Chapter IX. Suhrit or Mitra (Ally or Friend)

Volume III pp. 216–234

Chapter IX. Suhrit or Mitra (Ally or Friend)

Manu inculcates the necessity of making friends in VII. 208 and cites the qualities of a good friend (for a king) ‘a king does not prosper by the acquisition of gold and land so much as by securing a firm friend who would be powerful in future, though he may be of depleted resources at the time, That friend, though a weak one, is commended, who is righteous, grateful, whose subjects (or ministers) are contented, who is attached and who pursues (to the end) work undertaken’. According to Manu VII. 206 land, gold and ally are the three fruits of royal endeavour or policy. Yāj I 352 is similar to Manu VII. 208. In VII. 9 Kauṭilya in opposition to the above holds that the acquisition of gold is superior to that of a friend²³⁴. The Mahābhārata (Śānti 138.110) states ‘no one is the friend or enemy of any one else; friends or enemies are made by wealth (or objects pursued by a person)’²³⁵. Kāṃ VIII 52 says the same. Śukra, (IV.1.8-10) opines ‘in the case of a brave, energetic, strong and politic king all others, though outwardly friendly, secretly cherish enmity to him and only wait for (the proper) time (to strike) There is no wonder in thiṣ Are they not themselves greedy of conquering territories? A king has no friend and he is the friend of none’. Śānti (80. 3) says²³⁶ that a friend is of four kinds, one who has the same goal, one who comes for protec- tion or security, one who is naturally so and one who is acquireḍ Karṇaparva 88. 28 gives the four kinds somewhat differently viz. natural (sahaja), acquired by conciliatory words,

won by wealth and one drawn by one's prowesṣ Kāṃ (IV. 74) says that a mitra is of four kinds viz. by birth (such as one's father's father, mother &c.), made by relationship (i. e. marriage), hereditary (one's father's friend), one who is saved from calamitieṣ²⁸⁷ According to Kāṃ (IV. 75–76) the qualities of a friendly king are purity (of heart), liberality, bravery, sharing happiness and sorrow, affection, vigilance (to carry out one's friend's object), truth; and briefly the characteristic of a true friend is devotion to the objects desired by his frienḍ The purpose for which a friend is made is to secure one of the three Puruṣārthas, dharma, artha and kāma (Kāṃ IV. 72).

This subject of making friends leads on to the well-known theory of mandala i. e. of inter-state relationship. Kaut. VI. 2 and VII, Manu VII. 154–211, Āśramvāśiparva 6–7, Yāj. I 345–348, Kāṃ VIII–XI, Agnipurāṇa 233 and 240, Viṣṇudharmottara II. 145–150, Nītivākyāmṛta pp. 317–343, Rājānitiprakāśa pp. 316–330, Nītimayūkha pp. 44–46 deal with this theory of mandala and the six guṇas at great length. As the Kauṭilya is probably the earliest of these and contains the most elaborate treatment of the subject, a brief outline from it is presented here. The Nītivākyāmṛta (pp. 311–313) copies the very words of Kauṭilya.

The yogakṣema (welfare) of a State springs from peace (śama) and exertion (vyāyāma). The latter achieves the completion of works undertaken, while śama brings about the undisturbed enjoyment of the fruits of undertakingṣ The (proper) employment of the six guṇas (sandhi &c.) is the source of śama and vyāyāma. What results (udaya) from these six guṇas is either deterioration, stagnation or progresṣ Udaya depends upon human and divine causes which together govern the worlḍ The human ones are naya and apanaya. Human causes are seen (anticipated) and can be operated (by men). Naya (good policy) is that out of the human causes from which results yogakṣema (welfare); apanaya (impolitic way) is that which produces loss (or an unfavourable state). In VI. 1 (last verse) Kauṭilya says that a king who understands naya and is endowed with the ātmāguṇas and all the elements of the State will conquer the whole world, though originally he may have a small king-doṃ The maṇḍala theory is set out in relation to a king who is called vijigīṣu (the ambitious ruler or conqueror). Kāṃ VIII 6 defines ⁵ vijigīṣu as a king who aspires to extend his territories, who is possessed of all the seven elements of sovereignty, who has great energy and who makes great effortṣ In verses 7–11 he mentions at length his qualitieṣ All our works place before kings this ideal of conquest, domination or self-aggrandizement at the expense of one’s weak neighbourṣ A vijigīṣu is a king who is endowed with good qualities (called ātmasaṁpat on p. 45 above) and with the several elements of the State and who is the fountain of policy (naya), i.e. who has a definite good policy to pursue. An ari (actual or potential enemy) is a king or kings who are the immediate