Wisdom of A 3rd Century Strategist
Culture 101: Unpacking Local Sayings, Historical and Ancient Contexts.
I am sharing a detailed analysis when tracing the root of this aphorism, weaving in some historical insights. I hope you like this take!
Literal Saying: Destruction Time, Extreme Mind
When Destruction / Evil Times Are Near, One’s Intelligence Fails.
Meaning
This common and quite famous saying in India is found as the final half of the longer verse below. For Sanskrit aficionados, here is the original verse:
First, let’s review a literal word-by-word translation:
"Not created, indeed not seen before, nor heard of—a deer made of gold. Yet, due to desire, Rama, son of Raghu, was captivated. In times of destruction, the mind becomes misguided."
However, a more comprehensive interpretation of the verse would suggest the following.
“What wonder is this that Rama, the descendent of King Raghu, who knew well that nature does not create a golden deer, failed to apply common sense to question its advent and instead allowed it to lure him away at Sita’s insistence. It is indeed true that when bad times befall someone, they are preceded by the loss of one’s good sense.”
The specific incident referred in the verse above is a pivotal event in the ancient story of Rama. It paved the way for the demon-king Ravana to kidnap his wife, Sita, during his absence, leading to a series of misfortunes culminating in war.
However, in my view, a more fitting application of this verse would be for Ravana, as his actions better exemplify the essence of the saying.
Faced with imminent destruction at the hands of Rama, Ravana's mind was led astray.
Despite pleas from every member of his family, including his wife and his brother, urging him to return Sita to Rama, Ravana remained deaf to their wise counsel.
His intelligence failed to assess the risk involved in inviting the wrath of Rama.
For he had kidnapped not just any woman but the wife of Rama—God-incarnate—and in doing so, triggered a chain of events that culminated in his dynasty's eventual downfall and his own demise.
Usage
This aphorism is commonly understood but challenging to apply in daily life.
One example may serve as a cautionary tale for leaders in public life when they commit egregious acts.
Parents may use it to warn their children against straying from the right path in certain high-stakes decisions.
Within families, it may be used to dissuade members from actions perceived by elders as leading to negative outcomes.
The aphorism is a potent symbol of how badly things could go wrong when embarking on a poorly chosen path.
In short, no one likes to be warned it applies to them!
Conversely, it is used to foretell the downfall of public figures or evil individuals when their actions cross moral boundaries visible to others but not to themselves.
Now, let's explore its origin, authorship, and broader historical context.
Historical Context
Sun Tzu’s Art of War written in the 5th century BC, is renowned as a seminal war treatise.
India’s version of it, a more comprehensive treatise developed independently, is known as the ‘Arthashastra’1 or ‘Chanakya Niti.’ 2
The ‘Arthashastra’ comprises strategies and aphorisms on statecraft, economics, political science, and material success.
Intended as a guide for rulers in the third century on state matters, military strategy, diplomacy, and administration, it stands as one of the earliest known treatises of its kind in the world.
Written by the strategist Chanakya (375–283 BCE), also known as Kautilya, the manual remained lost for many centuries until its fortuitous rediscovery in 1905.
The story of its recovery is peculiar in itself.
According to accounts, it was discovered among the 70,000 other palm leaf manuscripts in the Mysore Oriental Library which was headed by Benjamin Lewis Rice in 1905.
Rice, a British historian born in Bangalore who worked in the Civil Services and later became the first head of the Mysore archaeology department, had successfully translated up to 9,000 inscriptions he discovered in the state of Karnataka and also unearthed Roman coins in the region—a remarkable discovery in South India.
One of his librarians, R. Shamasastry, a Sanskrit scholar habitually reviewed the ancient palm-based manuscripts held by the library.
He chanced upon the manuscript and luckily recognized it as the ‘Arthashastra.’
It had been donated to the institute some time earlier by an unnamed man from the ancient city of Tanjore.
This discovery marked the first known copy of the original manual, opening up new insights into the earliest periods of Indian history.
Until this find, there had only been references to this work by subsequent scholars whose works had survived.
The librarian smartly made a copy of it onto newer palm leaves in 1909 and eventually published an English translation in 1915.
Unfortunately, today, neglect surrounds the storage of this and other rare documents in the institute.
