https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=KutayuddhaKutayuddha - Revision history2026-07-31T10:14:28ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Kutayuddha&diff=511332&oldid=prevIrinaequalliat at 11:43, 25 March 20262026-03-25T11:43:37Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Sanskrit word}}<br />
'''Kutayuddha''' or '''kuta-yuddha''' ([[Sanskrit]]: {{Lang|sa|कूटयुद्ध}} [[ISO 15919|ISO]]: {{Transliteration|sa|ISO|kūṭayuddha/ kūṭa-yuddha}}, also spelt Kootayudha) is a [[Sanskrit]] word made up of two roots: ''kuta'' ({{Lang|sa|कूट}}) commonly explained as evil genius, crooked, devious, unjust or unrighteousness, and ''yuddha'' ({{Lang|sa|युद्ध}}) meaning warfare.{{sfnp|Deshingkar, Strategic thinking in ancient India and China|1996|p=I}}{{Sfn|Roy|2012|pp=xiv–xv|loc=Glossary}}{{Sfn|Roy|2009|p=54|ps=. "kutayuddha: Unjust war involving deception, treachery, etc. In such conflict, everything is free and fair. Night attacks, ambushes, tactical retreat and then launching a sudden counterattack, misinforming and disinforming the enemy, poisoning the enemy’s leadership, and harming the non-combatants of the enemy country are some of the techniques of kutayuddha."}} While there is no exact English translation, ''kutayuddha'' is explained as the opposite of ''[[dharma-yuddha]]'' (from the concept [[dharma]]), which is in turn is explained as ethical, righteous or just war. Take ethics out of war, and you have real warfare, a kutayuddha.{{sfnp|Deshingkar, Strategic thinking in ancient India and China|1996|p=I}}{{Sfn|Roy|2012|pp=xiv–xv|loc=Glossary}} It is also known as '''Citrayuddha'''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Balakrishna|first=Sandeep|title=The Hindu Code of War Ethics and Jihad|url=https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/the-hindu-code-of-war-ethics-and-jihad|access-date=2021-09-21|website=The Dharma Dispatch|date=6 October 2018 |language=en}}</ref><br />
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The [[Kurukshetra War]] is considered a war which was a ''dharma-yuddha''; however the war itself contains practices of both ''kutayuddha'' and ''dharma-yuddha''.{{sfnp|Deshingkar, Strategic thinking in ancient India and China|1996|p=I}} The ancient Indian treatise ''[[Arthashastra]]'' (3rd century BCE), credited to [[Kautilya]], gives a substantial amount of space to the methods of ''kutayuddha'' such as deception.{{sfnp|Deshingkar, Strategic thinking in ancient India and China|1996|p=II}} In [[Hindu philosophy]] ''dharma-yuddha'' reigns and is the ultimate winner; however in practice ''kutayuddha'' is the necessary standard or way of life and war.{{sfnp|Deshingkar, Strategic thinking in ancient India and China|1996|p=II}} The contrast of ''kuta-yuddha'' and ''dharma-yuddha'' is similar to what [[Niccolò Machiavelli|Machiavelli]] attempts to explain in ''[[The Prince]]'' (1532).{{Sfn|Roy|2012|p=71|loc=3: Kautilya’s Kutayuddha}} The deception mentioned in [[Tacitus|Tacitus']] book about the history of the [[Roman Empire]] also has similarities to concepts in Kautilya's ''kutayuddha''.{{Sfn|Roy|2012|pp=76–77|loc=3: Kautilya's Kutayuddha}} ''Kutayuddha'' has been called a defensive concept as opposed to an offensive one.<ref name=":1" />{{Sfn|Roy|2009|p=38}} A milder version of ''kutayuddha'' emerged around 900 CE.{{Sfn|Roy|2009|p=31}} ''[[Nitisara]]'', another ancient Indian treatise tried to balance the binaries.{{Sfn|Roy|2009|p=39}} ''Kutayuddha'' also finds its way into ''[[Panchatantra]]'' and ''[[Hitopadesha]]''.{{Sfn|Roy|2009|p=39}} ''[[Shukra-Niti]]'' says that if a ruler is too weak to engage in any sort of battle including an attack from the rear, then ruler must then use [[guerrilla warfare]].{{Sfn|Roy|2009|p=40}}<br />