neighbours on the circumference of the kingdom of the vijigīṣu. From this it follows that an ari may comprehend one king, two kings or more who are the immediate neighbours of the vijigīṣu. But it should be remembered as insisted upon by the Nitivākyāmṛta⁶ (p. 321) that there is no inflexible rule that the immediate neighbour is an enemy and that the king whose dominion is beyond the immediate neighbour will be a frienḍ Contiguity or distance is not necessarily the cause of friendship or enmity, but rather it is the purpose (or object) that makes friends or enemieṣ All that is meant is that the immediate neighbour is most likely to be an ari (a real or potential enemy). A mitra (friend of the vijigīṣu) is he who is separated (from the vijigīṣu) by the intervention of the kingdom of the ari. A śatru is a neighbouring ruler possessed of the characteristics of an enemy⁷ (detailed in Kaut. VI 1). The yātavya (to be attacked or invaded by the vijigīṣu) is an ari who is involved in difficultieṣ From this it is clear that in the terminology of Kauṭilya an ari is a generic expression including actual and potential enemies who will generally be on the borders of the kingdom of the vijigīṣu. A śatru is an ari who invites attack or destruction or harassment or reductioṇ That enemy who is plunged in vices or calamities may be attacked and is then called yātavya⁸; one who has no support or has only a weak support is to be extirpated; an enemy who is the opposite of this last (i.e. who has a support or strong support) is to be either harassed or to be reduceḍ Support (āśraya) means a strong fort or a good friend (Kāṃ VIII. 60). So that a śatru is of four sorts (yātavya, ucchedya, pīḍanīya, karśanīya). Harassment is caused to him who is without mantra and a strong army, while one who is strong in mantra and army is to be rendered weak in these respectṣ Both a śatru or a mitra are of three kinds, sahaja, kṛtrima and prākṛta. A sahaja (natural) friend is one who is related through one's parents (such as maternal or paternal aunt's son); one who is resorted to for wealth or safety is kṛtrima (acquired) i. e. one who has obliged the vijigīṣu or has been under his obligations; and the king who is next to the neighbour (i. e. who is separated from the vijigīṣu by the intervention of the neighbour king) is prākṛta (i. e. because he is a prakṛti, an element in the maṇḍala theory). A sahaja enemy is one who is born of the same family (such as a step-brother), a kṛtrima is one who is antagonistic or incites antagonists (i. e. one who has caused harm to or who has been harmed by the vijigīṣu), while the immediate neighbour is a prākṛta enemy. The Mit. on Yāj. I 345 very concisely but lucidly explains all these and the four kinds of śatru. The Viṣṇudharmottara (II. 145. 15-16) and the Agnipurāṇa (233. 21-22) say that in their opinion the prākṛta is really kṛtrima. Kāṃ VIII. 56 also speaks of only two, sahaja and kṛtrima. Although it is possible that the vijigīṣu's realm is surrounded by many kings, the one who is taken for discussion is the enemy and is to be regarded as in front (purastāt) of the vijigīṣu. Therefore in front of the vijigīṣu come in order the ari (imme- date neighbour), then the mitra (whose domain is next after that of the ari), then the arimitra (the friend of the enemy who will be immediately after the mitra of the vijigīṣu and so will be the enemy of the mitra), then comes the mitra- mitra (friend of the friend of the vijigīṣu) and then arimitra- mitra (ally of the enemy's friend). When the ari is said to be in front of the vijigīṣu, the ruler of the territory in the opposite direction is said to be in the rear of the vijigīṣu (paścāt) and is called pārṣṇigrāha⁹ (lit one who may seize or attack the heels) He is really an enemy but this special term is applied to him and he causes trouble in the realm of the vijigīṣu when the latter has started on an invasion or is about to start on one. The king who is the ruler of the country beyond the pārṣṇigrāha is called ākraṅda (lit one for whose help a cry is or may be raised by the vijigīṣu). He would ordinarily be a friend being separated from the vijigīṣu by the realm of the pārṣṇigrāha. The friend of the pārṣṇigrāha (who would be immediately next after the ākraṅda) is called pārṣṇigrāhāśara and the friend of the ākraṅda who would be beyond the pārṣṇigrāhāśara is called ākraṅdadāśara. A madhyama¹⁰ king is one whose realm is close to (is on the border of) that of the vijigīṣu and that of the ari (the immediate enemy in front) and who is capable of helping (or favouring) both of them whether both are combined in alliance or not and who is capable of resisting either of them individually