Despite receiving grants from the US Government and the Ford Foundation, the library is yet to find a permanent solution to safely protect this and other third century palm leaf manuscripts. It awaits further donations from the Indian Government to safeguard what is undoubtedly its most precious possession.
Did you know that palm leaf-based manuscripts can apparently survive for 1000 years with proper care?
Chanakya is widely regarded by historians as one of the most brilliant strategic and diplomatic minds in Indian history.
The British scholar Patrick Olivelle, who translated this ‘dense, coded,’ Sanskrit text over the course of five years, and published it in 2013 as “King, Governance and Law in Ancient India,” (Oxford University Press), described it as the most difficult translation project that he had ever undertaken.3
In his introduction, he writes, “I beg forgiveness of that great master of intrigue and political wisdom, Kautilya; this translation clearly cannot measure up to his masterpiece.”
Viewed as cynical and ruthless by some, wise by others, Chanakya is recognized as a master kingmaker.
Through his strategy and military advice, he enabled the rise of one of the largest unified empire across India—the Mauryan Empire—prior to it being united as one region under British rule.
Chanakya helped establish the empire’s first king, Chandragupta Maurya, filling the power vacuum left by the Greeks following Alexander the Great's invasion into northern India and his subsequent death. Chanakya then became the indispensable chief advisor to the Mauryans.
Under the Mauryan rule, India experienced a golden era of prosperity, efficiency, peace and cultural achievement.
At its height, the Mauryan Empire encompassed much of what we now know as modern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
![Maximum extent of the Maurya Empire, as shown by the location of Ashoka's inscriptions, and visualized by historians: Vincent Arthur Smith;[7] R. C. Majumdar;[8] and historical geographer Joseph E. Schwartzberg.[9]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vNjy!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff62e45f4-f17e-48f2-ba8a-7f15500b8968_1200x1121.png "Maximum extent of the Maurya Empire, as shown by the location of Ashoka's inscriptions, and visualized by historians: Vincent Arthur Smith;[7] R. C. Majumdar;[8] and historical geographer Joseph E. Schwartzberg.[9]")
Chanakya's treatise, the 'Arthashastra,' is recognized as one of the earliest known works on economics and political philosophy. He is acclaimed as the pioneer of economics and political science in India.
His aphorisms cover a wide array of strategies for life, wealth creation, statecraft, and administration, offering valuable insights into achieving success.
While it also contains cynical and retro views on men, women, and life that may not resonate with us today, it carries many gems that have stood the test of time.
It primarily serves as a reference for statecraft, detailing how to maintain power, manage the state and economy, and defend against adversaries.
Some authors have also sought to extract leadership lessons from it for the modern world.
Conclusion
I have chosen three quotes attributed to Chanakya, translated by B. K. Chaturvedi with some slight contemporary adjustments:
"One whose mind is not steady finds no happiness, neither among people nor in the solitude of the jungle. In solitude, they crave company; in company, they yearn for solitude."
"Just as gold is tested by rubbing, cutting, heating, and beating, so too a person is tested by their sacrifices, moral conduct, inherent qualities, and actions."
“Dust might hide a gem to render it lustreless but sooner or later it must reveal its intrinsic value. So too, reality/truth can’t be hoodwinked by any trick for long.”
Want to read further ? Check out an online version available here for free, translated by the same librarian, R. Shamasastry.
Did you find this interesting or useful? Thank you for reading and sharing your feedback.
Previous Posts in this Series
‘Arthashastra’ translates to ‘Science/Best Practices/Principles of Wealth/Economics.’
‘Artha’ = Economics (wealth, economy, state); + ‘Shastra’ = Principles, Treatise, Rules, Science
Niti is a Sanskrit term that refers to one’s conduct, behavior, or principles in life.
An American historian (emeritus), Thomas Trautmann, at the University of Michigan has also written a translation of the Arthashastra. A review of the book by an undergraduate economics student Alex Thomas can be found here.
Insightful stuff as usual. I'd like to suggest another usage of this weighty quote here: the words should remind us of how precarious our mental state can be, especially in times of turbulence. Also, since times of peace are few and far between indeed, it may be best to spend a lot more time with our mental health than we actually do. Thanks for this, Jayshree!
Thank you, Jayshree! I was hooked into this post by my love of Lord Rama, and then, surprise! The Arthashastra is completely new to me. I’m looking forward to reading it!