Kautilya
to Chandragupta on the Mauryan Soldier
It is indeed remarkable to note the
thoughtful wisdom, astounding vision, incredible administrative acumen,
wonderful presence of mind, marvelous degree of patriotism, mind-boggling statesmanship displayed by our
ancient experts on Economics, Politics’ and Administration crowned with very pragmatic approach to the astute Science
of governance, the intricacies of management of the military by the state functionaries,
the nature of the military and the citizenry and the close interplay between
them all. It is truly amazing how those observations continue to be so
completely relevant today, even after 2000 years.
Will the Present authorities warming
the seats in the bureaucracy try to bend themselves for the obligations of the
“Soldier”, and in return appreciating their sacrifices impart due recognition
to them in a worthy manner, as outlined by Kautilya our own expert and not any
fig head specialist from West, who are ill-informed about our rich heritage,
advanced knowledge, and very high standards of socio-cultural past….!!!
The “Mauryan Soldier” does not
himself the Royal treasuries
enrich
nor does he the Royal granaries
fill.
“He
does not himself carry out trade and commerce
nor produce scholars, thinkers, littérateurs, artistes, artisans, sculptors,
architects, craftsmen, doctors and administrators.
He
does not himself build roads and ramparts nor
dig
wells and reservoirs.
He
does not himself write poetry and plays,
paint
or sculpt, nor delve in metaphysics, arts and sciences.
He
does not do any of this directly as
he
is neither gifted, trained nor mandated to do so.
The
soldier only and merely ensures that:
·
The tax, tribute and revenue
collectors travel far and wide unharmed and return safely;
·
·
The farmer tills,
grows, harvests, stores and markets his produce unafraid of pillage &
plunder;
·
·
The trader,
merchant and moneylender function and travel across the length and breadth of
the realm unmolested;
·
·
The savant, sculptor, painter, maestro
and master create works of art, literature, philosophy, astronomy and astrology
in peace & quietitude;
·
·
The architect designs and builds his
Vaastus without tension;
·
·
The tutor (‘acharya’),
the mentor (‘guru’) and the priest (‘purohit’) teach and preach
in tranquility;
·
·
The sages (‘rishis, munis,
and tapaswees’) meditate and undertake penance in wordless silence;
·
·
The doctor (‘vaidyaraja’) tends
to the ill and the infirm well, adds to the pharmacopoeia, discovers new herbs
and invents new medical formulations undisturbed;
·
·
The mason, the
bricklayer, the artisan, the weaver, the tailor, the jeweller, the potter, the
carpenter, the cobbler, the cowherd (‘gopaala’) and the smith work
unhindered;
·
·
The mother, wife
and governess go about their chores and bring up children in harmony and
tranquility;
·
·
The aged and the disabled are well
taken care of, tended to and are able to fade away gracefully and with dignity;
cattle graze freely without being lifted or harmed by miscreants.
·
He
is thus the VERY BASIS and silent, barely visible CORNERSTONE of our fame,
culture, physical well-being and prosperity; in short, of the entire nation
building activity.
He
DOES NOT perform any of these chores himself directly:
he
ENABLES the rest of us to perform these
without
let, hindrance or worry
(‘nirbhheek
and nishchinta’).
Our
military sinews, on the other hand, lend credibility to our pronouncements of
adherence to good Dharma, our goodwill, amiability and peaceful intentions
towards all our neighbour nations (‘sarve
bhavantu sukhinaha, sarve santu niramayaha…’) as also those far away and
beyond.
These
also serve as a powerful deterrent against military misadventure by any one of
them against us.
If
Pataliputra reposes each night in peaceful comfort,
O
King,
it
is so because she is secure in the belief that
the
distant borders of Magadha are inviolate and
the
interiors are safe and secure,
thanks
to the mighty Mauryan Army
constantly
patrolling and standing vigil with naked swords
and
eyes peeled for action (‘animish netre’),
day
and night (‘ratrau-divase’),
in
weather fair and foul, dawn-to-dusk-to-dawn
(‘ashtau
prahare’),
quite
unmindful of personal discomfort and hardship,
loss
of life and limb,
separation
from the family,
all
through the year, year after year (‘warsha nu warshe’).