when the two are not in combinatioṇ An udāsīna king is generally defined as one whose territory is beyond or outside of the sphere of the realms of the vijigīṣu, his enemy in front and the madhyama, who is very strong on account of his elements of sovereignty, is capable of helping the above three kings whether they be in combination or not and who is capable of resisting any of the three when they are not in combination Kullūka on Manu. VII 153 differs from this explanation i.e the udāsīna is a powerful king whose realm may be situated in front or in the rear or even at a distance from that of the vijigīṣu, but he is indifferent for some reason or other to the activities of the vijigīṣu. The Mit on Yāj I. 345 observes that the udāsīna also is of three kinds and the prākṛta udāsīna is the overlord of the State that is separated from the central state (vijigīṣu) by two intervening States; the madhyama ( or madhyastha acc. to Nitivākyāmṛta p. 318 ) is the immediate neighbour of both the vijigisu and his enemy but wants to remain neutral in the conflict of the two for some reasoṇ It will have been noticed that the vijigisu, the enemy, the madhyama and the udāsina are independent catagories, while four out of the remaining eight others viz. mitra, mitramitra, ākranda, ākrandaśāra can be grouped under vijigisu, while the other four viz arimitra, arimitramitra, pārṣṇigrāha and pārṣṇi- grāhasāra may be grouped under ari. It is therefore that Manu (VII. 155-156) speaks of the four prakrtis ( vijigisu, śatru, madhyama and udāsina ) as the mūla (basis) of the mandala theory and Kāṃ VIII 20 informs us that Maya declared that a mandala was constituted by these four. Kāṃ VIII 86 gives it as his own opinion that mandala is constituted by mitra, udāsina and ripu (enemy) only¹¹. Kauṭilya says that the man- dala is constituted as explained above by twelve prakrts Uśa- nas was of the same opinion (Kāṃ VIII 22) and Kāṃ (VIII. 41) states that there were numerous views about the number of the elements of the mandala, but a mandala of twelve kings is quite clear and well-known among all people¹². Kāṃ (VIII 20-41) explains how by various combinations of the elements of the mandala with some elements of sovereignty (viz minis- ters, rāstra, durga, kośa, bala) different writers held that the mandala comprised 18, 26, 54, 72, 108 and other numbers of prakrtis The Sarasvatīvilāsa (pp 37-41) shows how from different standpoints Uśanas himself argued that the mandala was constituted by one prakrti, two, three, 10, 21, 108 and that other writers speak also of 4, 5, 6, 14, 18, 30, 36, 44, 60, 72 prakrtis All these figures are due to the inveterate habit of scholastic minds to run an idea to the earth and to indulge in divisions and sub-divisionṣ Even Manu (VII. 157) states that combining each of the twelve members of mandala with the five elements of sovereignty from amātya onwards we get 60 which with the twelve¹³ come to 72. It is to this that the Daśakumāracarita (VIII p 144) refers when speaking of the tree of naya that it has 72 prakṛtis as its leaves (dvisaptatipra-kṛtipatrah nayavanaspatib). The central idea of the mandala was to keep a balance of power among a circle of States, some being friendly among themselves owing to their position and surroundings, while others would form an antagonistic group. Kaut (VI 2) also refers to this number 72, out of which twelve are constituted by kings (rājaprākṛtīs) and 60 (five sovereignty elements of each of the twelve) are styled (dravyaprakṛtīs). The Śāntiparva (59 70-71) also refers to a mandala of 12 kings and to the number 72. Vide N. N. Law's 'Studies in Ancient Hindu Polity' pp 195-208 for elucidation of the theory of mandala. The theory of mandala has this element of truth in it that on a calculation of probabilities the kings who are the immediate neighbours of a ruler are likely to be his enemies (at least potential) and the kings that are beyond the immediate neighbours may make common cause with the central State taken for discourse in order to crush between them a hostile intermediate State. It suggests that diplomacy may take the lines indicated by position and probabilitieṣ The diagram below will²⁹⁷ illustrate the idea. Manu (VII 177 and 180) declares that (state) policy consists briefly in this that a king must so arrange all things or means that the ally, the udāsīna and the śatru cannot harm him or become superior to hiṃ Medhātithi (on Manu VII 177) remarks that even an ally may become an enemy if his interest so requires (svārthagaṭvasāčca mitramapyarī bhavatı).

Kauṭilya¹⁴ relates the theory of mandala to the theory of ṣaḍa (already referred to on p 171) and the six-fold policy (ṣāḍgunya).

