Arthashastra 3.13.23: Dharmasthiya, Adhyaya 13, Sutra 23

Devanagari script

स्वामिनः स्वस्यां दास्यां जातं समातृकमदासं विद्यात् ॥

Recitation with translationArthashastra 3.13.23

Transliteration

svāminaḥ svasyāṃ dāsyāṃ jātaṃ samātṛkam adāsaṃ vidyāt

Translation

Anak yang lahir bagi tuan dari dāsī miliknya sendiri, beserta ibunya, harus diakui sebagai bukan dāsa (bebas).

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Word by Word

• स्वामिनः: of the master/owner
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वामिन्
• Form: षष्ठी-एकवचन (Gen. sg.), पुंलिङ्ग
• In statecraft: स्वामी = स्वत्वाधिकारयुक्तः (owner/master, legal proprietor)

• स्वस्याम्: in/with his own (female)
• Type: Pronoun (reflexive)
• Root: स्व
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचन (Loc. sg.), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (स्व + स्याम्; refers to a feminine noun understood)

• दास्याम्: in a female slave (woman)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दासी
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचन (Loc. sg.), स्त्रीलिङ्ग
• In statecraft: दासी = दासत्वस्थित स्त्री (female slave/servant under bondage)

• जातम्: born
• Type: Participle (verbal adjective)
• Root: √जन् (जायते)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन; agrees with implied ‘शिशु/अपत्य’

• समातृकम्: together with (its) mother / having the mother
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समातृक
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन; ‘स-’ उपसर्गार्थे = ‘मातृकासहितम्’
• Compound: Karmadharaya (descriptive)
• In statecraft: समातृक = मातृसहितम् (with the mother living/available; not motherless)

• अदासम्: not a slave / free
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अदास
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुष (अ + दास) = ‘दासः न’
• In statecraft: अदास = दासत्वाभावः (not a slave; free status)

• विद्यात्: should know/should recognize (as)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √विद् (वेद/विद्यात्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, 3rd person singular; injunction ‘should know/should deem’
• In statecraft: विधिवाक्ये ‘विद्यात्’ = विध्यर्थनिर्णयः (legal determination/recognition)

Sandhi Notes

• स्वामिनः स्वस्यां दास्यां जातं समातृकमदासं विद्यात् → समातृकम् + अदासम् = समातृकमदासम् (म् + अ → म + अ, no change in writing beyond juncture)
• Other words are in straightforward external sandhi with no phonetic fusion requiring reversal

Entities Mentioned

• svāmin
• dāsī
• child

Topic and Governance

Prakarana (topic)

Status of children born to a master and his dāsī

Governance domain

Status law; household regulation; emancipation norms

Vocabulary Breakdown

Technical Terms

FAQs

What administrative outcome is mandated here?

Automatic recognition of freedom for both the child and the mother when the master fathers the child with his own dāsī.

What might be the policy rationale?

To prevent hereditary servility in the master’s direct line and reduce intra-household conflict over status.