Role of Secret Agents In Ancient Indian Governance

Abstract

We get information about spies since ancient times. The first explanation of the word Spasa is found in the Rigveda, which means "spy." If we move towards getting more information about secret agents, the primary source is Kautilya's Arthashastra. If we talk about other sources, we get information about this in Kamanadakiya Nitisara and Nitivakyamratam. We know about spies in the epic period, like Ramayana and Mahabharata, also the system of spies and the work done by them and their significant contribution in running their state smoothly. In Arthashastra, we find two types of spies: firstly, Samstha and secondly, Sanchara Organization. In the Samstha, there are many divisions like Kapatika, Udasthita, Grahapatika, Vaidehaka, and Tapasa, who stayed in one place and made a plan for the benefit of the state and did his duty relentlessly for his king and kingdom. The other is Sanchara, which is divided into Satri, Tiksna, Rasada, and Bhikshuki. They used to go to different places and collect information for the state. After collecting information about other states and enemy states, they used to give the information to the king in the interest of their state so that the governance of the state could run smoothly. The spy had many other important functions, like assessing the strengths of enemy nations using his military diplomacy and finding out their strengths and weaknesses was the special function of the spy. Apart from this, secret agents were used to balance internal security and administration to prevent corruption, armed rebellion, and poor governance, etc. In this way, secret agents are a special part of any state building, which helps in ensuring the security and stability of the state.