Chapter 8

A thing given with faith, according to the rule of place and time, to a worthy recipient—that is the means of accomplishing Dharma. // Mn_7.87M //

A king, being challenged by one who is his equal, his superior, or his inferior, while protecting his subjects, must not turn back from battle, remembering the Dharma of a Kshatriya. // Mn_7.87[88M] //

Not turning back in battles, the protection of the subjects, and the service of Brahmanas are the highest means of welfare for kings. // Mn_7.88[89M] //

Kings who, seeking to slay one another in battle, fight with their utmost power without turning their backs, go to heaven. // Mn_7.89[90M] //

While fighting in battle, he should not strike his enemies with concealed weapons, nor with barbed or poisoned weapons, nor with those whose points are blazing with fire. // Mn_7.90[91M] //

And he should not strike one who is on the ground, nor a eunuch, nor one with joined hands, nor one with loosened hair, nor one who is seated, nor one who says, "I am yours." // Mn_7.91[92M] //

Nor one who is asleep, nor one without his armor, nor one who is naked, nor one without a weapon, nor one who is not fighting but looking on, nor one who is engaged with another. // Mn_7J.92[93M] //

Nor one who is afflicted by a weapon-related misfortune, nor one who is in distress, nor one who is severely wounded, nor one who is afraid, nor one who has turned back, remembering the Dharma of the good. // Mn_7.93[94M] //

But he who, being afraid, turns back and is slain in battle by his enemies, he takes upon himself whatever sin his master has committed. // Mn_7.94[95M] //

And whatever merit he has acquired for the next world, his master takes all of that from him who is slain while turned back. // Mn_7.95[96M] //

A chariot and horse, an elephant, an umbrella, wealth, grain, cattle, women, all kinds of goods, and base metals—whatever one wins, that is his. // Mn_7.96[97M] //

And they should give a choice portion to the king; this is the Vedic revelation. And the king should give to all the warriors what has been won together. // Mn_7.97[98M] //

This has been declared as the eternal, unblemished Dharma of warriors; a Kshatriya, while slaying his enemies in battle, should not swerve from this Dharma. // Mn_7.98[99M] //

He should strive to obtain what has not been obtained, and what has been obtained, he should protect with effort; what has been protected, he should increase, and what has been increased, he should bestow on worthy recipients. // Mn_7.99[100M] //

This fourfold activity he should know to be the purpose of human endeavor; he should, unwearied, always perform this correctly. // Mn_7.100[101M] //

What is not obtained, he should seek with Daṇḍa; what is obtained, he should protect with vigilance; what is protected, he should increase by augmentation; and what is increased, he should bestow on worthy recipients. // Mn_7.101[102M] //

He should be ever with his rod of punishment upraised, ever with his valor displayed; ever with his secrets concealed, and ever searching for the weaknesses of his enemy. // Mn_7.102[103M] //

The whole world dreads him who is ever with his rod of punishment upraised; therefore, he should bring all beings to order by means of Daṇḍa alone. // Mn_7.103[104M] //

He should act without deceit, and in no way with deceit; but he should be aware of the deceit employed by his enemy, being always well-guarded. // Mn_7.104[105M] //

His enemy should not know his weakness, but he should know the weakness of his enemy; he should hide his limbs like a tortoise and protect his own vulnerability. // Mn_7.105[106M] //

He should contemplate his objectives like a heron, and show his valor like a lion; he should snatch like a wolf, and dart away like a hare. // Mn_7.106[107M] //

Those who may be his opponents while he is thus conquering, he should bring them all under his control by the expedients of conciliation and the others. // Mn_7.107[108M] //

If they should not be controlled by the first three expedients, he should, by force, slowly bring them under his control by means of punishment alone. // Mn_7.108[109M] //

Of the four expedients, conciliation and the others, the wise praise conciliation and punishment for the constant prosperity of the kingdom. // Mn_7.109[110M] //

Just as a weeder pulls up the weeds and protects the grain, so should a king protect his kingdom and slay his opponents. // Mn_7.110[111M] //

That king who, out of delusion and lack of vigilance, oppresses his own kingdom, he is soon deprived of his kingdom and his life, along with his kinsmen. // Mn_7.111[112M] //

Just as the vital breaths of living beings are wasted by the emaciation of the body, so are the vital breaths of kings wasted by the oppression of the kingdom. // Mn_7.112[113M] //

For the administration of the kingdom, he should always follow this rule; for a king whose kingdom is well-administered prospers in happiness. // Mn_7.113[114M] //

In the midst of two, three, or five villages, he should establish a post, and likewise for hundreds of villages, he should organize the administration of the kingdom. // Mn_7.114[115M] //

He should appoint a lord of one village, and likewise a lord of ten villages, a lord of twenty, a lord of a hundred, and also a lord of a thousand. // Mn_7.115[116M] //

The lord of a village should himself slowly report the crimes that have arisen in the village to the lord of ten villages, and the lord of ten to the lord of twenty. // Mn_7.116[117M] //

The lord of twenty should report all that to the lord of a hundred, and the lord of a hundred villages should himself report it to the lord of a thousand. // Mn_7.117[118M] //

Those things which are to be given daily by the villagers to the king—food, drink, fuel, and so on—the lord of the village should obtain. // Mn_7.118[119M] //

The lord of ten villages should enjoy one kula of land; the lord of twenty, five kulas; the head of a hundred villages, a village; and the lord of a thousand, a town. // Mn_7.119[120M] //

Their village affairs, and their separate affairs as well, another minister of the king, who is loyal, should inspect, unwearied. // Mn_7.120[121M] //

And in each city, he should appoint one who thinks of all matters, of high station, of formidable appearance, like a planet among the constellations. // Mn_7.121[122M] //

He should always personally inspect all of them; he should ascertain their conduct in their districts through his spies. // Mn_7.122[123M] //

For the king's officers appointed for protection are for the most part deceitful men who take the property of others; from them he should protect these subjects. // Mn_7.123[124M] //

Those of sinful mind who take money from litigants, the king, having confiscated all their property, should banish. // Mn_7.124[125M] //

For the women employed in his service and for his menials, the king should fix a daily wage, according to their position and work. // Mn_7.125[126M] //

