Sutra 13

Devanagari script

तमात्मदोषत्यागेन परशक्त्यपराधवशेन वा साधयेत् ॥ कZ_०९.३.१३ ॥

Transliteration

tam ātma-doṣa-tyāgena para-śakty-aparādha-vaśena vā sādhayet

Translation

He should neutralize that (internal hostility) either by abandoning his own faults, or by making it depend upon (i.e., attributing it to) the offence of an external power.

Word by Word

• तम्: him/that (object)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; द्वितीया-एकवचन; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (सन्दर्भानुसार)

• आत्मदोषत्यागेन: by abandoning one’s own faults
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्याग
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-एकवचन; करण/हेतु-अर्थे (by/through)

• परशक्त्यपराधवशेन: or due to the other side’s power and (their) offence/mistake (i.e., under the influence of those factors)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वश
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-एकवचन; करण/हेतु-अर्थे (due to/under the influence of)

• वा: or
• Type: Particle
• Root: वा
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (or)

• साधयेत्: should accomplish / should bring about (the objective)
• Type: Verb
• Root: साध्
• Form: लिङ् (विधिलिङ्); परस्मैपदम्; प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; वर्तमान/आज्ञार्थे—‘should accomplish/bring about’

Entities Mentioned

• king
• external power (paraśakti)

More Details

FAQs

What two levers does Kautilya give for defusing elite resentment?

(1) Reform the king’s own conduct that caused grievance; (2) redirect anger outward by framing the crisis as caused by an external enemy’s wrongdoing.