Arthashastra 6.2.14: Mandala-yoni, Adhyaya 2, Sutra 14

Devanagari script

तस्य समन्ततो मण्डलीभूता भूम्यनन्तरा अरिप्रकृतिः ॥

Recitation with translationArthashastra 6.2.14

Transliteration

tasya samantato maṇḍalībhūtā bhūmyanantarā ariprakṛtiḥ

Translation

उसके आस-पास जो ज़मीन है, वो घेर के जैसी है। जो इलाका सीधा उसके साथ लगता है, वो दुश्मन है।

Ask anything about this verse...Ask

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him/that (king)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: षष्ठी-एकवचनम्, पुं/नपुं (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• समन्ततः: on all sides; all around
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः
• Form: अव्यय (परिसरार्थे)

• मण्डलीभूता: having become a circle/mandala; arranged as a mandala
• Type: Participle (Verbal adjective)
• Root: भू (मण्डली-भू)
• Form: कृदन्त (भूतकृदन्त/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचनम्; ‘मण्डलीभूत’ = ‘मण्डलरूपं प्राप्ता’

• भूमि-अनन्तरा: immediately adjacent by territory; contiguous (in land)
• Type: Adjective (compound)
• Root: भूमि + अनन्तर
• Form: समासः; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचनम्; ‘भूम्यनन्तरा’ = ‘भूम्या अनन्तरा/भूमिसमीपा’ (भूमि-सम्बद्धा, निकटवर्तिनी)

• अरि-प्रकृतिः: the enemy’s constituent elements (enemy-state factors)
• Type: Noun (compound)
• Root: अरि + प्रकृति
• Form: समासः; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचनम्

Entities Mentioned

• vijigīṣu
• ari (neighbor enemy)

More Details

FAQs

Why is the immediate neighbor treated as an enemy by default?

Contiguity creates structural competition over borders, resources, and influence; Kauṭilya models this as a recurring geopolitical tendency.

Is this a moral claim or an analytical one?

Analytical: it is a predictive rule for strategic planning, not a statement that neighbors must always be fought.