Sutra 28

Devanagari script

यं तु मन्येत कृतार्थो मे दण्डं गृह्णीयादमित्राटव्यभूम्यनृतुषु वा वासयेदफलं वा कुर्यादिति दण्डव्यासङ्गापदेशेन नैनमनुगृह्णीयात् ॥ कZ_०७.८.२८ ॥

Transliteration

yaṃ tu manyeta kṛtārtho me daṇḍaṃ gṛhṇīyād amitrāṭavībhūmyanṛtuṣu vā vāsayed aphalaṃ vā kuryād iti daṇḍavyāsaṅgāpadeśena nainam anugṛhṇīyāt.

Translation

But one whom the ruler considers “already satisfied/fulfilled” and likely to seize the coercive apparatus (daṇḍa), or to be stationed in enemy territory/forest tracts/wilderness at an unseasonable time, or to become unproductive—such a person should not be granted further favor, using the pretext of “entanglement/over-attachment to punitive force (daṇḍa-vyāsaṅga).”

Word by Word

• यम्: whom
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: sarvanāma; accusative singular masculine; object of अनुगृह्णीयात्

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Particle
• Root: तु
• Form: nipāta; contrast/emphasis

• मन्येत: should think
• Type: Verb
• Root: मन् (मन्यते)
• Form: optative (vidhi-liṅ); 3rd person singular; parasmaipada in sense; present stem; ‘should think/consider’

• कृतार्थः: successful; having achieved one’s purpose
• Type: Adjective (used substantively)
• Root: कृ + अर्थ (कृतार्थ)
• Form: nominative singular masculine; predicate to implied ‘I’ in direct thought

• मे: my/of me
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: genitive singular; ‘of me/my’

• दण्डम्: punishment; penalty
• Type: Noun
• Root: दण्ड
• Form: accusative singular masculine; object of गृह्णीयात्

• गृह्णीयात्: should take/seize
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (गृह्णाति)
• Form: optative; 3rd person singular; parasmaipada; ‘should take/seize’

• अमित्राटवीभूम्यनृतुषु: in enemy territory, in forests, in (difficult) terrain/land, or in unseasonable times
• Type: Noun (compound)
• Root: अमित्र + अटवी + भूमि + अनृतु
• Form: locative plural (ending -षु); denotes places/conditions: ‘in enemy(-territory), forest, land, and in unseasonable times’

• वा: or
• Type: Particle
• Root: वा
• Form: nipāta; disjunction ‘or’

• वासयेत्: should keep/quarter (someone)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वस् (वासयति)
• Form: optative; 3rd person singular; causative (ṇic) of √वस्; parasmaipada; ‘should cause to dwell/keep (stationed)’

• अफलम्: fruitless; without result
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अफल
• Form: accusative singular neuter; predicate/object-complement with कुर्यात् (‘make [it] fruitless’)

• वा: or
• Type: Particle
• Root: वा
• Form: nipāta; disjunction ‘or’

• कुर्यात्: should do/make
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: optative; 3rd person singular; parasmaipada; ‘should do/make’

• इति: thus (thinking)
• Type: Quotative particle
• Root: इति
• Form: end of reported thought/speech

• दण्डव्यासङ्गापदेशेन: by the pretext of (undue) attachment to punishment
• Type: Noun (compound)
• Root: दण्ड + व्यासङ्ग + अपदेश
• Form: instrumental singular masculine/neuter (ending -ेन); ‘by the pretext/excuse of attachment to punishment’

• न: not
• Type: Negation
• Root: न
• Form: prohibitive negation with optative

• एनम्: him
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद् (enad)
• Form: accusative singular masculine; object of अनुगृह्णीयात्; refers to the person mentioned (यम्)

• अनुगृह्णीयात्: should show favor/indulge (him)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु + ग्रह् (गृह्णाति)
• Form: optative; 3rd person singular; parasmaipada; ‘should favor/show indulgence’

Entities Mentioned

• king (implicit)
• favored subordinate/agent
• enemy (amitra)
• forest/frontier zone (āṭavī)

More Details

FAQs

What is the administrative intent behind denying favor ‘on the pretext of daṇḍa-vyāsaṅga’ ?

To limit a potentially dangerous subordinate’s access to coercive resources while keeping the decision politically defensible (a neutral bureaucratic reason rather than open suspicion).

What risks are being flagged in this verse?

(1) appropriation of coercive power, (2) harmful/inefficient deployments (enemy/forest/untimely season), and (3) strategic unproductiveness.