One paṇa should be given as the wage of the lowest, and six for the highest; likewise, clothing every six months, and a droṇa of grain every month. // Mn_7.126[127M] //

Having examined the buying and selling, the journey, the food and its incidental expenses, and the profit and loss, the king should make merchants pay taxes. // Mn_7.127[128M] //

Having considered how the king and the performer of the work may both get their share of the fruit, the king should always fix the taxes in his kingdom. // Mn_7.128[129M] //

Just as the leech, the calf, and the bee eat their food little by little, so should the king take his annual tax from the kingdom little by little. // Mn_7.129[130M] //

A fiftieth part of cattle and gold may be taken by the king; and the eighth, sixth, or twelfth part of the grain. // Mn_7.130[131M] //

He may also take a sixth part of trees, meat, honey, and ghee, of perfumes, herbs, and savory liquids, and of flowers, roots, and fruit. // Mn_7.131[132M] //

And of leaves, vegetables, and grasses, of hides and of things made of split cane, of earthen vessels, and of everything made of stone. // Mn_7.132[133M] //

Even if he is dying, a king must not take a tax from a śrotriya (a Brahmana learned in the Veda); nor should a śrotriya dwelling in his domain ever perish from hunger. // Mn_7.133[134M] //

The kingdom of that king in whose domain a śrotriya perishes from hunger, that kingdom too, through that hunger, will soon perish. // Mn_7.134[135M] //

Having ascertained his learning and conduct, he should arrange a righteous livelihood for him; and he should protect him from all sides, as a father protects his own son. // Mn_7.135[136M] //

The Dharma which he, being protected by the king, performs daily, by that the king's lifespan, wealth, and kingdom increase. // Mn_7.136[137M] //

Whatever the king may make a common person living by trade pay in his kingdom, that is called a tax, for the year. // Mn_7.137[138M] //

The king should make artisans and craftsmen, and Shudras who live by their own labor, perform one day of work each month. // Mn_7.138[139M] //

He should not cut his own root, nor that of others, through excessive greed; for by cutting his own root, he torments himself and them. // Mn_7.139[140M] //

A king should be both sharp and gentle, having regard to the matter at hand; a king who is both sharp and gentle is highly esteemed. // Mn_7.140[141M] //

He should place his chief minister, who knows the Dharma, is wise, self-controlled, and of noble birth, in that seat when he is weary of inspecting the affairs of men. // Mn_7.141[142M] //

Thus having arranged all this, his own duty, he should, being diligent and not careless, protect these subjects. // Mn_7.142[143M] //

That king from whose kingdom subjects are carried off by robbers, crying out, while he and his servants look on—he is dead, not alive. // Mn_7.143[144M] //

The highest Dharma of a Kshatriya is the protection of his subjects; for the king who enjoys the specified fruits is joined with Dharma. // Mn_7.144[145M] //

Having risen in the last watch of the night, having performed his purification and being self-controlled, having offered oblations in the fire and honored the Brahmanas, he should enter his auspicious assembly hall. // Mn_7.145[146M] //

Standing there, having greeted all his subjects, he should dismiss them; and having dismissed all his subjects, he should take counsel with his ministers. // Mn_7.146[147M] //

Having ascended a mountain top, or having gone to a secluded palace, or in a forest devoid of noise, he should deliberate, unobserved. // Mn_7.147[148M] //

That king whose counsel common people, coming together, do not know, he enjoys the whole earth, even if he is without a treasury. // Mn_7.148[149M] //

At the time of counsel, he should remove the idiotic, the mute, the blind, and the deaf, those of animal birth, the very old, women, Mlecchas, the sick, and the maimed. // Mn_7.149[150M] //

Those who are despised reveal counsel, and so do those of animal birth, and especially women; therefore, he should be careful in that matter. // Mn_7.150[151M] //

At midday or at midnight, being rested and free from fatigue, he should deliberate on Dharma, desire, and wealth, with them or alone. // Mn_7.151[152M] //

And the acquisition of those things which are mutually contradictory, and the giving of maidens in marriage, and the protection of princes. // Mn_7.152[153M] //

And the sending of envoys, and the remainder of his business, and the conduct of the inner apartments, and the activities of his spies. // Mn_7.153[154M] //

And the entire eightfold business, and the fivefold group of spies in truth, and the attachment and disaffection of the people, and the conduct of the maṇḍala (the circle of states). // Mn_7.154[155M] //

And the conduct of the middle king, and the actions of the one who seeks to conquer, and the conduct of the neutral king, and that of the enemy, with diligence. // Mn_7.155[156M] //

These constituents are the root of the maṇḍala, in summary; eight others are also declared, and they are remembered as twelve in all. // Mn_7.156[157M] //

The five others, called minister, kingdom, fortress, treasury, and army—each of these is declared, making seventy-two in brief. // Mn_7.157[158M] //

One should know the one immediately next to be an enemy, and also the one who serves the enemy; the one next to the enemy is an ally; and the one beyond both is a neutral king. // Mn_7.158[159M] //

He should bring all of them to terms by the expedients of conciliation and the others, used both separately and together, and by valor and policy. // Mn_7.159[160M] //

He should always reflect on the six political expedients: peace, war, marching, halting, dividing his forces, and seeking refuge. // Mn_7.160[161M] //