While
the Magadha citizenry endeavours to make the State prosper and flourish, the
Mauryan soldier guarantees that the State continues to EXIST!
He
is the silent ’sine qua non’ of our very being!
To
this man,
O Rajadhiraja,
you
owe a debt for that very guarantee
which
is the vital key-stone of our nationhood arch.
Please,
therefore, see to it,
suo
motu,
that
you are constantly alive and sensitive to
the
soldier’s legitimate dues in every form and respect,
be
those his needs or his wants,
including
his place in the social order.
Do
thereafter (‘tadanantara’) ensure that he receives
these
in time or preferably ahead of time,
in
full measure,
for
he is NOT likely to ask for them himself.
This
is so because
before
getting so completely wrapped up in his onerous,
harsh
and exalted charge,
the
soldier has assumed with good reason that the State,
in
return for his extraordinary burden and services,
has
freed him from all responsibility towards
his
own present and future welfare
as
also that of his family back home in the hinterland.
He
is thus very clear in his mind
when
deployed at a distant border outpost,
fighting
lumpen groups within Magadha or
when
campaigning in faraway lands that
he
need only look out in FRONT for the enemy of the State
and
concentrate only on his
MILITARY
ONUS and aim (‘shatrunjaya’),
completely
free of all temporal worries.
This
assumption is a holy sacrament and
an
unwritten covenant that exists between him and the State.
And
rightly so!
If
ever things come to a sordid pass,
O
King, when, on a given day,
the
Mauryan soldier has to LOOK BACK
over
his shoulder (‘Simhawalokana’)
prompted by even a single nagging worry about
his and
his
family’s material, physical and social well being,
it
should cause you and
your
Council the greatest concern and distress..!
I
beseech you to take instant note and
act
with uncommon dispatch to address the soldier’s anxiety.
It
could be on account of harsh living conditions,
inequitable
material compensation or
asymmetric
Court or societal dispensations affecting either
his
self-respect or his family’s material welfare, or both.
If
any in your household, in your Council or
among
your courtiers is/ are responsible
for
allowing matters to come to such a pass,
punish
him/ them exemplarily without loss of time and
send
him/ them to serve
for
four cycles of seasons (‘Chaturrutuchakre’)
alongside
the soldiers, on the border outposts.
If
they perish, those would be their just desserts.
If
they survive, they will return wiser and wizened,
more
responsive to and
with
greater empathy for the soldier’s cause.
If
you first learn of your soldiers’
problems
and needs
from
your own trusted informers (‘gupt doota’)
and
NOT from the Commander-in-Chief (‘Senapati’) himself, relieve him of his
charge and retain him not for another day.
No
matter how good a horseman (‘Ashwarohi’),
a
swordsman (‘Khadgaveera’),
a
wrestler (‘Malla’),
an
archer (Dhanurdhara) or
a
tactician (‘Rana neetigya’) he is,
dismiss
him (‘ardha chandra prayoga’)
for
failing to keep his ear close to the military ground.
Dismiss
him also for not having the gumption and courage
to
be the first to tell you of the soldiers’ anxiety and
needs
before the others do.
The
Senapati owes a downward loyalty and
sensitivity
to his troops in much the same way and
measure
as he owes these upwards to you,
for
this is a unique and age-old essential feature
of
sound military leadership and
an
article of faith between the troops and the General..!
It
is my bounden duty to caution you,
My
Lord, that the day when the Mauryan soldier
has
to demand his dues or, worse, plead for them,
will neither have arrived suddenly, overnight
nor in vain.
It
will also bode ill for Magadha.
For
then, on that day, you,
My
Lord,
will
have lost all moral sanction to be Rajadhiraja ..!
It will also mark
the
beginning of the end of the Mauryan Empire..!”
Please share…
this ought to be read
widely – especially
with those at the helm
of our affairs.
