Upayas is a Sanskrit word that means "approaches", "to come into any state or condition" and "to come near or towards". It also refers to methods of diplomacy found in Hinduism and Jainism texts.
Kautilya mentioned four Upayas - Sama, Dana or Dama, Danda and Bheda as ways to reach to a solution in state politics to avoid conflicts and war situations. This phrase is also commonly used when you need to find a solution to a problem anyhow. 1.Sama, the first step, means conciliation or alliances.When the situation of conflict arises between states, the firsts step is to talk. 2.Dana, the second, means gifts or compensation. Sometimes it is referred to as Dama, price, it means to pay the value. 3.Bheda, the third, means rupture or divide and rule. To create conflict within the opposite state 4.Danda refers to the last step, that is force or armaments. To take up war with the opposite state. An article on Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses website states that the 20th-century power-politics theoretician Hans J. Morgenthau suggests similar four methods in a struggle for balance of power: Divide and Rule; Compensation; Armaments; and Alliances.
These four approaches are found in the Hindu Itihasa (epics) and the Dharmasastras, as well as the Jain text Nitivakyamitra.