Yogavritta Adhyaya 3 Sutra 17 - Arthashastra | Hindi | Vedapath

Kautilya

Sutra 17

Devanagari script

चतुष्पदद्विपदपरिचारकपारिकर्मिकाउपस्थायिकपालकविष्टिबन्धकाः षष्टिवेतनाः आर्ययुक्तारोहकमाणवकशैलखनकाः सर्वोपस्थायिनश्च ॥ कZ_०५.३.१७ ॥

Transliteration

catuṣpadadvipadaparicārakapārikarmikāupasthāyikapālakaviṣṭibandhakāḥ ṣaṣṭivetanāḥ āryayuktārohakamāṇavakaśailakhanakāḥ sarvopasthāyinaś ca

Translation

चतुष्पद और द्विपद के परिचारक, पारिकर्मिक (सेवा-कर्मी), उपस्थायिक (सहायक/वेटर), पालक (रक्षक/पालक), विष्टिबन्धक (बेगार-श्रम के प्रबंधक)—इनका वेतन साठ (पण) हो; इसी प्रकार आर्ययुक्त, आरोहक (सवार), माणवक (प्रशिक्षु), शैलखनक (खदान/पत्थर-खोदने वाले) तथा सभी सामान्य उपस्थायी भी।

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.