Of divided rule and foreign rule, divided rule, or rule of a country by two kings, perishes owing to mutual hatred, partiality and rivalry. My teacher says that foreign rule which depends upon its winning the affection of the people is for the enjoyment of others in its own condition.
No, says Kauṭilya: divided rule between father and son or between two brothers has similar consequences and is under the clutches of a minister. But foreign rule brought into existence by seizing the country from its king still alive thinks that the country is not its own, impoverishes it and carries off its wealth, or treats it as a commercial article; and when the country ceases to love it, it retires, abandoning the country.
—Kautilya, in the Arthaśāstra, 8.2:5-8
