Sutra 12

Devanagari script

क्षीणलुब्धप्रकृतिमपचरितप्रकृतिं वेति क्षीणलुब्धप्रकृतिं यायात्क्षीणलुब्धा हि प्रकृतयः सुखेनोपजापं पीडां वोपगच्छन्ति नापचरिताः प्रधानावग्रहसाध्याः इत्याचार्याः ॥ कZ_०७.५.१२ ॥

Transliteration

kṣīṇalubdhaprakṛtim apacaritaprakṛtiṃ veti kṣīṇalubdhaprakṛtiṃ yāyāt | kṣīṇalubdhā hi prakṛtayaḥ sukhenopajāpaṃ pīḍāṃ vopagacchanti nāpacaritāḥ pradhānāvagrahasādhyāḥ ity ācāryāḥ ||

Translation

Lorsqu’il faut choisir entre un souverain dont les éléments constitutifs sont affaiblis et cupides et un autre dont les éléments constitutifs sont aliénés (désaffectés), les maîtres disent qu’il faut marcher contre celui qui est affaibli et cupide ; car de tels éléments se laissent aisément gagner par des pots-de-vin ou contraindre à la soumission, tandis que des éléments désaffectés ne sont maîtrisables qu’en saisissant/neutralisant les chefs principaux.

Word by Word

क्षीणलुब्धप्रकृतिम्the (state-)constituents that are weakened and greedy

अपचरितप्रकृतिम्the (state-)constituents that have defected/turned away

वाor

इतिthus

क्षीणलुब्धप्रकृतिम्the weakened-and-greedy constituents

यायात्one should approach / one should go to

क्षीणलुब्धाःweakened and greedy

हिfor / indeed

प्रकृतयःthe constituents (of the state)

सुखेनeasily

उपजापम्subornation / secret inducement

पीडाम्pressure / coercion

वाor

उपगच्छन्तिthey submit to / they undergo / they come under

नnot

अपचरिताःthose who have defected / turned away

प्रधानावग्रहसाध्याः(they are) to be won only by overcoming the principal resistance

इतिthus

आचार्याःthe teachers (authorities)

Entities Mentioned

prakṛti (state constituents)

pradhāna (principal leaders)

FAQs

What distinction is made between ‘weakened-greedy’ and ‘alienated’ state constituents?

Weakened-greedy constituents are instrumentally pliable (buyable or intimidatable), while alienated constituents require leadership-level neutralization because their opposition is principled/settled.

What is the administrative implication of ‘pradhānāvagraha’?

Control the political bottleneck: remove, detain, co-opt, or isolate key leaders who anchor disaffection; mass persuasion alone is insufficient.