Sutra 2

Devanagari script

गोपालकपिण्डारकदोहकमन्थकलुब्धकाः शतं शतं धेनूनां हिरण्यभृताः पालयेयुः ॥ कZ_०२.२९.०२ ॥

Transliteration

gopālakapiṇḍārakadohakamanthakalubdhakāḥ śataṃ śataṃ dhenūnāṃ hiraṇyabhṛtāḥ pālayeyuḥ

Translation

Les gardiens de vaches—à savoir le gopālaka, le piṇḍāraka, le dohaka, le manthaka et le lubdhaka—rémunérés en numéraire (or), devront chacun entretenir des troupeaux de cent vaches laitières (par unités de cent).

Word by Word

• गोपालक: cowherds / cattle-keepers
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोपालक (गोप + पालक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन (समाहार/जातिवाचक-बहुवचन)

• पिण्डारक: makers/handlers of dairy lumps/curd-products (pinda-makers)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्डारक
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन (जातिवाचक)

• दोहक: milkers
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुह् (दोहक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन; कर्तृवाचक-प्रत्यय (ण्वुल्/अक)

• मन्थक: churners
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्थ् (मन्थक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन; कर्तृवाचक

• लुब्धकाः: hunters
• Type: Noun
• Root: लुब्धक
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन

• शतम्: a hundred
• Type: Numeral
• Root: शत
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन; परिमाणवाचक (अव्ययीभाव-प्राय प्रयोग)

• शतम्: a hundred (each)
• Type: Numeral
• Root: शत
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति द्वारा वितरण/समूह (100 each / by hundreds)

• धेनूनाम्: of cows (milch-cows)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धेनु
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी बहुवचन

• हिरण्यभृताः: paid in gold / receiving monetary wages
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हिरण्य-भृत्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन; ‘भृत्’ (धृ-धातु) कर्तरि; विशेषणं (गोपालकादीनां)

• पालयेयुः: should tend/guard (should look after)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पाल्
• Form: लिङ् (विधिलिङ्), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष बहुवचन; धातु: पाल्; अर्थ: ‘पालनं कुर्युः’

Entities Mentioned

• gopālaka
• piṇḍāraka
• dohaka
• manthaka
• lubdhaka

More Details

FAQs

What is the governance logic behind “by hundreds”?

It standardizes herd units for budgeting, supervision, and performance comparison—an early administrative ‘unit-cost’ approach.

Why specify multiple roles (milker, churner, guard) rather than one generic herdsman?

It institutionalizes division of labor to reduce spoilage/theft, improve output control, and clarify responsibility for each production stage.