Sutra 3

Devanagari script

फल्गुद्रव्यकर्मान्तेभ्यः फल्गु द्रव्यमुपस्करं वा पूर्वः साहसदण्डः ॥ कZ_०४.९.०३ ॥

Transliteration

phalgudravyakarmāntebhyaḥ phalgu dravyam upaskaraṃ vā pūrvaḥ sāhasadaṇḍaḥ

Translation

凡从经营低值货物的作坊盗取低值材料或器具者，处以第一等（最低）sāhasa 罚金。

Word by Word

• फल्गु-द्रव्य-कर्मान्तेभ्यः: from (cases involving) trifling property and workshops/industrial establishments (i.e., trifling matters connected with goods or workshops)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल्गु/द्रव्य/कर्मान्त
• Form: बहुवचनम्, पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः (ablative plural); compound in ablative plural: फल्गु (adj. ‘trifling’) qualifying each member; द्रव्य (n. ‘property/thing’), कर्मान्त (m. ‘workshop/industrial establishment; place of manufacture’)

• फल्गु: trifling; of small value
• Type: Adjective
• Root: फल्गु
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्; used predicatively with द्रव्यम्/उपस्करम्

• द्रव्यम्: property; goods; substance
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रव्य
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्

• उपस्करम्: equipment; implements; tools
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपस्कर
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्; coordinated with द्रव्यम् by वा

• वा: or
• Type: Particle
• Root: वा
• Form: अव्ययम्; disjunctive ‘or’

• पूर्वः: the first; the lowest (grade)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्व
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा एकवचनम्; qualifies साहसदण्डः (‘the first/lowest grade’)

• साहस-दण्डः: the sāhasa-penalty (fine for forcible/violent offence)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साहस/दण्ड
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा एकवचनम्; साहसस्य दण्डः = penalty for ‘sāhasa’ (violent/forcible offence)

Entities Mentioned

• karmānta
• upaskara
• sāhasa-daṇḍa

More Details

FAQs

What principle of punishment is reflected here?

Proportionality: lower-value theft attracts a lower graded penalty rather than automatic capital punishment.

Why mention tools (upaskara) explicitly?

Because tools are critical to continuous production; protecting them is an administrative priority even when individually low-value.