A Strategist's Verse
In verse 15 (in the 4th Sarga) Kāmandaka's list of royal qualities turns from character to campaign. The four traits it names belong to a strategist.
पराभियोगप्रसहः सर्वदृष्टप्रतिक्रियः । परच्छिद्रान्ववेक्षी च सन्धिविग्रहतत्त्वविद् ॥ १५ ॥
parābhiyogaprasahaḥ sarvadṛṣṭapratikriyaḥ | paracchidrānvavekṣī ca sandhivigrahatattvavid || 15 ||
He should be able to withstand hostile attack, know the remedy for every kind of danger, observe the weaknesses of others, and understand the principles of peace and war.
Read quickly, this sounds like advice for wartime. Read with its two commentaries, it describes a habit of mind that anyone in charge needs when events turn against them.
Not Breaking When Struck
Parābhiyogaprasahaḥ is the one who can bear an enemy's assault. The Jayamaṅgalā puts it plainly: he does not collapse into despair when attacked. The Upādhyāya-Nirapekṣā says he bears aggression without panic.
Neither commentary promises victory. What they ask is that the leader stays able to think. Panic at the top hands the initiative to whoever caused it, and people read the face of the person in charge long before they read any instruction.