The diagram illustrates the following roles in a mandala: उदासीन अरिमित्रम् मित्रम् अरिमित्रम् मित्रम् अरि मध्यम विजिगीषु पार्ष्णिग्राह आक्रन्द पार्ष्णिग्राहासार आक्रन्दासार Everything secures success (i.e. his and his kingdom's happiness) according as the king is able to put forth each of the śaktis to their utmost. The aspiring king taking into account his three saktis may employ the six guņas (methods of policy). The circle of the twelve States gives rise to the employment of the six methodṣ Differing from Vātavyādhi (who said that there were only two methods, sandhi and vigraha) and for once agreeing with the ācāryas, Kauṭilya accepts the position that there are six guṇas and briefly defines them The Sarasvatīvilāsa (p. 42) quotes a sūtra of Gautama about the six guṇas, which is not found in the printed text.¹⁵ Kauṭilya defines the six as follows: Sandhi¹⁶ means making an arrangement or agreement; vigraha means taking up a hostile attitude; āsana means an attitude of indifference; yāna means preparing (for attacking one's enemy ); saṁśraya means taking shelter ( with another powerful king); dvaidhibhāva means making peace with one king and adopting a hostile attitude to another He then states that a king who is less strong than his neighbour may make an agreement with him, one who is rising in power may take up a hostile attitude, whoever thinks ‘the hostile king cannot hurt me nor can I hurt him’ may remain indifferent (or neutral) in his own State, one who is endowed with all advantages may march against the enemy, whoever is devoid of strength should seek the protection (of a powerful ruler), and one should resort to a two-fold attitude when one's object can be accomplished by a frienḍ Some other works give more exact definitions and also define dvaidhibhāva somewhat differently, viz. dvaidhibhāva is dividing one's army into two partṣ Vide Viṣṇudharmottara¹⁷ II. 150. 3–5 and Mit. on Yaj. I. 346. Some say that saṁśraya means seeking the protec- tion of the udāsīna or madhyama king. Kauṭilya (book VII) gives the most elaborate treatment of these six guṇas and so do Manu VII 160 ff, Kāṃ IX-XVI, Viṣṇudharmottara II. 145-150, Agnipurāṇa 240, Mānasollāsa pp 94-116, Rājānitiprakāśa pp. 324-413. Only a few remarks are all that considerations of space allow. Manu (VII 162-168) states that each of the guṇas is of two sortṣ Kāṃ IX. 2-18 and Agni 240 enumerate sixteen kinds of sandhis and Kām defines theṃ His treatment is based on Kaut. VII 3 Kaut (VII. 3) says that when a weak king is attacked by a powerful king who is the leader in a circle of States, the former should at once submit and sue for peace on condition of offering his army, treasury, himself and his territory. Then he says that sandhis made on condition of offering the army are of three kinds viz. `ātmāṁsa` (lit. offering himself as the prey, which involves the condition that the king himself with a fixed number of troops or with the flower of his army would present himself when called), `ātmarakṣaṇa` (saving himself, where the condition is that the commander-in-chief or the crown prince would present himself with an army), `adṛṣṭapuruṣa` (lit. in which no person is definitely prescribed, where the agreement is that some one on the king's behalf or the king himself should march with the army to some place as required by the invader). These sandhis are called `daṇḍopanata` (lit. in which submission is made with the army). Sandhis made on condition of offering the treasury (`koṣopanata`) are `parikraya` (lit. price, where by offering the treasury the other elements of `rājya` are kept free), `upagraha` (where as much money is offered as can be carried on a man's shoulder), `kapāla` (lit. broken half of a pot, where an immense amount of money has to be paid) Sandhis called `deśopanata` (submission with offer of territory) are `ādīṣṭa` (where a part of the realm is ceded and the rest saved from the invader), `ucchinna` (where all the realm except the capital which has been deprived of all its wealth is offered), `apakraya` where by offering the produce of the land the kingdom is freed, `paribhūṣaṇa` where the agreement is to pay more than the produce of the lanḍ Kām adds some varieties and remarks (IX. 21-22) that `upahāra` (offering a present) is the only sandhi (of which all the rest are varieties) in his opinion, that only the `maitra sandhi` (alliance of friendship without the offer of land, money or anything else) does not come under `upahāra`¹⁸ Kām IX. 20 and Mānasollāsa (II. 11 pp. 94-95) speak of four sandhis, mantra, puraspurukūru (agree- ment to help each other ), sambandhaja ( by offer of a princess in marriage ) and upakāra. An interesting example of a sandhi is furnished by the Lekhapañcāśikā which gives a form of treaty dated Monday, Full Moon of Vaiśākha in saṃvat 1288 (1232 A. D.) between Yadava king Singhana of Devagiri and mahārājādhirāja and Lāvaṇyaprasāda (Lavanaprasāda) a Vāghela king who is styled ānaka and mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, whereby the high contracting parties agreed not to invade each other's possessions, to combine and oppose anyone else who invaded one of theṃ Vide Boṃ G. Vol I part 1 p. 200 based on Bhandar- kar's Report on the search for Msṣ 1882-83 pp 38-40. Kāṃ IX. 23-26 and Agnipurāṇa 240. 