Chapter 80

Miscellaneous Matters

Miscellaneous matters include what remains after the previous topics, what has fallen outside its proper legal heading, what is introduced from another authority and is inconsistent, what is established as an example at the end of the treatise, or what concerns a repeated action. // K_944 //

Any rule which follows this procedure is considered a miscellaneous matter. // K_945 //

Royal duties and one's own duties, the discussion of doubtful points, and what remains after what has been said before—all this is considered a miscellaneous matter. // K_946 //

Non-payment of the proper share, tax, and duty, and what is due to the treasury; causing dissension in the army or among thieves; and the violation of another's wife; // K_947 //

the desire to kill cows and Brahmins, and one who destroys crops—these ten offenses the king must investigate himself. // K_948 //

Non-performance of prescribed penances, transgression of a royal command or prohibition, the destruction of the rules of caste and life-stages, and the disruption of the purity of mixed castes; // K_949 //

treasure troves, fruitless wealth, and the sudden acquisition of wealth by a poor person—the king, having been well-informed of these by his spies, should suppress them himself. // K_950 //

Those acts done anonymously, the legal arguments of litigants, the agitation of the subjects, and conspiracy among them; // K_951 //

and whatever is practiced among the people that is not prescribed by the scriptures—the king should pacify these matters by means of conciliation, dissension, and other stratagems. // K_952 //

Towards friends and others, he should apply verbal punishment; towards an ascetic, a reprimand. He should do what is prescribed for him; what is not prescribed should be well-devised. // K_953 //

He who accomplishes a task by means of false proof or a counterfeit seal shall be made to pay the highest fine. // K_954 //

Those royal servants who neglect their duties through addiction to pleasures, and he who speaks what is displeasing to the king—he should have them put to death. // K_955 //

The makers of counterfeit objects, their abettors, and those who circulate them, and those who steal the king's wealth, shall receive various kinds of death. // K_956 //

A Shudra who takes up the life of an ascetic and devotes himself to chanting and fire-sacrifices, the king should punish that sinner with death, or he shall be liable for a double fine. // K_957 //

Even in a sin with clear signs, one should inquire into the cause of the sin. Then one should carefully impose the punishment after establishing the fault. // K_958 //

But when an offense is committed by any of those of good conduct, involuntarily and due to fate, one should not impose a punishment there. // K_959 //

Kings who apply punishment correctly are worshipped even by the gods. The first fine should be imposed for an initial offense; the middle fine is remembered for a continuing one. Whatever punishment is prescribed for a person shall apply to one who is capable of paying. // K_960 //

Kings and ministers especially suffer from not punishing sinners and from punishing the submissive. // K_961 //

Those who are dependent on others, and those who are in a state of slavery, are designated as helpless; their punishment is beating. // K_962 //

Beating, binding, and likewise public humiliation—this is the punishment for a slave; a monetary fine is not prescribed. // K_963 //

One deserving death deserves a fine of one hundred gold pieces. For mutilation of a limb, half of that; for banishment, twenty-five. // K_964 //

For the noble, honorable, and distinguished, and for the low-born, accordingly, one should either confiscate all their property or quickly banish them from the city. // K_965 //

The destitute should be placed in confinement; one should not apply the death penalty. For all who have committed sins, there is a special rule in the scriptures. // K_966 //

A Brahmin deserving death or mutilation of a limb should enter solitary confinement. His punishment consists of being deprived of his prescribed duties. // K_967 //

A false witness should also be banished; one who accepts improper gifts should be publicly proclaimed. One deserving mutilation should be separated from his duty by confinement. // K_968 //

For those with similar offenses, one should prescribe the same. For children, the old, the sick, and women, the punishment is not beating or a fine. // K_969 //

A righteous king should make a woman pay a fine from her Woman's Property. A destitute woman who has committed a fault deserves beating as punishment. // K_970 //

He should place unjustly acquired wealth that has been deposited in the treasury. A wise man should not cause the loss of a greater purpose for the sake of a lesser one. // K_971 //

Having given all the wealth collected from fines to Brahmins, and entrusting the kingdom to his son, he should undertake his final journey to the forest. // K_972 //

Thus a king, a lord of the earth, should always act, being devoted to his duties. And he should appoint all his servants to work for the welfare of the world. // K_973 //