दुर्गार्पणः कोशो दण्डस्तूष्णीं युद्धं स्वपक्षनिग्रहो दण्डबलव्यवहार आसारप्रतिग्रहः परचक्राटवीप्रतिषेधश्च ॥ कZ_०८.१.३८ ॥
durgārpaṇaḥ kośo daṇḍastūṣṇīṃ yuddhaṃ svapakṣanigraho daṇḍabalavyavahāra āsārapratigrahaḥ paracakrāṭavīpratiṣedhaśca
A fort serves as: a depository for the treasury; a base for coercive power; a platform for covert/quiet warfare; a means to restrain one’s own faction; a site for the employment of armed force; a place to receive refugees/defectors; and a barrier against enemy forces and forest-tribe raiders.
Non-declared conflict tools—espionage, inducement, sabotage, psychological operations—run from secure bases.
Forts are instruments of internal control: they deter mutiny, enforce discipline, and provide secure detention and coercive presence.