Sutra 21

Devanagari script

अटवीभिर्वा राज्यं घातयेत्तत्कुलीनापरुद्धाभ्यां वा हारयेत् ॥ कZ_१२.१.२१ ॥

Transliteration

aṭavībhir vā rājyaṃ ghātayet tatkulīnāparuddhābhyāṃ vā hārayet

Translation

Oder man soll sein Reich durch Waldtruppen zu Fall bringen; oder es durch seine eigenen hochgeborenen Verwandten und/oder durch festgesetzte (Thron-)Anwärter an sich bringen lassen.

Word by Word

• अटवीभिः: by/through forest-tribes (people of the wilderness)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अटवी
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया-बहुवचन

• वा: or
• Type: Particle
• Root: वा
• Form: विकल्पार्थक अव्यय

• राज्यम्: the kingdom/state
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचन; कर्म

• घातयेत्: should cause to be struck/destroyed; should have (it) harmed
• Type: Verb
• Root: घातय् (णिच्) ← हन्
• Form: विधिलिङ्; परस्मैपद; प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; causative (णिच्)

• तत्: of that (kingdom)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-एकवचन (सम्बन्ध)

• कुलीन: noble-born; of good family
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुलीन
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-द्विवचन (अपरुद्धाभ्यां के विशेषणरूपेण)

• अपरुद्धाभ्याम्: by two detained/held (persons)
• Type: Participle (Verbal adjective)
• Root: अपरुद्ध (ppp) ← अप + रुध्
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-द्विवचन; करण

• वा: or
• Type: Particle
• Root: वा
• Form: विकल्पार्थक अव्यय

• हारयेत्: should cause to be taken away/robbed; should have (it) plundered
• Type: Verb
• Root: हारय् (णिच्) ← हृ
• Form: विधिलिङ्; परस्मैपद; प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; causative (णिच्)

Entities Mentioned

• forest forces (aṭavī)
• dynastic elites/kinsmen
• detained claimants

More Details

FAQs

Why invoke aṭavī forces in Kautilya’s framework?

They function as deniable proxies suited to raids and disruption in difficult terrain, raising the enemy’s internal security costs.

What is the role of ‘tatkulīna’ and ‘aparuddha’ here?

Legitimacy tools: rival claimants from the enemy’s own elite/lineage can be used to fracture authority and transfer control.