Sutra 28
Devanagari script
यं तु मन्येत कृतार्थो मे दण्डं गृह्णीयादमित्राटव्यभूम्यनृतुषु वा वासयेदफलं वा कुर्यादिति दण्डव्यासङ्गापदेशेन नैनमनुगृह्णीयात् ॥ कZ_०७.८.२८ ॥
Transliteration
yaṃ tu manyeta kṛtārtho me daṇḍaṃ gṛhṇīyād amitrāṭavībhūmyanṛtuṣu vā vāsayed aphalaṃ vā kuryād iti daṇḍavyāsaṅgāpadeśena nainam anugṛhṇīyāt.
Translation
यं तु राजा कृतार्थं मन्येत—मे दण्डं गृह्णीयात्, अमित्राटव्यभूम्यनृतुषु वा वासयेत्, अफलं वा कुर्यादिति—दण्डव्यासङ्गापदेशेन तं नैनमनुगृह्णीयात्।
Word by Word
यम्whom
यम्:
TypePronoun
Rootयद्
Formsarvanāma; accusative singular masculine; object of अनुगृह्णीयात्
तुbut/indeed
तु:
TypeParticle
Rootतु
Formnipāta; contrast/emphasis
मन्येतshould think
मन्येत:
TypeVerb
Rootमन् (मन्यते)
Formoptative (vidhi-liṅ); 3rd person singular; parasmaipada in sense; present stem; ‘should think/consider’
कृतार्थःsuccessful; having achieved one’s purpose
कृतार्थः:
TypeAdjective (used substantively)
Rootकृ + अर्थ (कृतार्थ)
Formnominative singular masculine; predicate to implied ‘I’ in direct thought
मेmy/of me
मे:
TypePronoun
Rootअस्मद्
Formgenitive singular; ‘of me/my’
दण्डम्punishment; penalty
दण्डम्:
TypeNoun
Rootदण्ड
Formaccusative singular masculine; object of गृह्णीयात्
गृह्णीयात्should take/seize
गृह्णीयात्:
TypeVerb
Rootग्रह् (गृह्णाति)
Formoptative; 3rd person singular; parasmaipada; ‘should take/seize’
अमित्राटवीभूम्यनृतुषुin enemy territory, in forests, in (difficult) terrain/land, or in unseasonable times
अमित्राटवीभूम्यनृतुषु:
TypeNoun (compound)
Rootअमित्र + अटवी + भूमि + अनृतु
Formlocative plural (ending -षु); denotes places/conditions: ‘in enemy(-territory), forest, land, and in unseasonable times’
वाor
वा:
TypeParticle
Rootवा
Formnipāta; disjunction ‘or’
वासयेत्should keep/quarter (someone)
वासयेत्:
TypeVerb
Rootवस् (वासयति)
Formoptative; 3rd person singular; causative (ṇic) of √वस्; parasmaipada; ‘should cause to dwell/keep (stationed)’
अफलम्fruitless; without result
अफलम्:
TypeAdjective
Rootअफल
Formaccusative singular neuter; predicate/object-complement with कुर्यात् (‘make [it] fruitless’)
वाor
वा:
TypeParticle
Rootवा
Formnipāta; disjunction ‘or’
कुर्यात्should do/make
कुर्यात्:
TypeVerb
Rootकृ
Formoptative; 3rd person singular; parasmaipada; ‘should do/make’
इतिthus (thinking)
इति:
TypeQuotative particle
Rootइति
Formend of reported thought/speech
दण्डव्यासङ्गापदेशेनby the pretext of (undue) attachment to punishment
दण्डव्यासङ्गापदेशेन:
TypeNoun (compound)
Rootदण्ड + व्यासङ्ग + अपदेश
Forminstrumental singular masculine/neuter (ending -ेन); ‘by the pretext/excuse of attachment to punishment’
नnot
न:
TypeNegation
Rootन
Formprohibitive negation with optative
एनम्him
एनम्:
TypePronoun
Rootएतद् (enad)
Formaccusative singular masculine; object of अनुगृह्णीयात्; refers to the person mentioned (यम्)
अनुगृह्णीयात्should show favor/indulge (him)
अनुगृह्णीयात्:
TypeVerb
Rootअनु + ग्रह् (गृह्णाति)
Formoptative; 3rd person singular; parasmaipada; ‘should favor/show indulgence’
Entities Mentioned
K
king (implicit)F
favored subordinate/agentE
enemy (amitra)F
forest/frontier zone (āṭavī)FAQs
To limit a potentially dangerous subordinate’s access to coercive resources while keeping the decision politically defensible (a neutral bureaucratic reason rather than open suspicion).
(1) appropriation of coercive power, (2) harmful/inefficient deployments (enemy/forest/untimely season), and (3) strategic unproductiveness.