He should employ halting and marching, peace and war, dividing his forces, and seeking refuge, having considered the matter at hand. // Mn_7.161[162M] // A king should know that peace is twofold, and war as well; both marching and halting are twofold, and seeking refuge is remembered as twofold. // Mn_7.162[163M] // A peace made for a present common course of action, and one made for the opposite purpose, both with a view to the future—this is to be known as the twofold characteristic of peace. // Mn_7.163[164M] // War undertaken by oneself for a purpose, whether at an improper or proper time, and that undertaken on account of an injury to a friend—war is remembered as twofold. // Mn_7.164[165M] // Marching alone when an urgent matter has arisen by chance, and marching together with a friend—marching is said to be twofold. // Mn_7.165[166M] // Halting when one has been gradually weakened by fate or by a former deed, and halting at the request of a friend—halting is remembered as twofold. // Mn_7.166[167M] // The stationing of the army and of the commander for the accomplishment of a purpose—dividing one's forces is declared to be twofold by those who know the qualities of the six expedients. // Mn_7.167[168M] // Seeking refuge for the purpose of acquiring wealth when being oppressed by enemies, and seeking refuge with the virtuous for a specific purpose—seeking refuge is remembered as twofold. // Mn_7.168[169M] // When he perceives a certain superiority for himself in the future, and a slight affliction in the present, then he should resort to peace. // Mn_7.169[170M] // When he considers all his constituents to be greatly exultant, and himself likewise highly exalted, then he should make war. // Mn_7.170[171M] // When he considers his own army to be spirited, cheerful, and strong, and that of his enemy to be the opposite, then he should march against the foe. // Mn_7.171[172M] // But when he is greatly weakened in his beasts of burden and his army, then he should halt with diligence, slowly conciliating his enemies. // Mn_7.172[173M] // When the king considers his enemy to be in every way stronger, then, having divided his army in two, he should accomplish his purpose. // Mn_7.173[174M] // But when he becomes extremely vulnerable to the armies of his enemies, then he should quickly seek refuge with a righteous and powerful king. // Mn_7.174[175M] // He who can restrain his own constituents and the army of his enemy, him he should serve always with all efforts, like a guru. // Mn_7.175[176M] // If even there he should perceive a fault arising from seeking refuge, then even there he should engage in a good fight without hesitation. // Mn_7.176[177M] // A lord of the earth who knows policy should so act with all expedients that his allies, neutral kings, and enemies do not become superior to him. // Mn_7.177[178M] // He should consider the future and the present of all his undertakings, and the merits and demerits of all his past actions, in their true nature. // Mn_7.178[179M] // He who knows the merits and demerits in the future, who is quick in his decisions in the present, and who knows what remains to be done from the past, is not overcome by his enemies. // Mn_7.179[180M] // He should arrange everything in such a way that his allies, neutral kings, and enemies do not conspire against him; this is the summary of policy. // Mn_7.180[181M] // But when the lord decides to march against the enemy's kingdom, then by this rule he should advance slowly towards the enemy's city. // Mn_7.181[182M] // In the auspicious month of Margashirsha, the king should set out on an expedition; or in the months of Phalguna or Chaitra, according to his strength. // Mn_7.182[183M] // But even at other times, when he sees certain victory, then he should march, having made war, and when a calamity has befallen his enemy. // Mn_7.183[184M] // Having made arrangements for his base and for the expedition according to the rule, and having secured his rear, and having duly appointed spies. // Mn_7.184[185M] // Having cleared the threefold path and his own sixfold army, he should march against the enemy's city with the equipment for a campaign. // Mn_7.185[186M] // He should be most vigilant with a secret friend who serves the enemy, and with one who has gone over and returned; for he is the most troublesome enemy. // Mn_7.186[187M] // He should march on that road in the Daṇḍa array or in the Śakaṭa (cart) array, or in the Varāha (boar) or Makara (sea-monster) arrays, or in the Sūcī (needle) or Garuḍa (eagle) arrays. // Mn_7.187[188M] // And from whichever direction he apprehends danger, in that direction he should extend his army; and he himself should always encamp in the Padma (lotus) array. // Mn_7.188[189M] // He should station his commander-in-chief and the superintendents of the army in all directions; and from whichever direction he apprehends danger, that direction he should consider the east. // Mn_7.189[190M] // And he should station trusted detachments with established signals on all sides, who are skilled in encampment and in battle, fearless and steadfast. // Mn_7.190[191M] // He should make a few men fight in a compact formation, but many he may extend at will; he should make them fight, having drawn them up in the Sūcī (needle) or Vajra (thunderbolt) array. // Mn_7.191[192M] // He should fight with chariots and horses on level ground; in watery regions, with boats and elephants; in a place covered with trees and shrubs, with bows; and on open ground, with swords, shields, and other weapons. // Mn_7.192[193M] // Men from Kurukshetra, Matsya, Panchala, and Shurasena, who are tall and light, he should employ in the vanguard. // Mn_7.193[194M] // Having drawn up his army, he should encourage it, and he should inspect it well; and he should know the movements of his enemies even while they are fighting. // Mn_7.194[195M] // Having besieged his enemy, he should remain encamped and harass his kingdom; and he should constantly contaminate his fodder, food, water, and fuel. // Mn_7.195[196M] // And he should break his reservoirs, and likewise his ramparts and moats; and he should assault him by night and likewise terrorize him. // Mn_7.196[197M] // He should suborn those who are subornable, and he should be aware of what is done by them; and when fate is favorable, he should fight, desiring victory and free from fear. // Mn_7.197[198M] // He should strive to conquer his enemies by conciliation, by gifts, and by division, either all together or separately, but never by battle. // Mn_7.198[199M] // Because victory is seen to be uncertain for those who are fighting, and defeat also in battle, therefore he should avoid war. // Mn_7.199[200M] // But when the three aforementioned expedients are impossible, then he should fight, being well-prepared, in such a way that he may conquer his enemies. // Mn_7.200[201M] // Having conquered, he should worship the gods and also righteous Brahmanas; he should grant exemptions and proclaim promises of safety. // Mn_7.201[202M] // But having ascertained in summary what all of them desire, he should establish a member of that same dynasty there and make a treaty. // Mn_7.202[203M] // And he should make their Dharmas, as they have been declared, the standard; and he should honor him with jewels, together with his chief men. // Mn_7.203[204M] // Taking is an unpleasant act, and giving is a pleasant one; but a timely taking of desired things is praised. // Mn_7.204[205M] // All this action is dependent on the ordinance of fate and human effort. Of these two, fate is unknowable, but in human effort, action is found. // Mn_7.205[206M] // That human effort which proceeds, being joined with the ordinance of fate, that is the accomplisher of its purpose, though