Sutra 24

Devanagari script

छलमेतदिति कौटिल्यः ॥ कZ_०३.५.२४ ॥

Transliteration

chalam etad iti kauṭilyaḥ

Translation

Kauṭilya says: “This is fraud (a deceptive device).”

Word by Word

• छलम्: deceit; fraud; a deceptive stratagem
• Type: Noun
• Root: छल
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (contextually predicate nominative: ‘this is छल’)

• एतत्: this
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; deictic ‘this’ (refers to the preceding act/statement)

• इति: thus; ‘so’ (quotative marker)
• Type: Particle/Quotative
• Root: इति
• Form: अव्यय; वाक्य-समाप्ति/उद्धरण-चिह्न; marks reported speech/thought

• कौटिल्यः: Kauṭilya (the author/speaker)
• Type: Proper Noun
• Root: कौटिल्य
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; कर्तृ (speaker/author)

Entities Mentioned

• Kauṭilya

More Details

FAQs

What administrative intent is conveyed by calling something 'chala' (fraud)?

It signals that the state should treat the claim/argument as a deceptive litigation tactic and decide against it, prioritizing integrity of partition and evidence-based adjudication.