Daṇḍanīti is the science of governance through law, coercion, and punishment. Kauṭilya regards it as the core of political authority. Without daṇḍa, society descends into matsyanyāya, the law of the fish, where the strong devour the weak. Daṇḍanīti is not brute force but calibrated authority, exercised with rationality and fairness....