with great exertion. // Mn_7.207M // Even when joined with fate, a thing devoid of human effort is fruitless. Without human effort, a field does not yield its fruit. // Mn_7.208M // The moon, sun, and other planets, the wind, fire, and the waters as well—here they are controlled by fate and are mastered through diligent human effort. // Mn_7.209M // Or, being prepared, he may march together with an ally, having diligently made a peace, seeing the threefold fruit of an ally, gold, or land. // Mn_7.206[210M] // And having considered the enemy in the rear, and likewise the ally of the enemy in the rear, in his maṇḍala, he may obtain the fruit of his expedition from an ally or even from an enemy. // Mn_7.207[211M] // A king does not prosper so much by the acquisition of gold and land as by obtaining a firm friend, even if he is weak but capable of future service. // Mn_7.208[212M] // A friend who knows Dharma, who is grateful, whose subjects are contented, who is loyal, and who is steadfast in his undertakings, even if he is small, is praised. // Mn_7.209[213M] // The wise declare that an enemy who is intelligent, of noble birth, brave, skillful, generous, grateful, and resolute is a difficult one. // Mn_7.210[214M] // Nobility, knowledge of men, valor, compassion, and constant generosity are the rising qualities of a neutral king. // Mn_7.211[215M] // A king should abandon, without hesitation, for his own sake, even land that is secure, constantly yielding crops, and also conducive to the increase of cattle. // Mn_7.212[216M] // One should protect one's wealth for a time of distress; one should protect one's wives even with one's wealth; but one should always protect oneself, even with one's wives and with one's wealth. // Mn_7.213[217M] // A wise man, having carefully considered all the calamities that have arisen together, should employ all the expedients, both combined and separately. // Mn_7.214[218M] // Having taken refuge in this triad—the one who approaches, the object to be approached, and all the expedients in their entirety—he should strive for the accomplishment of his purpose. // Mn_7.215[219M] // Thus having deliberated on all this with his ministers, the king, having exercised and bathed at midday, should enter the inner apartments to eat. // Mn_7.216[220M] // There he should eat food that has been well-tested by servants who are like his own self, who know the proper time, and who are incorruptible, with mantras that counteract poison. // Mn_7.217[221M] // He should have all his substances treated with poison-destroying antidotes; and being self-controlled, he should always wear poison-destroying gems. // Mn_7.218[222M] // And well-tested women, pure in their dress and ornaments, should touch him with fans, water, and incense, being very attentive. // Mn_7.219[223M] // Thus he should take precautions in his vehicle, bed, seat, and food; in his bathing and personal adornment, and in all his ornaments. // Mn_7.220[224M] // Having eaten, he should amuse himself with the women in the inner apartments; and having amused himself for the proper time, he should again think of his affairs. // Mn_7.221[225M] // And being adorned, he should again inspect his armed men, and all his vehicles, weapons, and ornaments. // Mn_7.222[226M] // And having performed his twilight devotions, he should, bearing a weapon in his inner chamber, hear the reports of his secret informers and the activities of his spies. // Mn_7.223[227M] // Having gone to another inner apartment and having dismissed those people, he should again enter the inner apartments, surrounded by women, for the purpose of eating. // Mn_7.224[228M] // There, having eaten again a little, and being gladdened by the sounds of musical instruments, he should go to bed at the proper time and rise free from fatigue. // Mn_7.255[229M] // A lord of the earth who is healthy should follow this rule; but if he is unwell, he should entrust all this to his servants. // Mn_7.226[230M] // But a king, desiring to adjudicate lawsuits, should enter the court of justice, being humble, together with Brahmanas and with ministers skilled in counsel. // Mn_8.1 // There, seated or standing, having raised his right hand, modest in his dress and ornaments, he should look into the affairs of the litigants. // Mn_8.2 // Daily, he should examine the cases, which are bound to the eighteen titles of law, separately, according to reasons based on local custom and on the sacred treatises. // Mn_8.3 // Of these, the first is non-payment of debt; deposit; sale without ownership; partnership; and the non-delivery of what has been given. // Mn_8.4 // And also the non-payment of wages; breach of contract; rescission of sale and purchase; and disputes between an owner and his herdsman. // Mn_8.5 // And the law concerning boundary disputes; assault and defamation; theft and violence; and also adultery. // Mn_8.6 // The law concerning husband and wife; inheritance; and gambling and betting—these are the eighteen titles of law in the administration of justice here. // Mn_8.7 // In these matters, where disputes most frequently arise among men, he should make a decision on the case, taking refuge in the eternal Dharma. // Mn_8.8 // But when the king cannot personally conduct the examination of cases, then he should appoint a learned Brahmana for the examination of cases. // Mn_8.9 // He should examine his cases, surrounded by three assessors; having entered the excellent court of justice, seated or standing. // Mn_8.10 // That place where three Brahmanas learned in the Veda sit, and the learned man appointed by the king—that they know to be the court of Brahma. // Mn_8.11 // Where Dharma, pierced by non-Dharma, approaches the court, and they do not cut out its dart—there the members of the court are pierced. // Mn_8.12 // One should either not enter the court, or one should speak justly; for a man who says nothing or who speaks falsely becomes a sinner. // Mn_8.13 // Where Dharma is slain by non-Dharma, and truth by falsehood, while the members of the court look on—there the members of the court are slain. // Mn_8.14 // Dharma, being destroyed, destroys; Dharma, being protected, protects. Therefore, Dharma must not be destroyed, lest destroyed Dharma destroy us. // Mn_8.15 // For the divine Dharma is a bull; he who violates it, him the gods know as a vṛṣala (one who harms Dharma); therefore, one must not violate Dharma. // Mn_8.16 // Dharma is the one friend who follows even in death; for everything else goes to destruction along with the body. // Mn_8.17 // A quarter of the non-Dharma goes to the doer, a quarter goes to the witness, a quarter to all the members of the court, and a quarter goes to the king. // Mn_8.18 // But the king becomes free from guilt, and the members of the court are released, and the sin goes to the doer, where the one deserving of censure is censured. // Mn_8.19 // Let a mere Brahmana by birth, or one who calls himself a Brahmana, be the expounder of Dharma for the king, but never a Shudra. // Mn_8.20 // The kingdom of that king for whom a Shudra performs the investigation of Dharma sinks, like a cow in the mud, as he looks on. // Mn_8.21 // That kingdom which is full of Shudras, overrun by atheists, and devoid of the twice-born, that whole kingdom quickly perishes, afflicted by famine and disease. // Mn_8.22 // Having ascended the seat of justice, with his limbs covered and his mind concentrated, having bowed to the world-protectors, he should begin the examination of cases. // Mn_8.23 // Having understood both advantage and disadvantage, and Dharma and non-Dharma alone, he should examine all the cases of the litigants in the order of the varnas. // Mn_8.24 // He should discern the inner disposition of men by external signs: