ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the historical evolution of the concepts of yuddha and vijaya especially taking into account the theoreticians' standpoints, beginning with the Rig Veda. It examines the period from c.1500 to c.600 BCE, when the Indo-Aryans were engaged in clannish warfare for the possession of the cattle wealth. The material wealth appears that winning material riches was the principal objectives of conflict and thus the aim of vijaya for the Rig Vedic people. Chandragupta Maurya and then Asoka are historically known to have caused the territorial advancement of the Magadhan Empire. In connection with the policy of war, four measures such as sama, danda, dana and bheda are emphasized both in the Kautiliya Arthasastra and in the Manava-Dharmasastra. Almost the same principle is also supported by the Kamandakiya Nitisara, a treatise on the science of polity authored by Kamandaka. Kamandaka has also pointed out the techniques and timing of conducting a war.
