All World
Gayatri Pariwar

   Since times immemorial, man’s curiosity and interest in self-protection has always kept him enthused about gaining specific information about their competitors and opponents. This inquisitiveness for information has led to the birth of an institution which is called as ‘Spying” and a person involved in this activity is known as ‘Spy’. This word ‘spy’ is equivalent to the Sanskrit word ‘Spash’ which means a wary watcher. It is clear that the present secret services are a contribution of ancient India. In those days, there were some specialized people who would keep a continuous watch on the activities and actions of people. Gradually, this set of people organized themselves and gave life to the art of spying.

The history of this art is very ancient. This procedure probably originated with the appearance of man in the evolutionary process. When the primitive man found himself alone and unprotected, he felt a pressing need for self-defense. Probably, since then collecting information about their rivals became a part of daily life. With the passage of time this became an integral part of the social system. With the advent of political assemblage in the form of kingdom, the secret services also assumed a very organized form and began to relentlessly strive for the progress and prosperity of individual, society and the kingdom. This technology had developed sufficiently by the Rig Vedic times. The Vedic Richas offer a proof to this –


Meaning: Those with fleeting feet and those who bind the wicked – the spies - are present in all places. They never bat their eyelids. Sweet-spoken and not-mingling with others, the spies protect the thousands of people in the kingdom and oust the wicked present in the various departments.

It becomes clear that this profession had its prime focus on security, progress and order and has been in existence since the Vedic times. Study of ancient scriptures gives solid evidence that aristocracy had developed by the Vedic times. It is not surprising to note that there existed something like secret services employed to maintain peace and order in the kingdoms. We find a description of Varun in ancient scriptures who is supposed to be the first of emperors. There are clear indications that Varun also took the responsibility of keeping an eye on unwanted and anti-social elements and punish them appropriately. Vedic Samhitas describe a sense of insecurity in the society, in those times and they prayed to the divine energies seeking protection not only from natural calamities and accidents but also from the evil and wicked people in the society. During the former and latter Vedic times, the rulers were worried about the uncivilized, oafish and crude set of people. The traditional society was under constant pressure of going out of control because of these anti-social elements. The development of society, wealth and life also led to increased crime because of which people had to lead a frightened and disturbed life. It was under these circumstances that the Indian rulers decided to evolve a technique which not only kept unwanted elements at bay but also made significant contribution towards the progress of society. In this regard, detectives of various levels were stationed in all parts of the kingdom. Depending on where they were stationed, their activities and responsibilities varied. Based on the different roles they played, different words were coined to depict their status. These words specially coined are found in Mahabharat, Ramayan, Manu Smriti, Kamandak, Shukraneethi, Kiraataarjuneeyam, Mudraraksha, Uttar Ramcharit Natak, Mukti Kalpataru, Kautilya Artha Shastra and Smritis. The words that have been used in relation to spying are char, pranidhi, prahit, apasarp, sanchar, purush, Goodhpurush, aanth, pratyaayit, pathik, utpathik, upanishad, ubhayavetan, kaapatik, udaasthit, gahpathik, vaidehak, taapas, satrin, teekshan, rasad, bhikshuki, karnejak, soochak, chaatra, kiraat, yamapattik, ahitundik, shaundik, shaubhik, pataccar, vit, vidooshak, peetmard, vaitaalik, ganak, shakunik, bhishag, naimittik, sood, aaraalik, samvaahik, jad etc.

The reference about spies in Panini’s book ‘Ashtadhyayi’ goes to prove that this organization existed even before Kautilya as an inseparable organ of governance. Kautilya just collected and put together the information that was lying scattered on this subject. So, it will be wrong to consider Kautilya as the preceptor and founder of this art of spying. In his book ‘Arthashastra’, Kautilya has gathered these scattered pearls and bound them together to give a refined and developed form to the subject under discussion. References to spying are also found in puranas, works of Bhaas, Kalidas, Maagh, Banabhatt and Sangam literature of the South. Kautilya has done a commendable job in his book ‘Arthashastra’ and displays an innate ability of foresight and understanding the plethora of human problems. The practical utility of his work and the clarity of the solutions and methodologies he has provided are unparalleled.

The methods he has proposed to direct the tide of public opinion in one’s favor and to create difference of opinions amongst friends takes the modern detective agencies more than 2000 years back in time. The procedure propounded by Kautilya to implement security measures with respect to special dignitaries is so successful that no further basic improvement have been necessary till date. It is a matter of shame and sadness that we are not able to recognize his remarkable achievements and evaluate them duly. That is why a Chinese expert Sun Tzu (4 B.C) is taken to be the first person to have conducted scientific research and organized study on secret services and their working. In a book called ‘A history of the Chinese secret service’, the author Richard Deacon has been unsuccessful in conveying who was the preceptor of the science of spying and where this knowledge took birth.

