We hear so much about Sun Tzu's The Art of War.
It talks about the art of fighting a war based of the strategies adopted by
attackers and defenders. I had never heard of any Indian book talk about
strategies when so many great wars have been fought on Indian soil and won.
Never did I hear talk about adopting the different formations like the ones
used on Kurukshetra in real life situations in business. By a stroke of luck, in the book I am currently
reading called 'Mrityunjaya-The Death Conqueror' came across this one and a
half page dialogue between Kanak, a trusted minister and King Dhritarashtra
Duryodhana strongly believes that the throne of Hastinapur rightly belongs to the Kauravas and the Pandavas as the whole world calls them are not the sons of Pandu. Therefore the Pandavas should be banished from the Hastinapur kingdom and he requests his father, King Dhritharashtra to order accordingly. Dhritharashtra does not believe this but in his heart he wants his son Duryodhana to be the successor. Caught between fatherly affection and duty he summons Minister Kanak to advice the right choice. Kanak does not answer the choice but instead poured words of wisdom that still applies today.
" Kanak says, "Maharaja, a man should always stand firm by his own efforts. The world fears only those who are unshakably strong. That is why all deeds have to be performed from a position of strength alone.
Never let anyone in on the weaknesses of your kingdom - let this be your main aim. Every enemy will exploit your weakness. Discover your enemy's weakness, use it to your advantage, and attack first; or else you will repent.
Draw your limbs in like a tortoise and warily extend your neck to know the lay of the land.
Never criticize uselessly. Never expose your true nature to anyone, certainly not to any official employed by you.
Prefer to keep your eyes closed if that is called for, and open them only when they have the power to destroy the world. Ears, eyes and mouth - these are in your control - so don't indulge them excessively. And remember that one's hands are also one's senses. These hands have been given to us by nature so that, whenever required, we use them to cover eyes, ears and mouth.
Even if an enemy is feeble, don't underestimate him. The Palmyra is a small plant, but in no time at all it shoots straight up to the sky. The nutmeg fruit never grows on a castor-oil plant. A spark is infinitesimal but it can create a conflagration. If you spare a baby snake, don't think it will forget to sting when it grows up. No matter how weak and small an enemy is, he can exact a heavy toll in the end. Even if such an enemy professes gentle humility for any reason, don’t be taken in by his crocodile tears. Dispatch instantly to the realm of Yama any impassioned enemy out to do mischief. Conciliation, winning over by gifts, punishment, intrigue- use any means to finish off an enemy. An enemy is like the wild cactus - a tough and hardy plant. Even if you uproot it and throw it on a plot of barren land, it will somehow succeed in re-rooting itself. Its vicious thorns on both sides regain their sharpness. That is why one should always smile even when angry, and talk sweetly - but always do what one wants to do.
Never speak insultingly to anyone. Speak sweetly to an enemy before attacking him, and even more sweetly after attacking.
Never allow beggars and traitors to flourish in your kingdom. Beggars encourage laziness, and traitors pass on important official secrets to enemies and foment disaffection.
Learn to suspect even those who you should not suspect; test them, and never let any free who are found wanting, for they are like fierce snakes lurking in cattle grounds.
See that spies are located in your kingdom and your enemy's kingdom. It is not enough to have an espionage system, it is necessary for the king to become a spy himself and see that it is working. The spies planted in other kingdoms should be atheists, unmarried and liars. Such spies do not betray their country out of fear of divine punishment or because they are emotionally attached to their families.
No one should know the whole truth about your kingdom.
If after a peace treaty with an enemy, a person becomes smugly self-satisfied, consider him to be a man sleeping atop a tall tree. Only when he falls off, his eyes open or not open at all. The reason is that a treaty is never a total victory. A treaty is simply an acknowledgment in writing that a compromise has been made. Therefore, rather than signing to such a compromise, it is better to defeat an enemy when he is at a certain disadvantage, whether depletion of food, geographical circumstances, his morale etc. If such conditions are not available, they should be created in order to rout him.
A raja should always keep these life's objectives in mind and act in accordance to them. If for any reason he is unable to do so, then he should transfer his royal authority to the hands of a competent and dutiful regent and proceed to his renunciation stage of his life. A raja's life is not intended to spent only in relishing exquisite cuisine, strutting about in flamboyant dresses and roaming in the royal chariot with a golden crown adorning his head. For a raja, and for the kingdom, peasants who grow rich harvest by the sweat of their brow in the sun-scorched fields are not felons meant for forced labor. The soldiers who fearlessly risk their lives for the defense of their country and the enhancement of its glory, like the silk cotton plant scattering its wealth, are surely not madmen. The red richness of their blood gives a shining magnificence to the nation; their flesh is the fertilizer of the national tree, whose delicious fruits are relished by king and subjects alike. What kind of raja is he, and what kind of kingdom is he ruling, who cannot be loyal to such sweat and such blood?""
