Matsya Nyaya

The “Matsya Nyaya”, the law by which the small fish becomes the prey of the bigger fish.
If in our society, if we take out the government, the rules, the order and in a matter of hours the human society will degenerate into a state of anarchy in which the stronger one will destroy and devour the weaker ones like the fishes. In modern times, we can call it the “Law of the Jungle”.

Wise old gurus of Sanatana Dharma established a system of governance, law and order, a self sustaining organic system of rule for the society to adapt and thrive to counter the Matsya Nyaya.

This idea of Matsya Nyaya ( the maxim of the larger fish devouring the smaller ones or the strong despoiling the weak) was frequently dwelt upon by Kautilya, the Mahabharata, and other works. It can be traced back to the Shatapath Brahman (Chapter 11,1.6.24) where it is said

“Whenever there is drought then the stronger seizes upon the weaker, for the waters are the law”, which probably means that when there is no rain the reign of law comes to an end, and Matsya Nyaya begins to operate.
Kautilya says ” If danda be not employed, it gives rise to the condition of Matsya Nyaya, for in the absence of a chastiser the strong devour the weak”.

In the Shantiparva of Mahabharata it is stated :
” Raja chenna bhavelloke prithivyaam dandadharaka
Shule Matsyanivapakshyun durbalaat balvattarah”
Which means
” When the king carrying the rod of punishment does not protect the earth, then the strong persons destroy the weaker ones, just like in water the big fish eat the smaller ones”.

It is seen that in the ancient texts of Sanatana Dharma, the theory of governance was formed keeping in mind the evil nature of the man. The land should have a strong authority to keep it’s society under control. This theory of governance naturally led to the system that the controlling authority should also be vested with the power to inflict punishment or Danda.
The four fold policy of Kautilya is used to control the society: Sama, dana, Danda, Bheda.

Sama means peace: The wise ruler must maintain peace among his subjects.

Dana means charity: The wise ruler must be charitable by providing various schemes sponsored by the state and bringing in welfare programs to uplift the poor thereby trying to bring down the societal gap between the rich and the poor. Empowering the poor is one way to avoid Matsya Nyaya

Danda means punishment: The wise ruler must punish the wrong doings according to the gravity of the crime.

Bheda means creating division where necessary: The wise ruler must use Bheda to promote welfare of the state. Sometimes, in order to unite the society for a larger cause of the nation, bheda is implemented. A wise ruler can create discord among those who are working against the society from within the society thereby neutralizing their combined power to take them down. We should remember that, the big fishes that poach on the smaller fishes live within the same ecosystem. Bheda is used skillfully by a wise ruler to degrade the organizing power of big fishes to attack smaller fishes.

We can find that Matsya Nyaya forms the basics of all governance systems. Every rule and international relations are formulated to avoid, minimize, overcome or overwhelm the basic issues of Matsya Nyaya. India’s “Look East” and “Act East” policies avoided the Matsya Nyaya by the western powers at that time giving India more leverage in the International Arena.

Colonization of India by the British and then the eventual loot of the wealth from India, is an example of Matsya Nyaya at an applied level.

In the current context, the Belt and Road Initiative of China, where Chinese companies invest in smaller weaker nations and in turn they become debt laden by loans from China is the modern day equivalent of Matsya Nyaya.

A good leadership uses the best combination of the “4 Fold Policies” of Kautilya to find a solution to Matsya Nyaya from time to time.

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Author: Sorcerer

Image Courtesy: Ancient Origins

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