Sutra 19

Devanagari script

अर्धगुणहीनः शासनहरः ॥ कZ_०१.१६.०४ ॥

Transliteration

ardhaguṇahīnaḥ śāsanaharaḥ

Translation

An envoy who carries the king’s instruction may be deficient in up to half the ideal qualifications (yet still be employed for message-carrying).

Word by Word

• अर्धगुणहीनः: deficient by half the required qualities (i.e., possessing only half the qualities)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ही (हायने)
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग; विशेषणम् (शासनहरः इति विशेष्यस्य)

• शासनहरः: one who undermines/negates the authority of punishment/discipline (a ‘destroyer of governance’)
• Type: Noun (agent noun)
• Root: हृ (हरणे)
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग; हर-प्रत्ययान्त कर्तृवाचकः (शासनं हरति/अपहरति इति)

Entities Mentioned

• dūta (envoy)
• rājan (king)

More Details

FAQs

What administrative principle is implied by allowing a partially qualified envoy?

Task-fit staffing: for low-discretion duties (message delivery), the state can use a less-than-ideal agent, conserving higher talent for higher-discretion missions.

What is the risk-control logic here?

Limit discretion: a mere message-bearer executes a bounded function, so competence requirements can be lower than for negotiating envoys.