Sutra 38

Devanagari script

तत्त्रिषु चतुषु वा कृच्छ्रेणोपपद्यते ॥ कZ_०१.१५.३८ ॥

Transliteration

tattriṣu catuṣu vā kṛcchreṇopapadyate

Translation

That (effective counsel/decision) is attainable only with difficulty when conducted with three or four (persons).

Word by Word

• तत्: that; it (the aforesaid matter/goal)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्; (पूर्वोक्तस्य विषयस्य निर्देशः)

• त्रिषु: in three (cases/ways)
• Type: Numeral
• Root: त्रि (संख्या)
• Form: सङ्ख्यावाचक; सप्तमी बहुवचनम्; (त्रिषु = in three [ways/parts/instances])

• चतुषु: in four (cases/ways)
• Type: Numeral
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या)
• Form: सङ्ख्यावाचक; सप्तमी बहुवचनम्; (चतुषु = in four [cases/ways])

• वा: or
• Type: Particle
• Root: वा
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक-निपात (or)

• कृच्छ्रेण: with difficulty; by hardship/effort
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृच्छ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक (प्रयोगे भेदः); तृतीया एकवचनम्; करण/साधन-भावः (with difficulty; by hardship)

• उपपद्यते: comes about; is achieved/obtained; is possible
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप√पद् (उपपद्यते)
• Form: लट्-लकार; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्; वर्तमानकालः; अर्थः—सम्भवति/सिध्यति/प्राप्यते (comes about, is obtained)

Entities Mentioned

• king
• counsellors/ministers (implied)

More Details

FAQs

What administrative risk is implied by involving three or four people in counsel?

As the number of participants increases, secrecy and coherence degrade; therefore even a small expansion beyond the minimum makes effective counsel harder to secure.