Arthashastra 3.9.13: Dharmasthiya, Adhyaya 9, Sutra 13

Devanagari script

तदेव नीते सीमापहारिणां सेतुच्छिदां च कुर्यात् ॥

Recitation with translationArthashastra 3.9.13

Transliteration

tadeva nīte sīmāpahāriṇāṃ setucchidāṃ ca kuryāt

Translation

Dieselbe Strafe ist, sobald der Sachverhalt festgestellt ist, gegen diejenigen zu verhängen, die Grenzen an sich reißen, sowie gegen diejenigen, die Grenzzeichen abschneiden oder zerstören.

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Word by Word

• तत्: that (same)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; एकवचन; प्रथमा (विशेषणरूपेण ‘एतत्’/‘तत्’ = ‘that very’)

• एव: indeed; exactly; the very same
• Type: Particle
• Root: एव
• Form: निपात; अव्यय; अवधान/निश्चयार्थक (emphatic)

• नीते: in policy/administration; in the prescribed procedure
• Type: Noun (verbal derivative)
• Root: नी (√नी)
• Form: कृदन्त-भाववाचक (नीत-); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; एकवचन; सप्तमी (locative) — ‘in the matter of policy/administration; in procedure’

• सीमापहारिणाम्: of those who steal/encroach upon boundaries
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप-हृ (√हृ) with उपसर्ग अप + सीमा
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; बहुवचन; षष्ठी (genitive) — ‘of boundary-stealers’

• सेतुच्छिदाम्: of those who cut/breach embankments (dams/bunds)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छिद् (√छिद्) with सेतु
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; बहुवचन; षष्ठी (genitive) — ‘of dam/bund-cutters’

• च: and
• Type: Conjunction
• Root: च
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (and)

• कुर्यात्: should apply/should do (the same rule/punishment)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (√कृ)
• Form: लोट्/विधिलिङ् (optative) परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन — ‘should do/should apply’ (injunctive sense: prescription)

Entities Mentioned

• sīmāpahārin (boundary usurper)
• setucchid (marker destroyer)

More Details

FAQs

What is the policy logic behind treating boundary theft and marker destruction equivalently?

Both acts attack the same state interest—certainty of land limits and revenue order—so deterrence is aligned to the harm to public administration.