Sutra 10

Devanagari script

कुपितमूलभिन्नगर्भयोः कुपितमूलं प्रशमितकोपं सामादिभिर्युध्येत न भिन्नगर्भमन्योन्यस्माद्भिन्नम् ॥ कZ_०८.५.१० ॥

Transliteration

kupitamūlabhinnagarbhayoḥ kupitamūlaṃ praśamitakopaṃ sāmādibhir yudhyeta na bhinnagarbham anyonyasmād bhinnam

Translation

Zwischen (einem Feind), dessen Wurzelbasis erzürnt ist, und (einem), dessen innere Geschlossenheit gespalten ist, soll man gegen den „an der Wurzel erzürnten“ Gegner kämpfen, nachdem man seinen Zorn zuvor durch Ausgleich und verwandte Mittel besänftigt hat; gegen den innerlich gespaltenen Gegner soll man nicht kämpfen, denn seine Teile sind voneinander getrennt (und werden von selbst zusammenbrechen).

Word by Word

कुपितमूलभिन्नगर्भयोःof the two—(the one) with an enraged base and (the one) with a split interior

कुपितमूलम्the one whose base is enraged

प्रशमितकोपम्with anger pacified

सामादिभिःby conciliation and the other means

युध्येतshould fight/engage

नnot

भिन्नगर्भम्the one with a divided interior

अन्योन्यस्मात्from one another

भिन्नम्separated/divided

Entities Mentioned

king

enemy

FAQs

Why avoid fighting a 'bhinna-garbha' enemy?

Because internal fragmentation makes the enemy self-weakening; direct battle is unnecessary when collapse or defection can be induced.

What is the administrative intent behind 'praśamita-kopa'?

Stabilize the opponent’s emotional volatility via diplomacy/inducements so the ruler controls escalation and chooses timing.