by their voice, color, gestures, and appearance, by their eyes, and by their movements. // Mn_8.25 // By appearance, by gestures, by gait, by movement, by speech, and by changes in the eyes and face, the inner mind is grasped. // Mn_8.26 // The king should protect the inheritance of a minor until he has returned from his studies, or until he has passed his childhood. // Mn_8.27 // Likewise, there should be protection for barren women, for those without family, for virtuous wives, for widows, and for sick women. // Mn_8.28 // But those kinsmen who, while these women are living, take their property, a righteous lord of the earth should punish with the punishment for a thief. // Mn_8.29 // Property whose owner is lost, the king should have kept for three years; before three years, the owner may take it; after that, the king may take it. // Mn_8.30 // He who says, "This is mine," should be questioned according to the rule; having confirmed the form, number, and so on, the owner is entitled to that property. // Mn_8.31 // He who does not state the place and time of the loss truthfully, nor the color, form, and measure, deserves a punishment equal to that (value). // Mn_8.32 // Then the king should take a sixth part of property that was lost and found; or a tenth or a twelfth part, remembering the Dharma of the good. // Mn_8.33 // Property that was lost and found should remain under the care of appointed officials; and whatever thieves he may catch there, the king should have them slain by an elephant. // Mn_8.34 // That man who truthfully says, "This treasure trove is mine," from him the king should take a sixth part, or a twelfth part. // Mn_8.35 // But if he speaks an untruth, he should be punished with an eighth part of his own property, or with a smaller fraction of that same treasure trove, according to its value. // Mn_8.36 // But a learned Brahmana, having found a treasure trove previously deposited, may take it in its entirety; for he is the lord of all. // Mn_8.38 // But if the king should find an ancient treasure trove hidden in the earth, from that he should give half to the twice-born and place half in his treasury. // Mn_8.38 // Of ancient treasure troves and of metals in the earth, the king is entitled to half on account of his protection, for he is the lord of the earth. // Mn_8.39 // Wealth stolen by thieves must be restored by the king to all the varnas; a king who uses it for himself incurs the sin of a thief. // Mn_8.40 // A knower of Dharma, having examined the laws of castes, of districts, and the laws of guilds, and the laws of families, should establish their own particular Dharma. // Mn_8.41 // Men who perform their own duties, even if they are far away, become dear to the world, being established in their own respective duties. // Mn_8.42 // The king should not create a lawsuit himself, nor should his officer; nor should he in any way seize a matter brought by another. // Mn_8.43 // Just as a hunter traces the track of a deer by drops of blood, so should a king trace the track of Dharma by inference. // Mn_8.44 // Being established in the rules of legal proceedings, he should examine the truth, the matter, himself, and then the witnesses, the place, the form, and the time. // Mn_8.45 // Whatever is practiced by the good and by righteous twice-born, that he should establish for the countries, families, and castes, provided it is not contradictory. // Mn_8.46 // Being urged by a creditor for the recovery of his property from a debtor, he should make the debtor pay the creditor's property, after it has been proven. // Mn_8.47 // By whatever means a creditor may recover his own property, by those same means he should seize the debtor and make him pay. // Mn_8.48 // He should recover the property lent by moral suasion, by legal action, by trickery, by customary pressure, and fifthly, by force. // Mn_8.49 // A creditor who himself recovers his property from a debtor should not be prosecuted by the king, for he is recovering his own wealth. // Mn_8.50 // But one who denies a debt, when it has been proved by a document, he should make pay the creditor's property, and a small fine according to his ability. // Mn_8.51 // On the denial of a debtor who has been told "Pay!" in court, the plaintiff should point out a witness or produce another document. // Mn_8.52 // He who points out an improper witness, and he who, having pointed one out, denies it; and he who does not understand the contradictory preceding and subsequent statements; // Mn_8.53 // And he who, having pointed out a witness, then runs away; and he who, being questioned, does not acknowledge a matter that has been properly established; // Mn_8.54 // And he who converses secretly with the witnesses in a place where he should not converse; and he who does not wish to answer a question being put, or who runs away; // Mn_8.55 // And he who, when told "Speak!", does not speak, and does not prove what he has said, and does not know the preceding and subsequent points—he loses that case. // Mn_8.56 // He who, having said, "I have witnesses," and being told, "Point them out," does not point them out—the judge should declare him also defeated for these reasons. // Mn_8.57 // If the plaintiff does not speak, he should be confined and fined according to the law; if he does not speak within three fortnights, he is defeated in respect to the law. // Mn_8.58 // However much a man may falsely deny, or however much he may falsely claim—those two, being ignorant of Dharma, should be made to pay a fine of double that amount by the king. // Mn_8.59 // But one who, being questioned, denies a debt, after a formal claim has been made by the one seeking the money, should be convicted by at least three witnesses in the presence of the king and Brahmanas. // Mn_8.60 // What kind of witnesses should be appointed by creditors in legal proceedings, such I will now declare, and how they should speak the truth. // Mn_8.61 // Householders with sons, of established lineage, born of the Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra varnas, when called by the plaintiff, are fit to give evidence, but not just anyone, except in a time of distress. // Mn_8.62 // Trustworthy men from all varnas should be appointed as witnesses in lawsuits, who know all the Dharmas and are not greedy; but he should avoid those who are the opposite. // Mn_8.63 // Those connected by wealth, nor close relatives, nor helpers, nor enemies, nor those with a proven fault, nor those afflicted by disease, nor the defamed should be appointed. // Mn_8.64 // A king should not be appointed as a witness, nor an artisan or an actor, nor a śrotriya, nor one wearing the garb of a religious order, nor one who has renounced worldly associations. // Mn_8.65 // Not one who is overly dependent, nor one who should not be spoken to, nor a robber, nor one who does forbidden acts, nor an old man, nor a child, nor one alone, nor one of the lowest caste, nor one with impaired senses. // Mn_8.66 // Not one in distress, nor one intoxicated, nor one insane, nor one afflicted by hunger or thirst, nor one weary from exertion, nor one afflicted by desire, nor one who is angry, nor a thief. // Mn_8.67 // Women should give evidence for women, and for the twice-born, similar twice-born; and virtuous Shudras for Shudras, and those of the lowest birth for the lowest castes. // Mn_8.68 // But anyone who has witnessed it may give evidence for the litigants in a case that occurred inside a house, or in a forest, or in a matter of life and death. // Mn_8.69 // In the absence of a suitable witness, evidence may be given by a woman, by a child, or by an old man, by a pupil, by a kinsman, by a slave, or by a hired servant. // Mn_8.70 // In the evidence of children, the old, and the