10-13 mention twenty kinds of persons with whom sandhi should not be made, Kāṃ (IX. 27-41 ) states the reasons why it should be so and in IX. 42-52 seven persons are enumerated with whom he recommends sandhi and gives reasonṣ A king should make sandhi even with one equal in strength ( not only with one who is more powerful ), since victory in battle is doubtful ( Kāṃ IX. 59 ) ¹⁹. Kaut uses a striking simile when he says that if one king comes in conflict with an equal they both will be destroyed in the same way as two unbaked earthen pots striking against one another. If a more powerful king rejects the proposal of a weaker king for sandhi, the latter should take up the attitude of offering his army or follow the course prescribed in book XII (a balīyasam ) In VII. 12 when dealing with agreements between kings, about under- takings to build forts or irrigational works or forests &c. Kaut makes very interesting remarks about land routes being superior to water routes and about the route to the Deccan and the south being more profitable than the one leading to the Himā- layaṣ ²⁰ Kāṃ X. 15 ( = Agni 240. 19 ) says that śura (hostile attitude) is of five kinds viz that of step-brothers, that due to land (seizure of or encroachment on lands or houses), due to woman ( carrying away one's wife or loving the same woman ), due to words ( cutting speech ) and due to wrongṣ Kāṃ X. 2-5 ( = Agni. 240. 20–24 ) enlarges upon the 16 ways in which vyagraha (hostility ) springs, such as on seizing the kingdom, wife, districts, vehicles (horses, elephants) and wealth of another, pride, harassment of subjects &c. When a king feels that his own army is well-nourished and pleased, that his subjects are prosperous and contented and that the army and subjects of another are the opposite of this, then he may adopt a hostile attitude and when he feels sure that he will secure one of the three fruits of hostility (viz. land, ally and wealth—Kāṃ X. 26–28). Kaut. VII. 15 deals with the attitude and conduct of a conquered king who has offered to the conqueror his army (dandopanata-vrata), while VII. 16 speaks of the conduct of the dandopanaīyī ( an aspiring king who wants to make by means of his army another king submit to him) Yāna means marching for invasion on the part of a vijigisu whose army and prowess are of the highest and whose subjects are contented on account of his good qualities (Kāṃ XI. 1) The Matsya 240. 2 and the Agnipurāṇa (228. 1–2) add that when the enemy in the rear is overwhelmed by an ākranda, then the vijigīṣu should start on an invasion or when the enemy is plunged in calamities But before actually invading the enemy who is yotavya (chosen for attack ) an ambassador (dūta ) should be sent (Kāṃ XII. 1) to see whether the enemy will submit without fighting That is, there was to be no war without negotiations and an ultimatum In the Mahābhārata (Udyoga 83 5–7 ) it is said that Krsna started as an envoy from the Pāṇḍavas to the Kauravas at the end of sarad (autumn) on the Revati nakṣatra in the month of Kārtika (verse 7, Kaumude māsi revatyām saradante himāgame) In the Purāṇas and the medieval digests elaborate rules are laid down about the religious and propitiatory ceremonies before starting on an invasioṇ The Visnudharmottara II. 176 and Agnipurāṇa 236. 1–18 require that for seven days before starting on an invasion the king is to engage in the worship of and make offerings to various gods, first to Gaṇapati, then to all the guardians of the quarters, the planets, Asvins, Viṣṇu and Siva and the images in the temples of his capital Then he is to note what good and bad dreams he sees on those days in his sleep and judge accordingly Vide Matsya 242, Agnipurāṇa 229 for dreams portending good and evil This prognostication of good fortune from dreams is very ancient The Chāndogya Up (V. 2 8–9) quotes a verse to the effect that when a man is engaged in the performance of solemn sacrifices for securing some object and sees a woman in a dream he should feel that his rite will be III ] crowned with rewarḍ Similarly the Ait.²¹ Ār. III. 2. 4 men-tions the signs of approaching death, one of which is to see in a dream a dark person with black teeth. Both these passages are quoted by Śaṅkarā in his bhāṣya on Vedāntasūtra II. 1. 14. The Viṣṇudharmottara II. 132-144 (based on Garga), II. 164, Matsya 228-241, Agni 230-232 are concerned with the portents and omens in the heavens, in the sky and on the earth and rites (śāntis) meant to avert the evil prognostications from theṃ The Mānasollāsa II. 13 pp. 97-112 and Rājanītiprakāśa pp 331-351 also deal with these and other astrological matters, which are passed over here, though some of them are very interesting e. g. Viṣṇudharmottara II. 135. 1 refers to the weeping and dancing of imageṣ On the 6th day from the time the rites begin which is the day previous to the starting of the invasion the king undergoes a ceremonial bath for victory called jayā-bhiṣeka. This is described at great length in the Rājanītiprakāśa pp. 351-395 quoting extensive passages from the Liṅgapurāṇa. The ceremony of Jayasnāna resembles the coronation ceremony in many respectṣ The Matsyapurāṇa 243 15-16 and the Viṣṇudharmottara II. 163. 