Studies in the Bhagavati Sutra

Author(s): J C Sikdar
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

Page 637

612 STUDIES IN THE BHAGAWATI SŪTRA Ch. XI political and economic supremacies over North-Eastern India. This policy of aggressive imperialism formulated by their statecraft led to the two great devastating wars called Mahāśilākanțaka Sangrāma and Rathamusala Sangrāma between two fighting camps, the one led by king Kūņika of Magadha and the other by king Cetaka of Vaisāli, united together with the forces of Kāšī and Kašala. These two great wars set the seal of final victory on the forehead of the Magadhan king, crushed the age old republicanisın of Vaišāli and paved the way for the future expansion of Magadha in all directions to bring about the political unification of India under the vigorous leadership of the imperialist rulers of the Nandas and the Mauryas.?
The study of these two political events and other historical data provided by the BhS reveals that the guiding principle of every independent sovereign state of its period was the achievement of its highest political power and material prosperity at the expense of its neighbours, as it is clearly evidenced by the fact of the corner-stone of the external policy of Magadha to crush its strongest neighbouring state of Vaiśāli with a view to achieving its political and economic supremacy by turning the lower courses of the Ganges into a Magadhan lake, having ousted that republic from the field of commerce and trade.
In regard to the inter-state relation the Bhs, throws light upon the policy of statecraft that a state should avoid the path of war as far as possible and follow that of peace to achieve its objectives by applying one of the first three means, viz. Sāma (conciliation), Dána (gift) and Bheda (dissension) through the diplomatic mission led by its ambassador. On the failure of these means it may go to war to settle its issue with its enemystate in the battle field. It is revealed that a state should maintain its inter-state relations by making alliance with other states or by observing complete neutrality in times of war and peace, as it is evidenced by the fact that king Cetaka made political alliance with nine Mallakis, nine Licchavis, Kāśi and Košala and their
i Vide, Ch. III, Sec. 1 & 2.