Kutaniti is one of the four modes of diplomacy and conflict-resolution elaborated in ancient works on polity and illustrated in several literary works. It is also known as Bheda. Though we have the employment of the technique of kutaniti or bheda in the Mahabharata, the earliest thinker to specify these expedients was Kautiliya, the author of Arthashastra. In order of preference, the methods are – sama (conciliation), dana (gifting), bheda (causing dissensions) and danda (punishment).
It is only after the first three expedients are exhausted
that war is to be resorted to. That these were well known and practiced is indicated
by the Hathigumpha cave inscription of Kharavela, the Mahameghavahana monarch
of Kalinga, who practiced two of these expedients in his victorious expedition
of Bharatavarsha.
Ancient Hindu political thinkers, in order to minimize
destruction caused by frequent and protracted wars, devised the system of these
four expedients. Kutaniti was resorted to more often than the other three, and
men were employed to achieve the purpose.
There is an interesting episode recorded in Pali literature
which forms a running commentary on its practical application. King Ajatashatru
of Maghada, keen on conquering the troublesome Vajji or Licchavi state, could
not accomplish his desire. When he was told by Buddha that it could not be
conquered so long as the nobles were united, he sent his ministers to sow seeds
of dissension among them. The nobles started suspecting each other and
quarreled over pretty matters, and the ambitious Magadhan king finally
vanquished them.