Sutra 11

Devanagari script

नेति पिशुनः ॥ कZ_०१.८.११ ॥

Transliteration

neti piśunaḥ

Translation

Piśuna says: “No.”

Word by Word

• न: not / no
• Type: Particle (Negation)
• Root: न
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (prohibitive/negative particle)

• इति: thus; (so) saying/quoting
• Type: Particle (Quotative)
• Root: इति
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय; वाक्य/उद्धरण-समाप्तिसूचक

• पिशुनः: an informer; tale-bearer; spy
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिशुन
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गम् (agent noun)

Entities Mentioned

• Piśuna (authority/school)

More Details

FAQs

Why does the text preserve a bare 'neti'?

It signals a formal disputation style: authorities are cited and then accepted or rejected, allowing Kautilya to weigh competing administrative rationales.