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''Kutayuddha'' is contrasted with {{Transliteration|sa|ISO|prakasha-yudha}} that can be translated as "illuminated or open warfare", in which the place and time of the battle are announced.<ref name="Gautam">{{cite journal |journal= World Affairs: The Journal of International Issues|last1= Gautam|first1= Pradeep Kumar|date= |year= 2013| title= Understanding Kautilya's Arthashastra| url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48535489|publisher=Kapur Surya Foundation|page= 35| jstor= 48535489}}</ref>{{sfnp|Deshingkar, Strategic thinking in ancient India and China|1996|p=I}}{{Sfn|Roy|2012|pp=xiv–xv|loc=Glossary}} {{Transliteration|sa|ISO|Asura-yuddha}} is a type of ''kutayuddha'' that is a more lethal and amoral in terms of outcome.{{Sfn|Roy|2012|p=71|loc=3: Kautilya’s Kutayuddha}} ''Tusnimdandena'', using techniques such as deception or poisoning to remove enemy leaders,{{Sfn|Roy|2012|pp=76–77|loc=3: Kautilya's Kutayuddha}} extends to ''tushnim-yuddha'' (silent warfare).<ref name=":1" /> Components of ''kutayuddha'' include ''dvaidhibhava'' (having a dual policy), ''dvaidhibhutah'' (making a pact with the enemy to attack another), having patience when third parties are fighting in a ''kalaha'' (life or death struggle), promoting enmity between third parties and attacking a third party which is facing leadership problems.{{Sfn|Roy|2012|p=77|loc=3: Kautilya's Kutayuddha}} Some proponents of ''kutayuddha'' include attacking [[non-combatants]].{{Sfn|Roy|2009|p=54|ps=. "kutayuddha: Unjust war involving deception, treachery, etc. In such conflict, everything is free and fair. Night attacks, ambushes, tactical retreat and then launching a sudden counterattack, misinforming and disinforming the enemy, poisoning the enemy’s leadership, and harming the non-combatants of the enemy country are some of the techniques of kutayuddha."}}<br />
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== See also ==<br />
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦---><br />
*[[Maurya Empire]]<br />
*[[Military deception]]<br />
*[[Sanātanī]]<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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; Bibliography<br />
* {{Cite journal|last=Deshingkar|first=Giri|date=1996-02-01|title=Strategic Thinking of Kautilya and Sun Zi|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/000944559603200101|journal=China Report|language=en|publisher=Sage|volume=32|issue=1|pages=1–13|doi=10.1177/000944559603200101|s2cid=143301563|issn=0009-4455|via=|url-access=subscription}}<br />
* — {{Cite web|last=Deshingkar|first=Giri|title=Strategic thinking in Ancient India and China: Kautilya and Sunzi|url=http://ignca.gov.in/strategic-thinking-in-ancient-india-and-china-kautilya-and-sunzi/|access-date=2021-09-21|website=ignca.gov.in|publisher=[[Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts]]|ref={{sfnref|Deshingkar, Strategic thinking in ancient India and China|1996}}}}<br />
*{{Cite book|last=Roy|first=Kaushik|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1IgAwAAQBAJ|title=Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia: From Antiquity to the Present|date=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-57684-0|language=en}}<br />
*{{Cite book|last=Roy|first=Kaushik|url=https://www.walterdorn.net/pdf/World-Religions-and-Norms-of-War_Ch2-Hinduism_2009.pdf|title=World religions and norms of war|publisher=United Nations University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-92-808-1163-6|editor-last=Popovski|editor-first=Vesselin|chapter=2: Norms of war in Hinduism|editor-last2=Reichberg|editor-first2=Gregory M.|editor-last3=Turner|editor-first3=Nicholas}}<br />
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== Further reading ==<br />
*{{Cite journal|last=Deshpande|first=Anirudh|date=2014|editor-last=Roy|editor-first=Kaushik|title=A Panegyric for the Brahmans|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24479419|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=49|issue=4|page=38|jstor=24479419|issn=0012-9976|quote=... it is unclear why dharmayuddha and kutayuddha should be seen in tension with each other.}}<br />
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[[Category:Dharmaśāstra]]<br />
[[Category:Military strategy books]]</div>Irinaequalliat