Yogavritta Adhyaya 3 Sutra 17 - Arthashastra | French | Vedapath

Kautilya

Sutra 17

Devanagari script

चतुष्पदद्विपदपरिचारकपारिकर्मिकाउपस्थायिकपालकविष्टिबन्धकाः षष्टिवेतनाः आर्ययुक्तारोहकमाणवकशैलखनकाः सर्वोपस्थायिनश्च ॥ कZ_०५.३.१७ ॥

Transliteration

catuṣpadadvipadaparicārakapārikarmikāupasthāyikapālakaviṣṭibandhakāḥ ṣaṣṭivetanāḥ āryayuktārohakamāṇavakaśailakhanakāḥ sarvopasthāyinaś ca

Translation

Les préposés aux quadrupèdes et aux bipèdes, les travailleurs de service (pārikarmika), les serviteurs/assistants (upasthāyika), les gardiens (pālaka) et les organisateurs de corvée (viṣṭibandhaka) doivent recevoir un salaire de soixante (paṇa) ; de même les ārya-yukta, les cavaliers, les novices/apprentis, les carriers/mineurs (śailakhanaka) et tous les assistants généraux.

Word by Word

चतुष्पदquadrupeds; livestock (category)

द्विपदbipeds; humans (category)

परिचारकattendants; servants

पारिकर्मिकmenial workers; service staff

उपस्थायिकpersonal attendants; those in attendance

पालकkeepers; guards; caretakers

विष्टिबन्धकorganizers/enforcers of corvée (forced labor)

षष्टिवेतनthose drawing a wage of sixty (units)

आर्ययुक्तārya-yuktas; respectable/regular officials (yuktas)

आरोहकriders; mounted men

माणवकboys; youths; pages/trainees

शैलखनकstone-cutters; quarrymen; miners

सर्वोपस्थायिन्general attendants; those attending on all (tasks/persons)

चand

Entities Mentioned

paricāraka

pārikarmika

upasthāyika

pālaka

viṣṭibandhaka

ārya-yukta

ārohaka

māṇavaka

śailakhanaka

FAQs

What does a uniform ‘sixty’ wage for many service roles indicate?

A standardized base wage for operational staff simplifies payroll, reduces bargaining friction, and clarifies hierarchy across diverse but comparable support functions.

Why explicitly include corvée-labour organizers (viṣṭibandhakas)?

Because labor mobilization is a governance instrument; paying overseers formalizes accountability and reduces arbitrary extraction by intermediaries.