Sutra 2

Devanagari script

यच्च पण्यं प्रचुरं स्यात्तदेकीकृत्यार्घमारोपयेत् ॥ कZ_०२.१६.०२ ॥

Transliteration

yacca paṇyaṃ pracuraṃ syāt tad ekīkṛtya argham āropayet

Translation

وأيُّ سلعةٍ تكون وفيرة، فعلى المشرف أن يضمّ (المعروض/المخزون) ثم يرفع سعرها المُقَدَّر.

Word by Word

• यत्: whatever; that which
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: sarvanāma; napuṃsaka-liṅga; prathamā/ dvitīyā ekavacana (contextually dvitīyā: 'that which/whatever [commodity]')

• च: and
• Type: Particle
• Root: च
• Form: samuccaya-nipāta

• पण्यम्: merchandise; commodity for sale
• Type: Noun
• Root: पण्य
• Form: napuṃsaka-liṅga; prathamā/ dvitīyā ekavacana (contextually prathamā: 'a saleable commodity')

• प्रचुरम्: abundant; plentiful
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रचुर
• Form: napuṃsaka-liṅga; prathamā/ dvitīyā ekavacana; agrees with पण्यम्

• स्यात्: should be; may be
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: vidhi-liṅ (optative); parasmaipada; prathama-puruṣa; ekavacana

• तत्: that (commodity)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: sarvanāma; napuṃsaka-liṅga; dvitīyā ekavacana; refers to पण्यम्

• एकीकृत्य: having unified; having made uniform
• Type: Gerund
• Root: एकी√कृ
• Form: ktvānta (absolutive); 'having made into one/standardized'

• अर्घम्: price; value
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्घ
• Form: napuṃsaka-liṅga; dvitīyā ekavacana; karma of आरोपयेत्

• आरोपयेत्: should set/raise/impose (a price)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ√रुह् (causative: आरोपयति)
• Form: vidhi-liṅ (optative); parasmaipada; prathama-puruṣa; ekavacana; causative stem

Entities Mentioned

• state (implied superintendent/authority)
• commodity (paṇya)

More Details

FAQs

Why would the state raise the price of an abundant commodity after consolidating it?

Kauṭilya is describing an administrative technique: by pooling supply under coordinated control, the state can prevent fragmented undercutting and set a uniform valuation that improves fiscal return while keeping distribution manageable.