Adhyakshaprachara Adhyaya 23 Sutra 14 - Arthashastra | Malay | Vedapath

Kautilya

Sutra 14

Devanagari script

स्त्रिया मुखसंदर्शनेऽन्यकार्यसम्भाषायां वा पूर्वः साहसदण्डः वेतनकालातिपातने मध्यमः अकृतकर्मवेतनप्रदाने च ॥ कZ_०२.२३.१४ ॥

Transliteration

striyā mukhasaṃdarśane'nyakāryasambhāṣāyāṃ vā pūrvaḥ sāhasadaṇḍaḥ vetanakālātipātane madhyamaḥ akṛtakarmavetanapradāne ca

Translation

Jika seorang pekerja wanita dipaksa menampakkan wajahnya (secara tidak wajar) atau diajak berbual tentang hal yang tidak berkaitan dengan kerja yang ditugaskan, pesalah hendaklah membayar denda sāhasa peringkat pertama (terendah). Jika pembayaran upah dilewatkan melebihi tempoh yang ditetapkan, dikenakan denda pertengahan; demikian juga jika upah dibayar bagi kerja yang tidak dilakukan.

Word by Word

स्त्रियाby/with a woman; in relation to a woman

मुखface; mouth

संदर्शनेin (the act of) seeing; in showing/meeting (face-to-face)

अन्यother; different

कार्यbusiness; task; affair

सम्भाषायाम्in conversation; in speaking with

वाor

पूर्वःthe first/lowest (grade)

साहसviolence; coercive offence; assault

दण्डःpenalty; fine

वेतनwages; remuneration

कालtime; appointed time

अतिपातनेin overstepping; in exceeding; in delay

मध्यमःthe middle (grade)

अकृतnot done; unperformed

कर्मwork; service; task

वेतनwages

प्रदानेin giving; in payment

चand

Entities Mentioned

female worker (strī)

employer/supervisor (implicit)

state authority imposing sāhasa fines (implicit)

FAQs

What administrative objective is served by linking harassment/misconduct and wage violations to graded sāhasa fines?

It standardizes enforcement: (1) deters coercive or improper treatment of workers (especially women), (2) ensures wage-timeliness as a compliance norm, and (3) penalizes fraudulent wage disbursement—all through predictable, scalable penalties.