Vinayaadhikaarika Adhyaya 20 Sutra 21 - Arthashastra | English | Vedapath

Kautilya

Sutra 21

Devanagari script

अशीतिकाः पुरुषाः पञ्चाशत्काः स्त्रियो वा मातापितृव्यञ्जनाः स्थविरवर्षधराभ्यागारिकाश्चावरोधानां शौचाशौचं विद्युः स्थापयेयुश्च स्वामिहिते ॥ कZ_०१.२०.२१ ॥

Transliteration

aśītikāḥ puruṣāḥ pañcāśatkāḥ striyo vā mātāpitṛvyañjanāḥ sthaviravarṣadharābhyāgārikāś cāvarodhānāṃ śaucāśaucaṃ vidyuḥ sthāpayeyuś ca svāmihite

Translation

Men of eighty years (or) women of fifty years—marked as maternal/paternal-aunt types—elderly, long-serving, and resident household attendants should know (and supervise) the purity/impurity regulations of the inner apartments, and should be appointed in the ruler’s interest.

Word by Word

अशीतिकाःeighty-year-olds / persons of eighty (aged persons)

पुरुषाःmen

पञ्चाशत्काःfifty-year-olds / persons of fifty

स्त्रियःwomen

वाor

मातापितृव्यञ्जनाःthose who serve as identifiers/introducers connected with the mother and father (family-identification persons/signs)

स्थविरवर्षधराभ्यागारिकाःelders, long-serving persons, and household/inner-house attendants

चand

अवरोधानाम्of the inner apartments / harem (women’s quarters)

शौचाशौचम्cleanliness and uncleanliness (purity and impurity)

विद्युःshould know / must understand

स्थापयेयुःshould establish / should arrange / should enforce

चand

स्वामिहितेin the master’s/king’s interest

Entities Mentioned

āvarodha (inner apartments)

abhyāgārika (resident attendant)

FAQs

Why specify advanced ages (80 for men, 50 for women) for supervisors?

It is a risk-control heuristic: older, long-serving attendants are presumed less driven by romantic/ambitious intrigue and more dependable for enforcing sensitive protocols.

What does ‘śaucāśauca’ governance imply here beyond ritual?

It creates an auditable regime of access and contact—who may enter, when, and under what conditions—framed as purity rules but functioning as security compliance.