A good friend reminded me of the terms Sama, dana, bheda , danda during a recent conversation. According to Kautilya’s Arthashastra these are four methods or Upayas of dealing with conflicts or in general people related problems. He says that these Upayas can be used individually or as a combination.

They mean,

Sama – conciliation

Dana – placating with gifts

Bheda – soving dissension

Dhanda – use of force

Kautilya goes on to suggest that based on nature of the relationship the methods, the combination and the order of applying them should vary.

Reference: The Arthashastra by Kautilya, L. N. Rangarajan’s translation.