sick who speak falsely, one should recognize their speech as unsteady, and likewise that of those with an agitated mind. // Mn_8.71 // In all cases of violence, of theft and adultery, and of verbal and physical assault, one should not examine the witnesses too strictly. // Mn_8.72 // In a conflict of witnesses, the king should accept the majority; but if the numbers are equal, he should accept those who are superior in quality; and in a conflict of quality, the best of the twice-born. // Mn_8.73 // Evidence is established by seeing with one's own eyes, and also by hearing; there, a witness who speaks the truth is not deprived of Dharma and wealth. // Mn_8.74 // A witness who, in the assembly of the Aryans, speaks of anything other than what he has seen or heard, goes headlong to hell and, after death, is deprived of heaven. // Mn_8.75 // Where one, even if not appointed, sees or hears anything, there too, when asked, he should speak it as it was seen or as it was heard. // Mn_8.76 // One man who is not greedy may be a witness, but not many women, even if they are pure, on account of the unsteadiness of a woman's intellect, and also others who are tainted with faults. // Mn_8.77 // What they speak from their own nature, that should be accepted in a legal matter; what they speak otherwise for the sake of Dharma is irrelevant. // Mn_8.78 // The chief judge should question the witnesses who have arrived in the court, in the presence of the plaintiff and defendant, by this rule, consoling them. // Mn_8.79 // "Whatever you know of the mutual conduct of these two in this affair, speak all that truthfully, for here you are the witnesses." // Mn_8.80 // A witness who speaks the truth in his evidence obtains abundant worlds, and here on earth, unsurpassed fame; this speech is praised by Brahma. // Mn_8.81 // He who speaks an untruth in his evidence is bound fast by the fetters of Varuna, helpless, for a hundred births; therefore, one should speak the truth in evidence. // Mn_8.82 // A witness is purified by truth; Dharma is increased by truth; therefore, truth must be spoken by witnesses of all varnas. // Mn_8.83 // The Self is indeed the witness of the Self, and the Self is the refuge of the Self; do not despise your own Self, the supreme witness of men. // Mn_8.84 // The doers of sin think, "No one sees us"; but the gods see them, and the inner person within themselves. // Mn_8.85 // Heaven, earth, water, the heart, the moon, sun, fire, Yama, and the wind, night, the two twilights, and Dharma—these know the conduct of all embodied beings. // Mn_8.86 // In the presence of the gods and Brahmanas, a pure judge should question pure twice-born men about the truth, facing north or east, in the forenoon. // Mn_8.87 // He should question a Brahmana with "Speak"; a Kshatriya with "Speak the truth"; a Vaishya by his cows, grain, and gold; and a Shudra by all sins. // Mn_8.88 // Those worlds which are remembered for the slayer of a Brahmana, and those for the slayer of a woman or a child, for a betrayer of a friend, and for an ungrateful man—those shall be yours if you speak falsely. // Mn_8.89 // Whatever merit, O gentle one, you have acquired since your birth, all that will go to a dog if you speak otherwise. // Mn_8.90 // You who think, O good one, "I am alone," you do not know that this sage, the constant observer of merit and sin, is seated in your heart. // Mn_8.91 // If you have no dispute with Yama, the son of Vivasvat, the god who is seated in your heart, then do not go to the Ganga, nor to the Kurus. // Mn_8.92 // He who gives false evidence shall go, naked, shaven-headed, with a skull for a bowl, begging for food, afflicted by hunger and thirst, and blind, to the house of his enemy. // Mn_8.93 // The sinner who, being questioned in a determination of Dharma, gives a false answer, shall go headlong into the blind darkness of hell. // Mn_8.94 // That man who, having gone to court, speaks of a matter that he has not witnessed, causing a perversion of justice, eats fish with the bones, like a blind man. // Mn_8.95 // He whose learned inner self does not doubt him as he speaks—the gods know no man in the world more excellent than he. // Mn_8.96 // Hear now, gentle one, in due order, the number of kinsmen whom a man slays in that case in which he gives false evidence. // Mn_8.97 // He slays five by a falsehood concerning cattle, he slays ten by a falsehood concerning cows, he slays a hundred by a falsehood concerning a horse, and a thousand by a falsehood concerning a man. // Mn_8.98 // He who speaks a falsehood for the sake of gold slays those who are born and those who are unborn; he slays all by a falsehood concerning land; do not speak a falsehood concerning land. // Mn_8.99 // They say it is like a falsehood concerning land in the case of water, and in the enjoyment of women and in sexual union, and in pearls and jewels, and in all things made of stone. // Mn_8.100 // Having considered all these faults in speaking an untruth, speak everything straightforwardly, as it was heard and as it was seen. // Mn_8.101 // A Brahmana should treat cowherds, traders, artisans, actors, servants, and usurers like Shudras. // Mn_8.102 // A man who, for the sake of Dharma in certain matters, speaks otherwise than he knows, does not fall from the world of heaven; they call that a divine speech. // Mn_8.103 // Where the death of a Shudra, Vaishya, Kshatriya, or Brahmana would result from speaking the truth, there a falsehood should be spoken; for it is superior to the truth. // Mn_8.104 // They should offer sacrifices to Sarasvati with oblations sacred to the deity of speech, performing the highest expiation for that sin of falsehood. // Mn_8.105 // Or he should offer ghee in the fire according to the rule with the Kushmanda texts, or with the Rik verse beginning "ud," which is sacred to Varuna, or with the three verses sacred to the water deities. // Mn_8.106 // A man who, being healthy, does not give evidence in cases of debt and so on within three fortnights, shall incur the whole debt, and a tenth part of it as a fine from all sides. // Mn_8.107 // That witness of whom, within a week of having given his testimony, a disease, a fire, or the death of a kinsman is seen—he should be made to pay the debt and a fine. // Mn_8.108 // But in matters where there are no witnesses, between two who are disputing with each other, if one cannot find the truth in fact, one may ascertain it even by an oath. // Mn_8.109 // Oaths have been made by the great sages and by the gods for the sake of a matter; and Vasishtha also swore an oath in the case of king Paijavana. // Mn_8.110 // A wise man should not swear an oath for no reason, even in a small matter; for one who swears an oath for no reason perishes both after death and in this world. // Mn_8.111 // In matters concerning women, in marriages, in food for cows, and likewise in fuel, and in the protection of a Brahmana, there is no sin in an oath. // Mn_8.112 // He should make a Brahmana swear by the truth; a Kshatriya by his vehicle and weapons; a Vaishya by his cows, grain, and gold; and a Shudra by all sins. // Mn_8.113 // Or he should make him carry fire, or make him plunge into water; or he should make him touch the heads of his son and wife separately. // Mn_8.114 // He whom the blazing fire does not burn, whom the waters do not cause to rise up, and who does not quickly meet with misfortune—he is to be known as pure in his oath. // Mn_8.115 // For of Vatsa, who was formerly accused by his younger brother, the fire did not burn even a hair, because of the truth, O spy of the world. // Mn_8.116 // In whatever dispute false evidence may have been given, that matter should be reversed, and what has been done should become as if undone. // Mn_8.117 //

