Sutra 52

Devanagari script

शतसहस्रादूर्ध्वं राजगामी निधिः ॥ कZ_०४.१.५२ ॥

Transliteration

śatasahasrādūrdhvaṃ rājagāmī nidhiḥ

Translation

A treasure exceeding one hundred thousand (in value) shall accrue to the king (i.e., becomes state property).

Word by Word

• शतसहस्रात्: from (the amount of) one hundred thousand; beyond one hundred thousand
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत + सहस्र
• Form: पुं/नपुं? (संख्यावाचकसमास), पञ्चमी एकवचन; अपादानार्थे ‘-आत्’ = ‘from/above (a threshold)’

• ऊर्ध्वम्: above; beyond
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ऊर्ध्व
• Form: अव्यय; अर्थे ‘above, beyond, upwards’; परिमाण-सीमा-निर्देशे

• राजगामी: going to the king; accruing to the king
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राज + गम्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘राज्ञः गामी’ = ‘going to the king’; ‘निधिः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• निधिः: a treasure; a hoard (treasure-trove)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निधि
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; कर्तृ/विषय-निर्देशः (nominal sentence)

Entities Mentioned

• King/State
• treasure-holder/discoverer (implicit)

More Details

FAQs

Why set a high-value threshold for state appropriation?

To centralize extraordinary wealth for state capacity (war, famine relief, administration) while leaving smaller finds partly incentivized for disclosure.