It is his belief that the person responsible for the complete organization of the art of spying, the researcher, the analyzer and the propounder of fundamental principles of this art and the one who has developed and presented this as an organized science to the world is Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu is the writer of a book called ‘Bing Fa’ which means the ‘art of war’. In their book ‘The Espionage Establishment’, David Wise and Thomas Ross express the opinion that ‘Bing Fa’ is the most ancient book on secret services and warfare. It is possible that the authors mentioned above are not aware of the knowledge present in ancient Indian scripture and literature; else they would not have expressed their views so authoritatively.

The first book of human civilization – ‘Rig Veda’ contains the irrefutable truth that secret services/spy organizations are the contributions made by our ancient rishis. In the scriptures, we get clear evidences of Indra and Varuna using their spies to weed out the criminals. It will be erroneous to call Sun Tzu, the Chinese scholar to be the preceptor of this science. It is true that there is no large time difference between both of them, but their analysis and commentary on spying is very different. The little information found in Sun Tzu’s book is no match to the theories, principles, opinions and analyses propounded by the great political thinker Kautilya. Whatever has been written by Kautilya on political organization, diplomacy, warfare and secret services are not only all-encompassing but applicable to all times.

There is no aspect about spying and warfare that has escaped the keen attention of Kautilya. Whatever laws and rules are in vogue today are all versions of what was propounded by the greatest political thinker of all times, Kautilya. Today, there is usage of sophisticated gadgets during spying, but in those times all the information was gathered based on intelligence. This can only be called as the specialty of that age.

The basic objective of secret agencies is to ensure undisturbed peace, order and progress. There is no concept of punishing the innocent and the honest. In ancient India, these services were not employed for the benefit of the governing class but for preserving the law and religious order in the nation. The word religion was then not used in the context of tradition but in the context of universal welfare which is not related to any sect. This is the fundamental difference between the viewpoints of ‘Bing Fa’ and ‘Arthashastra’.

The organization propounded by Kautilya runs under the basic premise that the empowerment of the king or keeping the kingdom intact is to meet the final goal of ‘public welfare’, while the principles given by Sun Tzu do not have any high ideal as the basis. It is to be noticed that the uniqueness of Indian school of thought has always been that the system is always committed towards public well-being. Indian secret services offer a good example in this regard; whereas similar ideology is clearly found lacking in the culture of other countries. The attacks on Parliament House on 13th December 2001 and the fatal attacks on Jammu and Kashmir Sansad Bhavan should be viewed from this angle. This exhibits the destructive aspect of foreign secret agencies. These days, there are many secret organizations world-wide whose motive right from their inception is nothing but destruction and disruption of peace.

The real intention of this art is to provide security and ensure progress. The inner motive of this knowledge is to find the secret of progress of other countries and employ it for the progress of our country. Today, they are concentrating on local gains and have busied themselves in collecting the ingredients of destruction. What more insult can be made to this great art? When Manu, Shukra, Yagnavalkya, Kamandak, Somdev, Kautilya, Medhatithi and other Vedic seers propounded and put forth this knowledge, they would not have even dreamt that this will one day be used to weave conspiracies and bring forth destruction. It is unfortunate that knowledge which could have been used for helping progress of the society has been contributing to terrorism and riots.

No art is either good or bad in itself. It depends on the user to make poison out of nectar or vice versa. This is completely dependent on his thinking, perspective and action. Wherever demonic tendencies are there, they will always cause instability and disrupt peace and strangle the throat of idealism. In complete contradiction to this is divinity, which manages to see nobility in evil too. As a part of a test Guru Dronacharya asked Duryodhan to find a noble person. Duryodhan could not find a good person even after great efforts, since he found everyone bad. Then Dronacharya asked Yudhisthir to go and find a bad man. Yudhisthir went to all nooks and corners of the kingdom but failed to find even one bad person. This story puts forth two different schools of thought and proves that the inherent nature of the person makes him determine whether the other person, things or methods are good or bad. Spying has been plagued by this pollution of thought prevalent today.

Since the information is collected in a secret method, this process is called ‘Guptacharya’. This is a sacred job and maintaining its virtue can only ensure welfare to humanity. The information procured about a person, society or nation through secret means should be used for promotion of progressive ideals and not as a means of vengeance and hatred; because such a course can only herald destruction and downfall.