Evidence is said to be false due to ignorance or childishness. // Mn_8.118 //

In any of these cases, he who gives false evidence—for him I will now declare the specific punishments in due order. // Mn_8.119 //

For giving false evidence from greed, he shall be fined a thousand; from delusion, the first amercement; from fear, two middle amercements; and from friendship, four times the first. // Mn_8.120 //

From lust, ten times the first; from anger, three times the highest; from ignorance, two full hundreds; and from childishness, one hundred only. // Mn_8.121 //

These punishments, declared by the wise for false evidence, they have stated for the sake of the unwaveringness of Dharma and for the restraint of non-Dharma. // Mn_8.122 //

A righteous king, having fined the three varnas who give false evidence, should banish them; but a Brahmana he should merely banish. // Mn_8.123 //

Svayambhuva Manu declared ten places of punishment, which may be applied to the three varnas; but a Brahmana should depart uninjured. // Mn_8.124 //

The generative organ, the belly, the tongue, the two hands, and the feet as the fifth; the eye, the nose, and the two ears, and also wealth and the body. // Mn_8.125 //

Having duly considered the motive, the place and time, and the gravity and nature of the offense, he should inflict punishment on those deserving punishment. // Mn_8.126 //

Unjust punishment destroys fame in this world and glory; and it is unheavenly in the next world; therefore, one should avoid it. // Mn_8.127 //

A king who punishes the unpunishable, and who fails to punish the punishable, obtains great infamy and goes to hell. // Mn_8.128 //

He should first apply verbal punishment, then punishment by censure; thirdly, punishment by fine, and after that, corporal punishment. // Mn_8.129 //

But when he is unable to restrain them even by corporal punishment, then he should apply to them all four of these combined. // Mn_8.130 //

For the sake of worldly transactions, those designations which are established on earth for copper, silver, and gold—those I will now declare in their entirety. // Mn_8.131 //

That minute speck of dust which is seen in a sunbeam passing through a lattice—that the wise call the first of measures, a trasareṇu. // Mn_8.132 //

Eight trasareṇus are to be known as one likṣā by measure; three of those are a black mustard seed; and three of those, a white mustard seed. // Mn_8.133 //

Six mustard seeds are a middle-sized barleycorn; and three barleycorns are one kṛṣṇala; five kṛṣṇalas are a māṣa; and sixteen of those are a suvarṇa. // Mn_8.134 //

Four suvarṇas are a pala, and ten palas are a dharaṇa; two kṛṣṇalas of equal weight are to be known as a silver māṣaka. // Mn_8.135 //

Sixteen of those would be a silver dharaṇa or purāṇa; but a copper kārṣāpaṇa is to be known as a paṇa, weighing one karṣa. // Mn_8.136 //

Ten dharaṇas are to be known as a silver śatamāna; and a niṣka is to be known by measure as four suvarṇas. // Mn_8.137 //

Two hundred and fifty paṇas are remembered as the first amercement; the middle one is known as five hundred; and the highest as one thousand. // Mn_8.138 //

When a debt is acknowledged and is to be paid, a fine of five percent is proper; on denial, it is double that; this is the ordinance of Manu. // Mn_8.139 //

A moneylender may take the interest prescribed by Vasishtha for the increase of his capital, taking the eightieth part per month on each hundred. // Mn_8.140 //

Or, remembering the Dharma of the good, he may take two percent; for by taking two percent, he does not become a sinner for the sake of wealth. // Mn_8.141 //

Two, three, four, and five percent per month, he may take as interest, in due order of the varnas. // Mn_8.142 //

But he may not take interest on a loan against a pledge that is in use; and there is no forfeiture of a pledge by lapse of time, nor can it be sold. // Mn_8.143 //

A pledge must not be used by force; one who uses it must forgo the interest. He must also satisfy the owner with its value; otherwise, he becomes a thief of the pledge. // Mn_8.144 //

Both a pledge and a sealed deposit are not lost by lapse of time; they may be reclaimed even after being held for a long time. // Mn_8.145 //

Things that are used with consent are never lost: a female animal, a camel, a beast of burden, a horse, and whatever is being trained for use. // Mn_8.146 //

Whatever property a creditor sees being enjoyed by others in his presence for ten years while he remains silent, he is not entitled to recover it. // Mn_8.147 //

If he is not a simpleton or a minor, and it is being enjoyed in his own domain, that claim is invalidated by legal process, and the user is entitled to that property. // Mn_8.148 //

A pledge, a boundary, the property of a minor, a deposit, a sealed deposit, women, the property of a king, and the property of a śrotriya are not lost through enjoyment. // Mn_8.149 //

An undiscerning man who uses a pledge without the owner's permission must forgo half the interest as compensation for that use. // Mn_8.150 //

