Sutra 10

Devanagari script

षोडशभागो मानव्याजी विंशतिभागस्तुलामानं गण्यपण्यानामेकादशभागः ॥ कZ_०२.१६.१० ॥

Transliteration

ṣoḍaśabhāgo mānavyājī viṃśatibhāgas tulāmānaṃ gaṇyapaṇyānām ekādaśabhāgaḥ

Translation

The duty on goods measured by volume is one-sixteenth; on goods measured by weight (balance/scale) one-twentieth; and on countable goods one-eleventh.

Word by Word

• षोडशभागः: a sixteenth part (1/16)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; षोडशानां भागः = ‘one-sixteenth part’

• मानव्याजी: (the standard called) mānavyāji
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव्याजिन्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; विशेषणवत् (मानव्याजिन्)

• विंशतिभागः: a twentieth part (1/20)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; विंशतेः भागः = ‘one-twentieth part’

• तुलामानम्: the balance-weight standard (tulā-measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मान
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन; तुलायाः मानम् = ‘balance-weight standard’

• गण्यपण्यानाम्: of countable goods/merchandise (sold by number)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गण्यपण्य
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (पण्य), षष्ठी-बहुवचन; गण्य = ‘counted’ + पण्य = ‘merchandise’

• एकादशभागः: an eleventh part (1/11)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; एकादशानां भागः = ‘one-eleventh part’

Entities Mentioned

• tax/duty administration
• traders (implied)

More Details

FAQs

Why different duty fractions for volume-, weight-, and count-measured goods?

Kauṭilya aligns taxation with administrative measurability and risk of evasion: different bases (volume/weight/count) have different verification costs and manipulation opportunities, so rates are differentiated.