*I give due credit and acknowledgment to Mr.Sivaji Sawant from whose book 'Mrityunjaya- The Death Conqueror. The Story of Karna.' this excerpt has been quoted.
Duryodhana strongly believes that the throne of Hastinapur rightly belongs to the Kauravas and the Pandavas as the whole world calls them are not the sons of Pandu. Therefore the Pandavas should be banished from the Hastinapur kingdom and he requests his father, King Dhritharashtra to order accordingly. Dhritharashtra does not believe this but in his heart he wants his son Duryodhana to be the successor. Caught between fatherly affection and duty he summons Minister Kanak to advice the right choice. Kanak does not answer the choice but instead poured words of wisdom that still applies today.
" Kanak says, "Maharaja, a man should always stand firm by his own efforts. The world fears only those who are unshakably strong. That is why all deeds have to be performed from a position of strength alone.
Never let anyone in on the weaknesses of your kingdom - let this be your main aim. Every enemy will exploit your weakness. Discover your enemy's weakness, use it to your advantage, and attack first; or else you will repent.
Draw your limbs in like a tortoise and warily extend your neck to know the lay of the land.
Never criticize uselessly. Never expose your true nature to anyone, certainly not to any official employed by you.
Prefer to keep your eyes closed if that is called for, and open them only when they have the power to destroy the world. Ears, eyes and mouth - these are in your control - so don't indulge them excessively. And remember that one's hands are also one's senses. These hands have been given to us by nature so that, whenever required, we use them to cover eyes, ears and mouth.
Even if an enemy is feeble, don't underestimate him. The Palmyra is a small plant, but in no time at all it shoots straight up to the sky. The nutmeg fruit never grows on a castor-oil plant. A spark is infinitesimal but it can create a conflagration. If you spare a baby snake, don't think it will forget to sting when it grows up. No matter how weak and small an enemy is, he can exact a heavy toll in the end. Even if such an enemy professes gentle humility for any reason, don’t be taken in by his crocodile tears. Dispatch instantly to the realm of Yama any impassioned enemy out to do mischief. Conciliation, winning over by gifts, punishment, intrigue- use any means to finish off an enemy. An enemy is like the wild cactus - a tough and hardy plant. Even if you uproot it and throw it on a plot of barren land, it will somehow succeed in re-rooting itself. Its vicious thorns on both sides regain their sharpness. That is why one should always smile even when angry, and talk sweetly - but always do what one wants to do.
Never speak insultingly to anyone. Speak sweetly to an enemy before attacking him, and even more sweetly after attacking.
Never allow beggars and traitors to flourish in your kingdom. Beggars encourage laziness, and traitors pass on important official secrets to enemies and foment disaffection.
Learn to suspect even those who you should not suspect; test them, and never let any free who are found wanting, for they are like fierce snakes lurking in cattle grounds.
See that spies are located in your kingdom and your enemy's kingdom. It is not enough to have an espionage system, it is necessary for the king to become a spy himself and see that it is working. The spies planted in other kingdoms should be atheists, unmarried and liars. Such spies do not betray their country out of fear of divine punishment or because they are emotionally attached to their families.
No one should know the whole truth about your kingdom.
If after a peace treaty with an enemy, a person becomes smugly self-satisfied, consider him to be a man sleeping atop a tall tree. Only when he falls off, his eyes open or not open at all. The reason is that a treaty is never a total victory. A treaty is simply an acknowledgment in writing that a compromise has been made. Therefore, rather than signing to such a compromise, it is better to defeat an enemy when he is at a certain disadvantage, whether depletion of food, geographical circumstances, his morale etc. If such conditions are not available, they should be created in order to rout him.
A raja should always keep these life's objectives in mind and act in accordance to them. If for any reason he is unable to do so, then he should transfer his royal authority to the hands of a competent and dutiful regent and proceed to his renunciation stage of his life. A raja's life is not intended to spent only in relishing exquisite cuisine, strutting about in flamboyant dresses and roaming in the royal chariot with a golden crown adorning his head. For a raja, and for the kingdom, peasants who grow rich harvest by the sweat of their brow in the sun-scorched fields are not felons meant for forced labor. The soldiers who fearlessly risk their lives for the defense of their country and the enhancement of its glory, like the silk cotton plant scattering its wealth, are surely not madmen. The red richness of their blood gives a shining magnificence to the nation; their flesh is the fertilizer of the national tree, whose delicious fruits are relished by king and subjects alike. What kind of raja is he, and what kind of kingdom is he ruling, who cannot be loyal to such sweat and such blood?""
*I give due credit and acknowledgment to Mr.Sivaji Sawant from whose book 'Mrityunjaya- The Death Conqueror. The Story of Karna.' this excerpt has been quoted.