18-31 contain the same long list (with very slight variations) of articles, persons and animals tho sight of which is auspicious when the king starts on an invasion and Matsya (243.2-14) contains another long list of inauspicious sightṣ A few of the auspicious ones are white flowers, jars full of water, cows, horses, elephants, fire in flames, a courtesan, dūrvā grass, gold, silver, copper, all gems, sword, umbrella, banner, corpse not accompanied by crying persons, fruits, the svastika sigṇ Among the inauspicious things and sights are dark grains, cotton, dried cowdung, fuel, jaggery, tonsured or naked man or man with dishevelled hair or wearing reddish robes, a lunatic, a cāṇḍāla, a pregnant woman, broken pot, chaff, ashes, boneṣ The Mānasollāsa II. 13 verses 811-823 (pp. 102-103), Nītimayūkha pp 58-59 also give long lists of inauspicious and auspicious sights or eventṣ Matsya 243. 27 and Viṣṇu-dharmottara II. 163. 32 are both careful to add that all evil signs are counterbalanced by the confident (or joyous) frame of the mind, which is the highest sign of victory.²² Gaut. (XI. 15-17) prescribes that the king should heed the advice of astrologers and of those who are adepts in averting the effects of portents and perform the rites indicated by them such as grahaśānti, rites on auspicious days and of svastyayana, rites of black magic against his enemy &c. Kaut. IX. 7 (at the end) says that the removal of divine calamities is brought about by the worship of deities and by honour to brāhmaṇas and by performing rites prescribed in the Atharvaveda. Manu VII. 82 and Yāj. I. 315 state that gifts made to learned brāhmaṇas are an inexhaustible treasure for the king The Rājadharmakāṇḍa (p 109) quotes the Brahmapurāṇa requiring the king to perform two Lakṣahomas every year and also a Koțihoma. The Rāja- dharmakāṇḍa (p 113) and Rājanītiprakāśa (p 144) quote Udyogaparva 33. 93-95 which set out eight indications of a man's approaching fall, viz hating brāhmaṇas, opposing brāhmaṇas, depriving them of their wealth, desire to kill or harm them, taking pleasure in calumniating them, not liking their praise, not remembering them in religious acts and get- ting angry when they make requests

It may be useful and interesting to see how in very ancient times the king was made ready for battle The Asv. Gr. 8 (III. 12) says: when a battle is impending (the purohita) should make the king put on his armour (in the following way). The purohita should stand to the west of the chariot (of the king) muttering the hymn (Rg X 173) ‘I have brought thee &c.’ He should hand over to the king his armour with Rg VI. 75. 1 ‘when the man with armour advances it is like the appearance of the cloud &c’. He hands over the bow with the next verse (Rg. VI. 75. 2 ‘dhanvanā gā). The purohita should make the king recite the next verse (Rg. VI. 75. 3) and should himself mutter the 4th verse (Rg VI. 75. 4) He should hand over the quiver to the king with the 5th verse (Rg. VI. 75. 5) When the chariot turns in the direction intended the purohita should mutter the sixth verse (Rg. VI. 75 6) He should recite over the horses the 7th (Rg. VI. 75. 7) He makes the king recite the 8th (Rg. VI. 75. 8) when the latter looks at the arrows and makes the king recite Rg. VI. 75. 14 (‘he envelopes his arm’ &c.) when the latter fastens to his arm the leather (that protects his arm against the bow-string) When the king is being taken forward in the chariot by the charioteer the purohita ascends the chariot near the king and makes him recite the hymn called Abhīvarta (Rg. X. 174) and the two verses (Rg. VIII. 101. 3-4). Then the priest looks at the king with III] The Apratiratha hymn (Rg. X. 103 'āśuḥ śiśāno'), the Śāsa hymn (Rg. X. 152 'śāsa itthā') and the Sauparna hymn 'pra dhārayantu madhuno ghṛtasya'²³ Then the king should traverse in order all directions in his chariot. He should stand in that direction in which the Sun (by day) or Venus (by night) shines and give fight from that directioṇ The king should pass his hand over the drum with the three verses (Rg. VI. 47. 29-31 'fill with breath (or roar) the heaven and the earth'). The king should discharge arrows with Rg. VI. 75. 16 and the purohita should mutter Rg. VI. 75. 17 ('where the arrows fall together &c.) when soldiers are fighting, or the purohita may direct or teach (the king to recite from the above such verses as are appropriate to his actions).²⁴ In the Harsa-carita (7th Ucchvāsa first paragraph) Bāna favours us with a realistic and graphic description of the preparations made when Harsa marched out from his palace on his digvijaya. The astrologers found out an auspicious day and lagna (sign of zodiac rising on the eastern horizon) indicative of his conquest of all the four quarters, Harsa was bathed in water poured from silver and golden jars, performed worship of Śiva, offered oblations into fire that sent up flames turning from left to right, made gifts of jars full of sesame grains and of cows whose hoofs and horns were tipped with gold, sat on a throne on which tiger-skin was spread &c

