Detection of Youths of Criminal Tendency by Ascetic Spies

Detection of Youth of Criminal Tendency by Ascetic Spies provides an opening through which the special spies pretending to be endowed with some supernatural powers may under the pretence of knowing such methods of incantation which hypnotises the crowd tries to move inside the society and carve out such secrets which are usually not available to the common spies. While depending on the activity of spies, Kautilya described the role of these special spies in chapter V of Book IV in Arthashastra. With the method of incantation the youths shall pretend to show such methods as running away with rapid speed or render persons invisible, or cause hard fastened doors to open, induce highway robbers to robbery, shall also be able to secure the love of women or entice adulterers to take part in criminal actions planed for the purpose of detecting their criminal attitude.

Detection of Youth of Criminal Tendency by ascetic spies allows the youth to master the art of incantation with which they are supposed to enter into the interior of the enemy area in the midst of wakeful watchmen and collect information from the women or the wives of the enemies through the methods of incantation. Soon after the youth have mastered the art of incantation they shall be taught the process of recitation and other accessory procedures of that art which can be further checked through practicing plundering such houses which contain articles. Such youths shall be required to produce valuable information regarding the past life of them and their accomplices. Similarly the state shall be free to use such spies in disguise of old and notorious thieves shall get associated with the robbers and cause the latter arrested.

According to Arthashastra the Collector General is responsible to exhibit in public these and other criminals who have been arrested with the help of such spies.

Thus, detection of youth of criminal tendency by ascetic spies has been mainly intended assess the participation of entire spy system which includes the spies who practice magical methods or pretend to be magicians who shall help the collector general secure the kingdom from inferior conspiracies.