DEAR SON, WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU? 97
tion mirrors that of Arthasastra, which renders the tasks in the same
order: first to spend resources and attract political opponents, and to
resort to violent conflict only if all else fails.
Chachnama also mirrors Arthasastra's definition of the relation-
ship between the king and his advisor: "a king can reign only with
the help of others; one wheel alone does not move a chariot. Therefore,
a king should appoint advisors and listen to their advice."^38 Hence,
Chach with Budhiman, and Qasim with Hajjaj are presented as pairs
in governance.
The spatial imagination in Arthasastra also resonates within
Chachnama. Arthasastra describes the state in a relationship with its
four borders and the kingdoms around it. It, has an ideal variety of
mountains, valleys, plains, deserts. This is precisely how Chachnama
introduces Chach's kingdom. In both texts, the governed polity con-
tains natural landscapes, and both texts emphasize promoting reserves
for animals. They describe a built environment, with detailed descrip-
tions of the physical layout of the capital, the forts, and the public build-
ings and outposts. Along with the spatial imagination, Arthasastra
argues for political "stability" as a conquering king's key effort. This
stability is operative in the territory of governance (chakravartik-
shetram). Hence, Arthasastra argues that political power should over-
come political difference. As we saw in the letters, the capacity of the
king to "visualize" the terrain is articulated and stressed throughout
Chachnama.
How does Chachnama argue for a coherent political theory out of
these various influences? Are its formulations moral edicts that can
be separated from the text? Or is the effort instead to work through
different perspectives with nested levels of comprehension throughout
the text? It is this last question that emerges from my reading of the
text. I am drawn to a similar reading advanced by Yigal Bronner in
his review of the ninth-century Sanskrit text, Kuttanimatam, which
was written in the court of the Kashmir king Jayapida.^39 Bronner ex-
plains that die text-a lecture by an older madam Vikarala to a young
woman named Malati, delivered via a series of intricate framing
stories-asks for deep meditation from the reader. There is often con-
flicting advice, or the sympathy of the text seems to be buried ,Within
the framing narratives, to characters who seemingly contradict the