When starting on an invasion the king was required to perform a rite called nīrājana vidhi which consisted in waving lights before horses, elephants, banners, armies &c.²⁵ In II 30 Kauṭilya²⁶ prescribes that on the 9th day of Aśvina lights should be waved before horses and at the beginning and close of invasions and in times of diseases In II 32 Kauṭilya speaks of the waving of lights before elephants thrice in the cāturmāsya (from about July to October) and at the time when two seasons meet Kālidāsa in the Raghuvamsa 4.25 refers²⁷ to the per- formance of this ceremony when Raghu started on his digvijaya and states (in 17·13) that dūrvā grass, barley sprouts and the bark of the palāśa tree were required in the Nīrājana vidhi. Kām IV. 66 speaks of waving lights before horses and elephants (nīrājita-hayadvīpaḥ). The Brhatsamhitā, chap. 44 (verses 16-28 ) deals with the ceremony of waving lamps before horses, elephants and meṇ This ceremony had to be performed every year in the month of Aśvina from the first to the 9th day of the bright half or on the 8th, 12th, or 15th of the bright half of Kārtika (acc. to the Brhatsamhitā 44.2 ) by those who owned horses and also elephants It is also described in the Śaunakīya II 8, Agni-purāṇa 268, Visnudharmottara II 159 (quoted at length in the Rājanīti-prakāśa pp 434-438 ), Kālikāpurāna 88.15 ff, Nirna-yasindhu II p 169, Yuktikalpataru p 178. The Brhatsamhitā describes it as follows:—In the north-east of the capital an ornamental arch of some holy tree was to be erected 10 cubits wide and 16 high Round the necks of horses threads smeared with saffron paste and marking nut, with rice grains and white mustard and kus̲t̲ha plants tied on them were to be suspendeḍ For seven days mantras addressed to the Sun, Varuṇa, Viśve-Devas, Prajāpati, Indra and Viṣṇu were to be recited over the horses, during those days the horses were not to be harshly addressed nor struck with a whip and auspicious words were to be addressed to them, conches were to be blown, drums beaten and singing indulged in before theṃ On the 8th day, to the south of the arch a shed with its face to the north and covered with kuśa grass and barks was to be erected and in front of it on a vedi fire was to be lighted and various materials and plants such as sandal-wood were to be collected and thrown into jars full of water, various foods were to be offered as bali, fuel sticks of khadira and other holy trees were to be brought. The king seated on a tiger-skin and facing the east should sit near the fire together with an astrologer and horse doctor and should follow at the direction of the purohita the procedure laid down for Graha-yajña (sacrifice to planets) and the raising of Indra's banner. A horse and an elephant possessing the most auspicious signs should be bathed and honoured with new white cloth, sandal-wood paste, garlands and incense and should be brought to the foot of the arch near the shed with sweet words to the accompaniment of music and conch-blowing. The movements of the horse and elephant should be watched and prognostications made therefrom about victory &c. A ball of food over which mantras have been recited should be offered to the horse and if the latter smells it or eats it that is a sign of coming victory. Dipping an udumbara twig in the jars filled with water and plants the purohita should touch therewith the horse, the elephant, the king and his soldiers to the accompaniment of mantraṣ Then making an effigy of the enemy the purohita should pierce it with a sharp and pointed stave in the region of the heart with incantations from the Atharvaveda and break it The purohita should pronounce over the bridle vedic mantras and insert it in the mouth of the horse, which the king should ride and proceed in the north-east together with his army, with drums beaten, conches blown and banners displayed This is a propitiatory rite (śānti) as said by Varāhamihira (Bṛhat-saṃhitā 44.2) and the Agnipurāṇa 26 8 and 31 and must have been in vogue centuries before Kauṭilya flourisheḍ

The duty of the conqueror, after vanquishing his opponent, to place on the throne of the late king his son or a kinsman and to respect the customs and usages of the territory conquered has already been set forth above (p. 71) Conquests resulted in either loss of territory or more generally in the offering of tribute of various kinds to the conqueror viz. wealth (gold and silver), horses, elephants, pearls and gems, fine cloth &c Particularly horses from Kāmboja, Bālhika, Gāndhāra and other countries in the north and west were highly prized Vide Sabha 51.10, 53 5, Udyoga 86. 6, Drona 156. 47, Sauptika 13. 2; and Sabha 27, 27 28 6 for horses as tribute. In Sabha 30, 28-30 all the above kinds of tribute are said to have been levied from the Mleccha kings by Bhīma²⁸

