Sutra 69

Devanagari script

कालेयकः स्वर्णभूमिजः स्निग्धपीतकः ॥ कZ_०२.११.६९ ॥

Transliteration

kāleyakaḥ svarṇabhūmijaḥ snigdhapītakaḥ

Translation

‘ਕਾਲੇਯਕ’ ਸਵਰਣਭੂਮੀ/ਸਵਰਣਭੂਮੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਪੈਦਾ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ; ਇਹ ਚਿਕਣਾ ਅਤੇ ਪੀਤਾਭ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• कालेयकः: kāleyaka (a fragrant substance/wood used in perfumery)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालेयक
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गः

• स्वर्णभूमिजः: originating from Suvarṇabhūmi (the ‘golden land’ region)
• Type: Noun (adjectival)
• Root: स्वर्णभूमिज
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गः; विग्रहः: स्वर्णभूमेः जातः / स्वर्णभूमौ जातः (भूमिज = भूमौ जातः)

• स्निग्धपीतकः: glossy/smooth and yellowish (describing the substance’s quality/color)
• Type: Noun (adjectival)
• Root: स्निग्धपीतक
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गः; विग्रहः: स्निग्धः पीतकः (स्निग्ध- = चिक्कण/तेजस्वी; पीतक = पीतवर्णः)

Entities Mentioned

• Kāleyaka (commodity variety)
• Svarṇabhūmi (place of origin)

More Details

FAQs

Why does Arthashastra tie commodity quality to place of origin?

Provenance functions as a predictable quality proxy for taxation, procurement, and fraud control (mislabeling origin would distort state revenue and pricing).