Kantakashodhana Adhyaya 5 Sutra 2 - Arthashastra | Arabic | Vedapath

Kautilya

Sutra 2

Devanagari script

तेषां कृतोत्साहानां महान्तं संघमादाय रात्रावन्यं ग्राममुद्दिश्यान्यं ग्रामं कृतकस्त्रीपुरुषं गत्वा ब्रूयुः इहैव विद्याप्रभावो दृश्यतां कृच्छ्रः परग्रामो गन्तुमिति ॥ कZ_०४.५.०२ ॥

Transliteration

teṣāṃ kṛtotsāhānāṃ mahāntaṃ saṃgham ādāya rātrāv anyaṃ grāmam uddiśya anyaṃ grāmaṃ kṛtakastrīpuruṣaṃ gatvā brūyuḥ—ihaiva vidyāprabhāvo dṛśyatāṃ; kṛcchraḥ paragrāmo gantum iti

Translation

وبعد أن يستعدّوا، يصطحبون معهم جماعة كبيرة؛ وفي الليل، بينما يُظهرون أنهم متجهون إلى قريةٍ ما، يذهبون بدلًا من ذلك إلى قريةٍ أخرى، متنكرين في هيئة نساءٍ ورجال، ويقولون: «لْيُرَ أثرُ “فنّنا/حيلتنا” هنا بعينه؛ فالسفر إلى قريةٍ أخرى عسير».

Word by Word

तेषाम्of those

कृतोत्साहानाम्of those whose resolve/initiative has been made (i.e., who have been encouraged/roused)

महत्a great/large

संघम्a group/band/assembly

आदायhaving taken/leading (them)

रात्रौat night

अन्यम्another

ग्रामम्village

उद्दिश्यintending/aiming at

अन्यम्another

ग्रामम्village

कृतकस्त्रीपुरुषम्with a feigned/arranged set of women and men (i.e., disguised/actors)

गत्वाhaving gone

ब्रूयुःthey should say

इहhere

एवindeed/just

विद्या-प्रभावःthe power/effect of knowledge

दृश्यताम्let (it) be seen / may (it) be seen

कृच्छ्रःdifficult/hard

पर-ग्रामःanother village / a village elsewhere

गन्तुम्to go

इतिthus

Entities Mentioned

pāratālpika offenders

villagers

target village

FAQs

What operational advantages do the offenders gain by bringing a 'large group' at night?

Numbers provide cover, intimidation, and confusion, reducing the likelihood of identification while enabling coordinated entry and control.