Arthashastra — Yogavritta, Sutra 17

Devanagari script

चतुष्पदद्विपदपरिचारकपारिकर्मिकाउपस्थायिकपालकविष्टिबन्धकाः षष्टिवेतनाः आर्ययुक्तारोहकमाणवकशैलखनकाः सर्वोपस्थायिनश्च ॥ कZ_०५.३.१७ ॥

Transliteration

catuṣpadadvipadaparicārakapārikarmikāupasthāyikapālakaviṣṭibandhakāḥ ṣaṣṭivetanāḥ āryayuktārohakamāṇavakaśailakhanakāḥ sarvopasthāyinaś ca

Translation

Penjaga haiwan berkaki empat dan berkaki dua, pekerja khidmat (pārikarmika), pelayan/pembantu (upasthāyika), penjaga/pengawal (pālaka), penyelaras kerja kerah (viṣṭibandhaka)—hendaklah menerima gaji enam puluh (paṇa); demikian juga ārya-yukta, penunggang, pelatih/novis, pelombong kuari/batu (śailakhanaka), serta semua pembantu umum.

Word by Word

• चतुष्पद: quadrupeds; livestock (category)
• Type: Noun (collective)
• Root: चतुष्पद
• Form: प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् (विशेषणवत् सूचीपदे)

• द्विपद: bipeds; humans (category)
• Type: Noun (collective)
• Root: द्विपद
• Form: प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् (विशेषणवत् सूचीपदे)

• परिचारक: attendants; servants
• Type: Noun (agent)
• Root: परि-चर्
• Form: प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् पुंलिङ्गः

• पारिकर्मिक: menial workers; service staff
• Type: Noun (agent)
• Root: परि-कृ (कर्मन्)
• Form: प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् पुंलिङ्गः

• उपस्थायिक: personal attendants; those in attendance
• Type: Noun (agent)
• Root: उप-स्था
• Form: प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् पुंलिङ्गः

• पालक: keepers; guards; caretakers
• Type: Noun (agent)
• Root: पाल्
• Form: प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् पुंलिङ्गः

• विष्टिबन्धक: organizers/enforcers of corvée (forced labor)
• Type: Noun (agent)
• Root: विष्टि + बन्धक
• Form: प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् पुंलिङ्गः

• षष्टिवेतन: those drawing a wage of sixty (units)
• Type: Noun/Adjective (salary-class)
• Root: षष्टि + वेतन
• Form: प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् पुंलिङ्गः (वेतन-श्रेणीवाचक)

• आर्ययुक्त: ārya-yuktas; respectable/regular officials (yuktas)
• Type: Noun/Adjective (designation)
• Root: आर्य + युक्त
• Form: प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् पुंलिङ्गः

• आरोहक: riders; mounted men
• Type: Noun (agent)
• Root: आ-रुह्
• Form: प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् पुंलिङ्गः

• माणवक: boys; youths; pages/trainees
• Type: Noun
• Root: माणवक
• Form: प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् पुंलिङ्गः

• शैलखनक: stone-cutters; quarrymen; miners
• Type: Noun (agent)
• Root: शैल + खनक
• Form: प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् पुंलिङ्गः

• सर्वोपस्थायिन्: general attendants; those attending on all (tasks/persons)
• Type: Noun/Adjective (agent)
• Root: सर्व + उप-स्था (उपस्थायिन्)
• Form: प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् पुंलिङ्गः

• च: and
• Type: Particle
• Root: च
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्ययम्

Entities Mentioned

• paricāraka
• pārikarmika
• upasthāyika
• pālaka
• viṣṭibandhaka
• ārya-yukta
• ārohaka
• māṇavaka
• śailakhanaka

More Details

FAQs

What does a uniform ‘sixty’ wage for many service roles indicate?

A standardized base wage for operational staff simplifies payroll, reduces bargaining friction, and clarifies hierarchy across diverse but comparable support functions.

Why explicitly include corvée-labour organizers (viṣṭibandhakas)?

Because labor mobilization is a governance instrument; paying overseers formalizes accountability and reduces arbitrary extraction by intermediaries.