Sutra 40

Devanagari script

ततः परेषु कृच्छ्रेणार्थनिश्चयो गम्यते मन्त्रो वा रक्ष्यते ॥ कZ_०१.१५.४० ॥

Transliteration

tataḥ pareṣu kṛcchreṇārthaniścayo gamyate mantro vā rakṣyate

Translation

Therefore, among others (i.e., with additional persons), either a firm determination of the objective is reached with difficulty, or the counsel itself is (only with difficulty) kept protected.

Word by Word

• ततः: thereupon; thereafter; from that (point)
• Type: Pronoun (Adverbial)
• Root: तद्
• Form: ablative singular (तस्मात्) used adverbially = 'thereupon/thereafter'

• परेषु: in/among others; in the case of opponents
• Type: Adjective (used substantively)
• Root: पर
• Form: locative plural, masculine/neuter; 'in/among others (i.e., opponents/others)'

• कृच्छ्रेण: with difficulty; only with effort
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृच्छ्र
• Form: instrumental singular, neuter; adverbial use

• अर्थनिश्चयः: ascertainment/decision regarding the matter (purpose/interest)
• Type: Noun (compound)
• Root: अर्थ + निश्चय
• Form: nominative singular, masculine; subject of गम्यते

• गम्यते: is understood; is ascertained; is arrived at
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: present tense, passive, 3rd person singular (लट्, कर्मणि)

• मन्त्रः: counsel; secret deliberation/plan
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्त्र
• Form: nominative singular, masculine; coordinated alternative subject with अर्थनिश्चयः via वा

• वा: or
• Type: Particle
• Root: वा
• Form: disjunctive particle 'or'

• रक्ष्यते: is protected; is guarded (kept secret)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रक्ष्
• Form: present tense, passive, 3rd person singular (लट्, कर्मणि)

Entities Mentioned

• king
• ministers/advisers (implied)

More Details

FAQs

What tradeoff does Kautilya highlight here?

With more participants, either decision clarity suffers (harder to converge) or secrecy suffers (harder to protect the plan).