Vyasanadhikarana Adhyaya 4 Sutra 49 - Arthashastra | English | Vedapath

Kautilya

Sutra 49

Devanagari script

ताभ्यां पीडनैर्यथोक्तैश्च पीडितः सक्तो मुख्येषु परिहारोपहतः प्रकीर्णो मिथ्यासंहृतः सामन्ताटवीहृत इति कोशसङ्गवर्गः ॥ कZ_०८.४.४९ ॥

Transliteration

tābhyāṃ pīḍanair yathoktaiś ca pīḍitaḥ sakto mukhyeṣu parihāropahataḥ prakīrṇo mithyāsaṃhṛtaḥ sāmantāṭavīhṛta iti kośasaṅgavargaḥ.

Translation

When afflicted by those two (internal and external) pressures and others described, the treasury becomes ‘entangled/compromised’ in these ways: it gets stuck in key points (bottlenecks), is damaged by exemptions/abatements, becomes scattered (uncollected), is collected falsely (fraudulent accounting), or is carried off by feudatories and forest-raiders. This is the classification of treasury-compromise (kośasaṅga).

Word by Word

ताभ्याम्by those two (means/agents)

पीडनैःby pressures/coercive measures

यथोक्तैःas stated (earlier), prescribed

चand

पीडितःpressed/harassed, coerced

सक्तःattached/entangled, stuck

मुख्येषुamong/in the principal (ones/places)

परिहारोपहतःdamaged by remissions/allowances (revenue impaired)

प्रकीर्णःscattered, dispersed

मिथ्याfalsely, wrongly

संहृतःcollected, gathered, withdrawn

सामन्ताटवीहृतःtaken away by feudatories and/or forest (raiders)

इतिthus

कोशसङ्गवर्गःthe category (varga) of treasury-obstructions/entanglements

Entities Mentioned

kośa (treasury)

mukhya (key nodes)

parihāra (remissions/exemptions)

sāmanta (feudatories)

āṭavī (forest raiders)

FAQs

What are the main modes of treasury failure listed?

Bottlenecks at key points, losses from remissions/exemptions, dispersed non-collection, fraudulent collection/accounting, and outright seizure by feudatories/forest raiders.

How does this relate to state capacity?

It links security and administration directly to fiscal performance: disorder and weak controls translate into predictable revenue pathologies.