Sutra 42

Devanagari script

बहुपुत्रः प्रत्यन्तमन्यविषयं वा प्रेषयेद् यत्र गर्भः पण्यं डिम्बो वा न भवेत् ॥ कZ_०१.१७.४२ ॥

Transliteration

bahuputraḥ pratyantamanyaviṣayaṃ vā preṣayed yatra garbhaḥ paṇyaṃ ḍimbo vā na bhavet

Translation

If he has many sons, he should send them to frontier regions or to another territory—where there will be no pregnancy, no trade/commodities, and no “ḍimba” (no local base/seedbed for faction).

Word by Word

• बहु-पुत्रः: one having many sons
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गम्; विशेषणपूर्वपद ‘बहु’

• प्रत्यन्तम्: to the frontier (region)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रत्यन्त
• Form: द्वितीया-एकवचनम्, नपुंसकलिङ्गम्; गत्यर्थकर्म (to a frontier region)

• अन्य-विषयम्: to another territory/district
• Type: Noun
• Root: विषय
• Form: द्वितीया-एकवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गम्; ‘अन्य’ विशेषणम्

• वा: or
• Type: Particle
• Root: वा
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्ययम्

• प्रेषयेत्: should send/dispatch
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-इष् (प्रेषयति)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; causative sense ‘to cause to be sent/dispatch’

• यत्र: where
• Type: Relative adverb
• Root: यत्र
• Form: देशवाचक-सम्बन्ध-अव्ययम्

• गर्भः: a mineral deposit/ore (lit. ‘womb’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गम्

• पण्यम्: merchandise/marketable goods
• Type: Noun
• Root: पण्य
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचनम्, नपुंसकलिङ्गम्

• डिम्बः: a valuable natural product (lit. ‘egg’); a precious item
• Type: Noun
• Root: डिम्ब
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गम्

• वा: or
• Type: Particle
• Root: वा
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्ययम्

• न: not
• Type: Negation
• Root: न
• Form: निषेध-अव्ययम्

• भवेत्: should be / would exist
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

Entities Mentioned

• princes
• frontier regions (pratyanta)
• other territory

More Details

FAQs

What is the political purpose of sending princes to the frontier?

To disperse potential rivals and prevent them from building an urban patronage network capable of challenging the center.

How should we understand 'garbha, paṇya, ḍimba' in administrative terms?

As conditions for durable local entrenchment: family/alliances (garbha), money/commerce (paṇya), and a loyal nucleus or ‘seed’ of followers (ḍimba).