Sutra 19

Devanagari script

तत्रारण्यो ग्राम्यः पर्वत औदको भौमः समो विषम इति विशेषाः ॥ कZ_०९.१.१९ ॥

Transliteration

tatrāraṇyo grāmyaḥ parvata audako bhaumaḥ samo viṣama iti viśeṣāḥ

Translation

तत्र देशविशेषाः—आरण्यः, ग्राम्यः, पर्वतः; औदकः, भौमः; समः, विषमः—इति।

Word by Word

तत्रthere; in that context (i.e., among these)

आरण्यःforest (type)

ग्राम्यःthe village-type (settlement)

पर्वतःmountain (type)

औदकःwatery; connected with water (type)

भौमःterrestrial; of the land (type)

समःeven; level (type)

विषमःuneven; irregular (type)

इतिthus; ‘as follows’

विशेषाःdistinctions; specific varieties

Entities Mentioned

forest zones

villages/settlements

mountains

water bodies

FAQs

Why does Kautilya classify land types?

Different terrains require different policies for taxation, policing, fortification, transport, settlement, and resource extraction.

Give one governance implication of ‘āraṇya’ vs ‘grāmya’.

Forests tend to need frontier security, controlled extraction, and management of tribes/forest communities; settled zones prioritize revenue assessment, irrigation, and law-and-order in dense populations.