When a king of poor resources is attacked by a powerful enemy, he should surrender himself together with his sons to the enemy and live like a reed (in the midst of a current of water).
Bhāradvāja says that he who surrenders himself to the strong, bows down before Indra (the god of rain).
But Viśālākṣa says that a weak king should rather fight with all his resources, for bravery destroys all troubles; fighting is the natural duty of a kṣatriya, no matter whether he achieves victory or sustains defeat in battle.
No, says Kauṭilya: he who bows down to all like a crab on the riverbank lives in despair; whoever goes with his small army to fight perishes like a man attempting to cross the sea without a boat. Hence, a weak king should either seek the protection of a powerful king or maintain himself in an impregnable fort.
—Kautilya, in the Arthaśāstra, 12.1:1-9
