Arthashastra 3.1.3: Dharmasthiya, Adhyaya 1, Sutra 3

Devanagari script

कर्तुः कारयितुः पूर्वः साहसदण्डः ॥

Recitation with translationArthashastra 3.1.3

Transliteration

kartuḥ kārayituḥ pūrvaḥ sāhasadaṇḍaḥ

Translation

जिसने काम किया उसपे पहले सज़ा लगती है। उसके बाद उसपे भी सज़ा लगती है जिसने उसे करने को कहा था।

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Word by Word

• कर्तुः: of the doer / of the perpetrator
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृ
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-एकवचन; कर्तृ-शब्द (agent noun from √कृ)

• कारयितुः: of the instigator / of the one who causes (another) to do
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृ (णिच् causative)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-एकवचन; कारयितृ-शब्द (causative agent noun: one who causes to do)

• पूर्वः: prior / earlier (in order)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्व
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with दण्डः)

• साहसदण्डः: the penalty for violence/forcible wrongdoing (sāhasa-penalty)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दण्ड
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन; समास: साहसस्य दण्डः
• Compound: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)
• In statecraft: Penalty prescribed for sāhasa (violent/forcible acts); a specific category of fine/punishment in legal procedure.

Sandhi Notes

• Internal formation: साहसदण्डः is a compound (साहस + दण्डः) with no phonetic change at the junction
• Genitives कर्तुः, कारयितुः depend on दण्डः: ‘the sāhasa-penalty (is) earlier/first for the doer and the instigator’

Entities Mentioned

• perpetrator
• instigator/commanding party

Topic and Governance

Prakarana (topic)

Criminal liability: principal vs instigator

Governance domain

Criminal Justice (attribution of responsibility, deterrence)

Vocabulary Breakdown

Technical Terms

FAQs

What is the policy implication of punishing the perpetrator first?

It prioritizes direct culpability and evidentiary clarity, while still preserving downstream accountability for those who orchestrate crimes through agents.