Shadgunya Adhyaya 8 Sutra 8 - Arthashastra | Indonesian | Vedapath

Kautilya

Sutra 8

Devanagari script

कृतसंधिरतिक्रमितुकामः परस्य प्रकृतिकर्शनं मित्रामित्रसंधिविश्लेषणं वा कर्तुकामः पराभियोगाच्छङ्कमानो लाभमप्राप्तमधिकं वा याचेत ॥ कZ_०७.८.०८ ॥

Transliteration

kṛtasaṃdhir atikramitukāmaḥ parasya prakṛtikarśanaṃ mitrāmitrasaṃdhiviśleṣaṇaṃ vā kartukāmaḥ parābhiyogāc chaṅkamāno lābham aprāptam adhikaṃ vā yāceta

Translation

Seorang penguasa yang, setelah membuat perjanjian, berniat melanggarnya—baik untuk melemahkan unsur-unsur negara (prakṛti) pihak lawan maupun untuk memecah persekutuan dan permusuhan pihak lawan—karena takut akan tindakan balasan, hendaknya menuntut keuntungan yang belum diperoleh atau menuntut lebih dari yang disepakati.

Word by Word

कृतसन्धिःone who has concluded a treaty (a king having made peace)

अतिक्रमितु-कामःdesiring to transgress/violate (it)

परस्यof the other (enemy/other king)

प्रकृति-कर्शनम्weakening/harassing the constituent elements (prakṛtis) of the other state

मित्र-अमित्र-सन्धि-विश्लेषणम्dissolution/rupture of the alliance/treaty between friend and foe

वाor

कर्तु-कामःdesiring to do (so)

पर-अभियोगात्from the other’s attack/hostile expedition

शङ्कमानःfearing/suspecting

लाभम्gain/advantage

अप्राप्तम्not yet obtained

अधिकम्additional/greater

वाor

याचेतshould request/ask for

Entities Mentioned

vijigīṣu (would-be conqueror)

para (opponent king)

mitra (ally)

amitra (enemy)

prakṛti (state elements)

FAQs

What is the administrative logic behind demanding additional gains before violating a treaty?

It creates a bargaining pretext and a material buffer, while testing the opponent’s response; it also reduces the violator’s exposure to immediate retaliation by shifting the initiative to a ‘demand’ phase.

What does ‘prakṛti-karśana’ imply as a foreign-policy objective?

Systematic weakening of the opponent’s governing capacity—finances, forces, leadership cohesion, and alliances—so that later coercion or conquest becomes low-cost.