This adhyāya makes waterways governable: the Nāvādhyakṣa taxes and standardizes navigation while policing crossings and protecting legitimate commerce to secure the kośa and frontier integrity. Water routes are framed as revenue channels and security chokepoints. Authorized ports/ghāṭas and enforceable pattanacāritra discipline movement. Boat-hire shares, customs, and transit fees monetize circulation. Riparian/coastal villages bear fixed fiscal responsibilities, tying locality to state revenue. Yogakṣema appears as protection of storm-damaged/confused ships and duty remissions to sustain trade. Danda targets illicit crossings and hostile penetrations, converting geography into controlled infrastructure.
Sutra 1
नावध्यक्षः समुद्रसम्याननदीमुखतरप्रचारान्देवसरोविसरोनदीतरांश्च स्थानीयादिष्ववेक्षेत ॥ कZ_०२.२८.०१ ॥
The Superintendent of Boats should supervise and inspect—through local officers and related functionaries—the sea-going routes, river-mouth ferry traffic, and crossings over sacred lakes, reservoirs, and rivers.
Sutra 2
तद्वेलाकूलग्रामाः क्लृप्तं दद्युः ॥ कZ_०२.२८.०२ ॥
The villages on those shores and riverbanks should provide the assigned provisions/arrangements (as fixed by the administration).
Sutra 3
मत्स्यबन्धका नौकाभाटकं षड्भागं दद्युः ॥ कZ_०२.२८.०३ ॥
Fishermen should pay a boat-hire fee, assessed at one-sixth.
Sutra 4
पत्तनानुवृत्तं शुल्कभागं वणिजो दद्युः यात्रावेतनं राजनौभिः सम्पतन्तः ॥ कZ_०२.२८.०४ ॥
Merchants should pay the customs share applicable to the port in question; and when they travel using royal boats, they should also pay the prescribed travel fare.
Sutra 5
शङ्खमुक्ताग्राहिणो नौभाटकं दद्युः स्वनौभिर्वा तरेयुः ॥ कZ_०२.२८.०५ ॥
Collectors of conch-shells and pearls should pay the boat-hire fee, or else cross/operate using their own boats.
Sutra 6
अध्यक्षश्चैषां खन्यध्यक्षेण व्याख्यातः ॥ कZ_०२.२८.०६ ॥
The office and procedures for this superintendent are to be understood as explained under the Superintendent of Mines.
Sutra 7
पत्तनाध्यक्षनिबद्धं पण्यपत्तनचारित्रं नावध्यक्षः पालयेत् ॥ कZ_०२.२८.०७ ॥
The Superintendent of Boats should enforce and maintain the commercial-port regulations and customary procedures that are recorded/registered by the Superintendent of Ports.
Sutra 8
मूढवाताहता नावः पितेवानुगृह्णीयात् ॥ कZ_०२.२८.०८ ॥
A boat that has been thrown off course or damaged by adverse winds should be assisted and protected, as a father would care for (his child).
Sutra 9
उदकप्राप्तं पण्यमशुल्कमर्धशुल्कं वा कुर्यात् ॥ कZ_०२.२८.०९ ॥
Goods that have been water-damaged (or recovered from water) should be made toll-free, or charged only half the toll.
Sutra 10
यथानिर्दिष्टाश्चैताः पण्यपत्तनयात्राकालेषु प्रेषयेत् ॥ कZ_०२.२८.१० ॥
These (boats/ferry services and personnel) should be dispatched as prescribed, at the times of merchant traffic and port-market journeys.
Sutra 11
सम्यातीर्नावः क्षेत्रानुगताः शुल्कं याचेत् ॥ कZ_०२.२८.११ ॥
Toll should be demanded from boats that have crossed properly and entered the regulated jurisdiction/tracts.
Sutra 12
हिंस्रिका निर्घातयेत् अमित्रविषयातिगाः पण्यपत्तनचारित्रोपघातिकाश्च ॥ कZ_०२.२८.१२ ॥
Predatory offenders should be suppressed: those who cross into enemy territory illicitly and those who disrupt the established routes and practices of trade and port-towns.
Sutra 13
शासकनिर्यामकदात्र रश्मिग्राहकोत्सेचकाधिष्ठिताश्च महानावो हेमन्तग्रीष्मतार्यासु महानदीषु प्रयोजयेत्क्षुद्रिकाः क्षुद्रिकासु वर्षास्राविणीषु ॥ कZ_०२.२८.१३ ॥
Large boats, staffed with an overseer, a pilot/steersman, oarsmen (or handlers), rope-handlers, and bailers, should be operated on great rivers in winter and summer; smaller boats on minor rivers and on rain-swollen streams during the monsoon.
Sutra 14
बाधतीर्थाश्चैताः कार्या राजद्विष्टकारिणां तरणभयात् ॥ कZ_०२.२८.१४ ॥
Obstructed/controlled fords should be established to deter those who act against the king, by making illicit crossing fearful/difficult.
Sutra 15
अकालेऽतीर्थे च तरतः पूर्वः साहसदण्डः ॥ कZ_०२.२८.१५ ॥
For one who crosses at an improper time or at a non-designated crossing, the first (lowest-grade) penalty for rash/forcible conduct is to be imposed.
Sutra 16
काले तीर्थे चानिषृष्टतारिणः पादोनसप्तविंशतिपणस्तरात्ययः ॥ कZ_०२.२८.१६ ॥
If, at the proper time and at the authorized ford, the ferryman does not permit passage, the penalty for obstructing the crossing is twenty-six and a quarter paṇas.
