MATSYA NYAYA

 

 

   Arthashastra  chapter 1.4. shloka13-14

‘’apraṇītaḥ tu mātsyanyāyaṃ udbhāvayati.

balīyān abalaṃ hi grasate daṇḍadharābhāve. ‘’

 But when the law of punishment is kept in abeyance,it gives rise to such disorder as is implied in the proverb of law and order of fishes (matsyanyaya udbhavayati);

for in the absence of a magistrate (dandadharabhave), the strong will swallow the weak;but under his protection, the weak resist the strong.

The phrase "matsyanyaya" appears in the ancient Indian political treatise Arthashastra by Chanakya (Kautilya): it refers to a law of nature where the strong devour the weak, similar to how larger fish eat smaller fish. 

In Arthashastra,  historians tell us,Chanakya uses the theory to explain why a state should increase its size and security. He argues that without a government or rule of law, society will degenerate into anarchy, where the strong will exploit the weak.

Chanakya emphasizes the importance of "danda" (strong authority) to prevent the law of "matsyanyaya" from prevailing. He believed that government, rulers, and laws are necessary to overcome this natural law and protect the weak.

The idea of "matsyanyaya" is similar to the idea that the state ensures protection to the small, while in nature the big overwhelms the small.One can easily connect it to the Darwinian theory of ''survival of the fittest'' or even to the food chain theory.