Sutra 8
मध्ये चान्ते च स्थानवानात्मधारणः परधारणश्चापदि स्वारक्षः स्वाजीवः शत्रुद्वेषी शक्यसामन्तः पङ्कपाषाणोषरविषमकण्टकश्रेणीव्यालमृगाटवीहीनः कान्तः सीताखनिद्रव्यहस्तिवनवान् गव्यः पौरुषेयो गुप्तगोचरः पशुमानदेवमातृको वारिस्थलपथाभ्यामुपेतः सारचित्रबहुपण्यो दण्डकरसहः कर्मशीलकर्षकोऽबालिशस्वाम्यवरवर्णप्रायो भक्तशुचिमनुष्य इति जनपदसम्पत् ॥ कZ_०६.१.०८ ॥
madhye cānte ca sthānavān ātmadhāraṇaḥ paradhāraṇaś cāpadi svārakṣaḥ svājīvaḥ śatrudveṣī śakyasāmantaḥ paṅkapāṣāṇoṣaraviṣamakaṇṭakaśreṇīvyālamṛgāṭavīhīnaḥ kāntaḥ sītākhanidravyahastivanavān gavyaḥ pauruṣeyo guptagocaraḥ paśumān adevamātṛko vāristhalapathābhyām upetaḥ sāracitrabahupaṇyo daṇḍakarasahaḥ karmaśīlakarṣako'bāliśasvāmyavaravarṇaprāyo bhaktaśucimanuṣya iti janapadasampat
The excellence of the countryside/realm (janapada-sampat) is this: it has stable settlements in the middle and at the borders; it can sustain itself and also support others; in calamity it can protect itself and maintain livelihoods; it is hostile to the enemy and has manageable feudatories; it is free from swamps, rocks, saline wastelands, rugged ground, thorny tracts, lines of brigands, and forests infested with wild beasts; it is pleasant; it possesses arable crown-lands (sīta), mines, and material resources, as well as elephant-forests; it has cattle; it has a strong, capable populace; it has concealed routes/fields suitable for intelligence operations; it is rich in livestock and not excessively dependent on divine-fate explanations (practically oriented); it has water, firm ground, and roads; it has valuable, varied, and abundant trade goods; it can bear taxation and penalties; its people are industrious cultivators; it is not dominated by foolish masters and is largely composed of respectable classes; and it consists of loyal and cleanly (orderly) people—this is janapada-sampat.
FAQs
They are logistics prerequisites: movement of troops, trade, taxation, and administrative reach depend on transport and survivable terrain.
A fiscally resilient tax base: the population and economy can sustain revenue extraction and penalties without collapse or revolt.