Sutra 7

Devanagari script

अनृत्वभूमिप्राप्तयोरनृतुप्राप्तं यथर्तुयुग्यशस्त्रावरणं युध्येत नाभूमिप्राप्तमवरुद्धप्रसारव्यायामम् ॥ कZ_०८.५.०७ ॥

Transliteration

anṛtvabhūmiprāptayor anṛtuprāptaṃ yathartuyugyaśastrāvaraṇaṃ yudhyeta nābhūmiprāptam avaruddhaprasāravyāyāmam

Translation

Antara pasukan yang tiba pada waktu tidak mengikut musim dan pasukan yang belum sampai ke medan yang sesuai, dia hendaklah bertempur dengan pasukan yang tiba di luar musim—walaupun dilengkapi senjata dan perlindungan yang sesuai musim; dia tidak sepatutnya bertempur dengan pasukan yang belum sampai ke kawasannya dan pergerakan serta latihannya tersekat.

Word by Word

अनृतु-भूमि-प्राप्तयोःof/when (the two sides) have reached an unfavourable season and (unfavourable) ground

अनृतु-प्राप्तम्(that which is) not having reached the proper season / out of season

यथा-ऋतु-युग्य-शस्त्र-आवरणम्season-appropriate weapons and protective equipment/armour

युध्येतshould fight

नnot

आ-भूमि-प्राप्तम्not having reached the ground/position (i.e., not properly in position on the battlefield)

अवरुद्ध-प्रसार-व्यायामम्(one) with obstructed deployment and manoeuvring space/mobility

Entities Mentioned

enemy force (implicit)

terrain/ground (bhūmi)

FAQs

What is the policy logic behind season/terrain criteria?

Kautilya treats season and ground as determinants of mobility and supply; engage when the opponent’s timing is suboptimal but they are still concentrated enough for decisive action.