Arthashastra 3.3.10: Dharmasthiya, Adhyaya 3, Sutra 10

Devanagari script

तदेव स्त्रिया भर्तरि प्रसिद्धदोषायाः ॥

Recitation with translationArthashastra 3.3.10

Transliteration

tadeva striyā bhartari prasiddhadoṣāyāḥ

Translation

यही रूल बीवी के लिए भी लागू होगा। अगर बीवी पति के साथ गलत करे और सबको पता चल जाए, तो वही सज़ा लगेगी।

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Word by Word

• तत्: that (very)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; एकवचन; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (सन्दर्भे ‘तदेव’ = ‘that very (rule/point)’ इति)

• एव: indeed; just; only
• Type: Particle
• Root: एव
• Form: निपात; अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक

• स्त्रिया: by/for a woman
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; एकवचन; तृतीया (करण/सहायार्थे)

• भर्तरि: in/with regard to the husband
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर्तृ
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; एकवचन; सप्तमी (अधिकरणे)

• प्रसिद्ध-दोषायाः: of a woman whose fault is well-known/established
• Type: Adjectival compound (used as noun-qualifier)
• Root: प्रसिद्ध + दोष
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; एकवचन; षष्ठी (सम्बन्धे); ‘स्त्रिया’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्—‘प्रसिद्धदोषा’ = प्रसिद्धः दोषः यस्याः सा

Entities Mentioned

• strī (wife)
• bhartṛ (husband)
• prasiddha-doṣa (proved/known fault)

More Details

FAQs

What administrative principle is implied by ‘tadeva’ here?

Rule-consistency: once a penalty/procedure is fixed, it is applied symmetrically to comparable cases, including when the wife is the proven offender.

Why does Kautilya specify ‘prasiddha-doṣa’?

It signals an evidentiary threshold—action is grounded in an established/known fault, limiting arbitrary or purely accusatory proceedings.