Sutra 17
कैवर्तकाष्टतृणभारपुष्पफलवाटषण्डगोपालकानामनत्ययः सम्भाव्यदूतानुपातिनां च सेनाभाण्डप्रयोगाणां च स्वतरणैस्तरताम् बीजभक्तद्रव्योपस्करांश्चानूपग्रामाणां तारयताम् ॥ कZ_०२.२८.१७ ॥
No penalty applies to fishermen and to those carrying loads of wood, grass, flowers, fruits, produce from orchards and groves, and to cowherds; likewise, to recognized envoys and their attendants, and to movements of the army with its equipment and matériel, when they cross by their own means. Those who ferry across the seed, provisions, goods, and implements of marshland (riverine) villages should also be facilitated.
Sutra 18
ब्राह्मणप्रव्रजितबालवृद्धव्याधितशासनहरगर्भिण्यो नावध्यक्षमुद्राभिस्तरेयुः ॥ कZ_०२.२८.१८ ॥
Brahmins, renunciants, children, the aged, the sick, bearers of royal orders, and pregnant women shall cross on the strength of the Boat-Superintendent’s sealed pass/mark.
Sutra 19
कृतप्रवेशाः पारविषयिकाः सार्थप्रमाणा वा प्रविशेयुः ॥ कZ_०२.२८.१९ ॥
Only those whose entry has been duly authorized, those belonging to the opposite bank’s jurisdiction, or those carrying a caravan/merchant-corporation credential shall be allowed to enter or cross.
Sutra 20
परस्य भार्यां कन्यां वित्तं वापहरन्तं शवित्तं वापहरन्तं शङ्कितमाविग्नमुद्भाण्डीकृतं महाभाण्डेन मूर्ध्नि भारेणावच्छादयन्तं सद्योगृहीतलिङ्गिनमलिङ्गिनं वा प्रव्रजितमलक्ष्यव्याधितं भयविकारिणं गूढसारभाण्डशासनशस्त्राग्नियोगं विषहस्तं दीर्घपथिकममुद्रं चोपग्राहयेत् ॥ कZ_०२.२८.२० ॥
He shall detain: one abducting another’s wife or daughter, or stealing wealth; one suspected, agitated, or behaving evasively; one concealing goods by covering them with a large load on the head; a person who has only just assumed the marks of an ascetic (or bears no such marks though claiming the role); one posing as a renunciant, an indistinctly “sick” person, or one showing fear-induced abnormality; one carrying concealed valuables, forged/hidden orders, weapons, incendiary devices, poison in hand; a long-distance traveller without a seal-pass; and similar suspicious persons.
Sutra 21
क्षुद्रपशुर्मनुष्यश्च सभारो माषकं दद्यात् शिरोभारः कायभारो गवाश्वं च द्वौ उष्ट्रमहिषं चतुरः पञ्च लभुयानं षड्गोलिङ्गं सप्त शकटम् पन्यभारः पादम् ॥ कZ_०२.२८.२१ ॥
For crossing-fees: a small animal and a man carrying a load shall pay one māṣaka; a head-load, a body-load, and a cow or horse shall pay two; a camel or buffalo shall pay four; (a heavier class) five; a light vehicle shall pay six; a goliṅga-type conveyance shall pay seven; a cart shall pay (as specified); and a load of merchandise shall pay one-fourth (of the standard unit).
Sutra 22
तेन भाण्डभारो व्याख्यातः ॥ कZ_०२.२८.२२ ॥
By this, the charges for baggage-loads are explained (i.e., determined according to the foregoing schedule).
Sutra 23
द्विगुणो महानदीषु तरः ॥ कZ_०२.२८.२३ ॥
On great rivers, the crossing-fee shall be double.
Sutra 24
क्लृप्तमानूपग्रामा भक्तवेतनं दद्युः ॥ कZ_०२.२८.२४ ॥
The assigned riverine (floodplain) villages shall provide rations and wages.
Sutra 25
प्रत्यन्तेषु तराः शुल्कमातिवाहिकं वर्तनीं च गृह्णीयुः निर्गच्छतश्चामुद्रद्रव्यस्य भाण्डं हरेयुः अतिभारेणावेलायामतिर्थे तरतश्च ॥ कZ_०२.२८.२५ ॥
At frontier regions, the ferry-men/officials shall collect the crossing-fee, customs-duty, transit-carriage fee, and road-cess; and they shall confiscate the goods of one departing with unsealed/uncertified property, as well as of one who attempts to cross with an excessive load, at an improper time, or at a non-designated crossing-point.
Sutra 26
पुरुषोपकरणहीनायामसंस्कृतायां वा नावि विपन्नायां नावध्ह्यक्षो नष्टं विनष्टं वाभ्यावहेत् ॥ कZ_०२.२८.२६ ॥
If a boat is wrecked because it lacked adequate crew/equipment or was not properly maintained/prepared, the Boat-Superintendent shall bear liability for what is lost or destroyed.
Sutra 27
सप्ताहवृत्तामाषाढीं कार्त्तिकीं चान्तरा तरः ॥ कZ_०२.२८.२७अब् ॥
The crossing-service/fee regime is to be regulated on a weekly cycle with reference to the Āṣāḍhī and Kārttikī seasonal periods.
Safe, predictable navigation and trade continuity: distressed vessels are protected, duties can be remitted to prevent ruin, and standardized crossings/port-practice reduce fraud and violence—thereby increasing long-run commerce, revenue stability, and public trust in state protection.
Unauthorized crossing at improper time or non-designated ford (akāle, atīrthe) incurs the ‘pūrvaḥ sāhasadaṇḍa’ (the first/lowest grade of sāhasa fine). Additionally, hostile infiltrators or those damaging port-route practice are to be violently suppressed (hiṃsrikā nirghātayet).