Arthashastra 3.9.19: Dharmasthiya, Adhyaya 9, Sutra 19

Devanagari script

प्रसह्यादाने वास्तुनि स्तेयदण्डः ॥

Recitation with translationArthashastra 3.9.19

Transliteration

prasahyādāne vāstuni steyadaṇḍaḥ

Translation

अगर कोई ज़बरदस्ती किसी की ज़मीन ले ले, तो उसको चोरी करने वाले की तरह सज़ा दो। वही फाइन या जेल लगेगी जो चोर को मिलती है।

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Word by Word

• प्रसह्य-आदाने: in the case of forcible taking
• Type: Noun (gerundive/kr̥danta used as locative)
• Root: सह् (प्र +) / दा (आ +)
• Form: सप्तमी एकवचनम् (प्रसह्यादान-शब्दे); ‘प्रसह्य’ = ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययीभाव-भाव (gerund ‘having used force’), ‘आदान’ = घञ्-प्रत्ययान्त भाव/क्रिया-नाम (taking)
• Compound: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी/सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष; conventional: प्रसह्यादान- ‘forcible taking’)
• In statecraft: प्रसह्यादानम् = बलात् ग्रहणम् (forcible taking; a form of theft/robbery)

• वास्तुनि: in/with respect to property (an article/thing)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वस्तु
• Form: सप्तमी एकवचनम्, नपुंसकलिङ्गम्
• In statecraft: वस्तु/वास्तु = द्रव्य/सम्पत्ति (property, article/thing)

• स्तेय-दण्डः: the theft-penalty (punishment for theft)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्तेय / दण्ड
• Form: प्रथमा एकवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गम्; ‘स्तेयस्य दण्डः’
• Compound: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)
• In statecraft: स्तेयदण्डः = चोरी-विषयकः दण्डः (penalty prescribed for theft)

Sandhi Notes

• प्रसह्यादाने = प्रसह्य + आदाने (अ + आ → आ; sandhi by vowel coalescence)
• स्तेयदण्डः = स्तेय + दण्डः (समास; no external sandhi beyond compound formation)
• Overall construction: सप्तमी-स्थाने (प्रसह्यादाने, वास्तुनि) + प्रथमा (स्तेयदण्डः) implying ‘(there is) theft-penalty’

Topic and Governance

Prakarana (topic)

Penalties for forcible taking of land/property

Governance domain

Criminal law; property protection; coercion control

Vocabulary Breakdown

Technical Terms

FAQs

Why equate forcible land seizure with theft?

It treats unlawful dispossession as a property crime, discouraging private violence and shifting disputes back into legal adjudication.