou mayest better go
elsewhere.’
Similarly ambitious persons may be won over by telling that ‘just
as a cow reared by dog-keepers gives milk to dogs, but not to
Bráhmans, so this king gives milk (rewards) to those who are devoid
of valour, foresight, eloquence and bravery, but not to those who are
possessed of noble character; so the other king who is possessed of
power to discriminate men from men may be courted.’
In like manner haughty persons may be won over by telling that
‘just as a reservoir of water belonging to Chándálas is serviceable
only to Chándálas, but not to others, so this king of low-birth confers
his patronage only on low-born people, but not on Aryas like thee; so
the other king who is possessed of power to distinguish between men
and men may be courted.’
All these disaffected persons, when acquiescing to the above
proposals, may be made under a solumn compact (panakarmaná) to
form a combination together with the spies to achieve their end.
Likewise friends of a foreign king may also be won over by
means of persuation and rewards, while implacable enemies may bebrought round by sowing dissensions, by threats, and by pointing out
the defects of their master.
No comments:
Post a Comment