Kauṭilya devotes one book ( VIII ) to the discussion of vyasana. Vyasana²⁹ means ‘what deprives a man of great good’ (from the root ‘as’ to throw with ‘vi’) According to Kautilyavyasana may be either the absence of qualities (such as noble birth) or the opposite of such qualities, faults (such as hot temper), excessive attachment (to women &c ), harassment (by invasion or calamities like famines) So vyasanas may broadly be divided into two classes viz calamities and faults due to kāma (passion) and krodha (hot temper) The view of many ācāryas is that of the vyasanas of the king, ministers, the people of the realm, fort, treasury, army and ally, the vyasanas of each preceding one are more serious than those of each succeeding one From the discussion in VIII 1 it appears that Kauṭilya in this case agrees with the ācāryas Differing from Bhārdvāja Kaut holds that the calamities befalling a king or his vices are more serious in their consequences than those of the ministers, since it is the king who appoints the ministers, the purohita, other servants and superintendents of departments and he can employ others in their places and since the rise or fall of the people depends upon him Disagreeing with Viśālākṣa Kauṭilya holds that the vyasanas of ministers have more serious consequences than those of the people, as all (national) undertakings proceed from the ministers, as the security of person and property from internal and external enemies, adoption of remedies to resist calamities, recruiting of army, collection of taxes are all in their handṣ Differing from the school of III ] Parāśara, Kauṭilya is of opinion that the vyasana of the people has graver consequences than that of the fort (or capital), for forts, treasury and army, all irrigation and agricultural work, stability, bravery and abundance (of things) spring from the people. Against Pisuna, Kauṭilya states that the calamities befalling the fort (or capital) give rise to graver consequences than those of the army for the reason that it is in the fort that the treasury and army are kept safe. Kaut. (VIII. 2) holds that internal troubles are more serious than external ones and troubles due to ministers are the most serious of all internal troubleṣ Kaut. prefers an ignorant ruler (who has not studied śāstras) to a king who is bent on swerving from the dictates of śāstras which he knows; he prefers a king suffering from illness to a new king (a conqueror), a weak but a high-born king to a strong but low-born one. In VIII 3 he enumerates the several faults and vices which have already been stated above (p. 54). After remarking that ignorance and lack of training are the causes of vices or faults, Kaut discourses on the relative seriousness of the several faults or vices and holds that gambling is worse than hunting, that sexual passion is worse than gambling, that drinking is worse than sexual vice and that gambling is the special cause of dissension among saṁghas (corporate assemblies) and among families of nobles that have the characteristics of and among families of nobles that have the characteristics of fire, flood, epidemics and famine, floods are more devastating than fire, diseases and epidemics are less destructive than famine, that the loss of outstanding ³⁰ men is more serious than that of common men even in large numbers, since there can hardly be one eminent man among a thousand ordinary or inferior meṇ He holds that the trouble caused by the Crown Prince is a lesser evil than that caused by a favourite queeṇ In VIII. 5 Kauṭilya holds a discussion on the troubles arising from the army and allieṣ He first enumerates thirty-three matters that may cause trouble with the army, such as not giving due respect to it, or showing contempt to it, not dispensing the pay at the proper time, not preventing diseases from attacking it, having soldiers who are very fond of their wiveṣ He then takes pairs of troubles out of these and states which is the lesser evil of the two. Then he deals with causes that lead to the loss or defection of allies In the Rājadharma kāṇḍa, the Rājannitiprakāśa and other works the king is advised to celebrate several rites and festivals, which may be briefly referred to here They were meant as propitiatory rites to avert national calamities and also to keep the populace in good humour and to afford enjoyment to people The Rājadharma kāṇḍa (pp 115-117) and the Rājannitiprakāśa (pp 416-419) quote about 35 verses from the Brahmapurāṇa to the effect that the king is to celebrate in one or more of the six months from Vaiśākha festivals (devayātrā) in honour of various deities such as Brahmā, the gods, the Ganges, Vināyaka, Nāgas, Skanda, the Ādityas, Indra and Rudra, the Mātṛs (Durgā and others), the Earth, Viśvakarman, Viṣṇu, Kamadeva, Śiva, the Moon respectively on the tithis from the 1st to the 15th The same two works quote a passage of 18 verses from the Skandapurāṇa about the festival of moonlight and also the rite of raising the banner of Indra and the latter quotes (pp 425-433) a long passage from the Visnudharmottarapurāṇa also Vide H of Dh. vol. II pp 825-26 for description of the festival of Indra’s banner They describe the worship of Devi on the 8th and 9th days of Āśvina (from the Devipurāṇa) when animals were sacrificed, the gifts of cows on the Amāvāsyā of Kārtika, the rite called Vasordhārā (stream of wealth) The details of all these are passed over here for want of space