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In comparing both of these philosophers Sun Tzu and Kautilya, we can compare from different basis of their military quotes because both have their own perception and their own beliefs. Firstly is the quotes from Sun Tzu on the enemy status which says: “If equally matched, we can offer battle, if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him”, while Kautilya said: “If the enemy is strong then following his advice, if he is weak then by striking him, if he is equal then by force or by friendship he should kept under control”.
Next is in terms of the intelligence which Sun Tzu said: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle”. And from Kautilya views he said that “the attacker should know the comparative strengths and weaknesses of himself and of the enemy, and having ascertained the time of marching, the consequences, the loss of men and money, and profits and danger, he should march with his full force; otherwise one should keep quite”. Chanakya stressed on the point of not having to hate your enemy as hatred kills logical thinking therefore try to love him in order to understand him thoroughly.
In addition, both thinkers also have quotes on to not be a warmonger, which Sun Tzu quotes: “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting”, while Kautilya quotes that: “An arrow shot by an archer may or may not kill a single person; but skillful intrigue, devised by a wise man, may kill even those who are in the womb”. He has also quote that: “If the end could be achieved by non-military methods, even by methods of intrigue, duplicity and fraud, I would not advocate an armed conflict”.
For the basis of the possibilities besides war Sun Tzu believes that: “To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting”, while Kautilya believes that the “welfare of a state depends on an active foreign policy”. He further insists that “peace is to be preferred to war!” Kautilya is of the view that peace can be made with the enemy, purely as a temporary measure, provided it gives to the conqueror to build up strength before conquering the enemy. He has also suggested that “any activity which harms the progress of the enemy engaged in similar undertakings is also a progress”.
Besides, both of these thinkers also have their own quotes in term of the right timing which Sun Tzu said in his quote that, “if the enemy is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, try to separate them”; while Kautilya quotes that “an enemy destruction shall be brought about even at the cost of great losses in men, material and wealth”. He also believed that “whenever an enemy king is in trouble, and his subjects are exploited, oppressed, impoverished and disunited, he should be immediately attacked after one proclamation of war”.
In term of resource utilization, Sun Tzu quotes that “the natural formation of the country is the soldier’s best ally”, he further explained that the power of estimating the adversary, of controlling the forces of victory, and of shrewdly calculating difficulties, dangers and distances, constitute the test of a great General. He also suggested that “we shall be unable to turn a natural advantage to account unless we make use of local guides”. The teacher of Kautilya says that of strength, place and time, strength is the best; for a man who is possessed by strength can overcome any difficulties. But contrary to this, Kautilya says that “of strength, place and time, each is helpful to the other”.
To add more, both thinkers also have quote on spies and assassins whereby Sun Tzu said: “Be subtle! Be subtle! And use your spies for every kind of business”. He believes that “we shall succeed in the long run in killing the commander-in-chief”; while Kautilya said: “Spies should be well-versed in: inciting enemy forces to revolt, spreading false rumors about the enemy, mixing poison in enemy’s food supply, poisoning their drinking water, setting fire to the enemy’s camp and bringing havoc and destruction, or if necessary, even assassinating the enemy leaders”. He had also stated that “secret agents can destroy high officers in the enemy army either with poison or with “love-winning medicines””.
Sun Tzu and Kautilya also have their perception on deception. Sun Tzu suggests: “all warfare is based on deception”. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces; we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe that we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe that we are near”. He also stated: “Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected”. At all times, Kautilya wanted his king to use deception, play roles, and create appearances. Why risk heavy losses or even defeat in battle if deception and assassination can weaken or even defeat the enemy? His favorite tactic in battle was to pretend to be defeated, retreat in apparent disorder, and then attack a disorganized and unsuspecting enemy. Even if a king is forced to surrender in order to survive, Kautilya wanted him to pretend that his surrender was “an excellent thing” until he was clever or strong enough to fight back.
Finally, is the lengthy war where Sun Tzu stated that “there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged war”; while Kautilya stated that “once you decide to go for a military campaign, it must be pursued steadfastly’. He had further stated that the duration of a campaign and the interval between the two consecutive operations should be kept short for maintain a high tempo.
From this we can see that, some might see that Kautilya is perspective is better in the role of diplomacy, while Sun Tzu in generalship, even though both thinkers’ concept of war does resembles each other. Nevertheless, after observing these two exceptional rulers, one will find that Chanakya had a better sight than Sun Tzu. Beliefs of the same are available in this compact study. Although Sun Tzu’s theory greatly stresses the conquest of other states with foot soldiers, chariots, and other ancient devices, it restricts its importance, although it has some key points that make it clear that they can be used in many aspects of contemporary warfare, most of which have been mentioned above. Kautilya has described that “the great general is the one who has great imaginative energy”. That specific quote very well describes the key characteristics of Sun Tzu.
The similarities between Sun Tzu and Kautilya on the approach of war fighting is that the 9 basis shows that they strategies does resemble each other only when it comes to the use of deception, but their basic concept of war matches each other as a whole. Furthermore, both thinkers followed the ethic of war, both of which were very calculative and had great respect for their enemies. They both believed that war should be profitable if it ever occurred. However, they also have differences in the approach of war fighting where modern war includes military financial, political and diplomatic dimensions. Although Sun Tzu was focused mainly on military strategies, Kautilya was based on all of them. Moreover, Sun Tzu’s ideology was fundamentally inspired by the invasion and conquest of other nations, although Kautilya has never shown any importance in defeating other countries.
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