Arthashastra — Abhiyasyatkarma, Sutra 13

Devanagari script

तमात्मदोषत्यागेन परशक्त्यपराधवशेन वा साधयेत् ॥ कZ_०९.३.१३ ॥

Transliteration

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

Translation

उस (आंतरिक वैर) को वह या तो अपने दोषों का त्याग करके, या उसे किसी बाह्य शक्ति के अपराध/उकसावे पर निर्भर (अर्थात उसी पर आरोपित) करके शांत करे।

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.