Interest on a loan, when taken at once, must not exceed double the principal; on grain, produce, wool, and beasts of burden, it must not exceed five times the principal. // Mn_8.151 //

Interest beyond what is stipulated in the agreement cannot be recovered; they call that the way of usury, for which a fine of five percent is proper. // Mn_8.152 //

One should not take interest beyond the year, nor interest that has not been specified; nor compound interest, periodic interest, stipulated interest, or interest paid through bodily labor. // Mn_8.153 //

He who is unable to pay a debt and wishes to renew the contract, he may renew the document after having paid the interest that has accrued. // Mn_8.154 //

If he renews the loan without showing the money on the spot, he is liable to pay whatever interest may possibly accrue. // Mn_8.155 //

One who has agreed to compound interest but is bound by place and time, if he transgresses that place and time, he shall not obtain the fruit of it. // Mn_8.156 //

Whatever interest sea-traders, who are skilled in calculating profit based on place and time, may fix for themselves, that is valid for the gain on that venture. // Mn_8.157 //

Whatever man stands as a surety for the appearance of another, if he fails to produce him, he must pay the debt from his own property. // Mn_8.158 //

A son is not obliged to pay a debt incurred for a surety, a frivolous gift, a gambling loss, or liquor, nor the remainder of a fine or a toll. // Mn_8.159 //

For a surety for appearance, the rule shall be as stated before; but when a surety for payment is dead, the creditor may compel even the heirs to pay. // Mn_8.160 //

If the debtor fails to pay, the surety, whose liability is known, must pay the debt; if the surety then dies, from whom could the creditor seek recovery? // Mn_8.161 //

But if a surety, who is himself wealthy, has been designated to pay, he must pay it from his own property; that he was so designated is the established rule. // Mn_8.162 //

A transaction made by one who is intoxicated, insane, or in distress, by one who is dependent, by a child, or by an old man, and one made by an unauthorized person, is not valid. // Mn_8.163 //

An agreement is not true, even if it is established, if it is made contrary to the law and to the established rules of legal proceedings. // Mn_8.164 //

A mortgage or sale made under duress, a gift or acceptance made under duress, and wherever one may see a fraudulent transaction—all that he should cause to be reversed. // Mn_8.165 //

If the one who took the loan should be lost, and the expense was incurred for the sake of the family, that debt must be paid by his kinsmen, even if they are divided, from their own property. // Mn_8.166 //

Whatever transaction a dependent may make for the sake of the family, whether in his own country or abroad, a senior member must not set it aside. // Mn_8.167 //

What is given by force, enjoyed by force, and also what is written by force—all things done by force, Manu has declared to be undone. // Mn_8.168 //

Three suffer for the sake of another: witnesses, a surety, and the family; but four prosper: a Brahmana, a rich man, a merchant, and a king. // Mn_8.169 //

A king, even if he is impoverished, should not take what ought not to be taken; nor, even if he is prosperous, should he relinquish what ought to be taken, even if it is a trifling amount. // Mn_8.170 //

By taking what ought not to be taken, and by relinquishing what ought to be taken, a king's weakness is revealed, and he perishes both in this world and the next. // Mn_8.171 //

By taking his proper share, by preventing the mixing of varnas, and by protecting the weak, a king's strength increases, and he prospers both in this world and the next. // Mn_8.172 //

Therefore, the master, like Yama, having himself abandoned what is dear and not dear, should act with the conduct of Yama, with his anger conquered and his senses conquered. // Mn_8.173 //

But that king who, out of delusion, conducts his affairs unrighteously, his enemies soon bring that evil-souled one under their control. // Mn_8.174 //

He who, having restrained lust and anger, examines his affairs according to Dharma, his subjects follow him as the rivers follow the ocean. // Mn_8.175 //

He who, while a creditor is trying to recover a debt by his own means, reports him to the king, shall be made by the king to pay a quarter of that amount as a fine, and the creditor shall receive his money. // Mn_8.176 //

A debtor of the same or a lower caste may discharge his debt to the creditor even by labor; but a debtor of a higher caste should pay it off gradually. // Mn_8.177 //

By this rule, a king should bring to a just settlement the cases of men who are disputing with each other, which are to be decided by the evidence of witnesses. // Mn_8.178 //

A wise man should make a deposit with one who is of noble family, of good conduct, who knows the Dharma, is truthful, has many supporters, is wealthy, and is honorable. // Mn_8.179 //

In whatever manner a man deposits any property in the hand of another, in that same manner it must be received back; as is the giving, so is the taking. // Mn_8.180 //

He who, being asked for a deposit, does not return it to the depositor, he should be questioned by the judge in the absence of that depositor. // Mn_8.181 //

In the absence of witnesses, he should deposit gold with him secretly, using spies of similar age and appearance, and under some pretext. // Mn_8.182 //

If he returns it just as it was deposited and just as it was done, then there is nothing in the matter for which he can be sued by others. // Mn_8.183 //

But if he does not give back that gold according to the rule, both should be seized and he should be made to pay; this is the firm rule of Dharma. // Mn_8.184 //

A deposit and a sealed deposit should never be given to a close relative of the deceased; they are lost if there is a calamity, but not lost if there is no calamity. // Mn_8.185 //

But those who of their own accord give them to a close relative of the deceased, they should not be sued by the king, nor by the kinsmen of the depositor. // Mn_8.186 //

He should indeed seek to recover that property without deceit and with kindness; or having considered his conduct, he should recover it by conciliation alone. // Mn_8.187 //

In all these deposits, this should be the rule for recovery; but for a sealed deposit, he can claim nothing if he does not take anything from it. // Mn_8.188 //

What has been stolen by thieves, carried away by water, or burned by fire, he need not give back, provided he takes nothing from it himself. // Mn_8.189 //

The embezzler of a deposit, and also one who has not made a deposit, he should investigate by all means, and also by Vedic oaths. // Mn_8.190 //

He who does not return a deposit, and he who demands what he has not deposited, both should be punished like a thief, or be made to pay a fine equal to the amount. // Mn_8.191 //

The king should make the embezzler of a deposit pay a fine equal to the amount, and likewise the embezzler of a sealed deposit, without distinction. // Mn_8.192 //

And whatever man should take another's property by fraudulent means, he should be put to death with his accomplices, openly and by various forms of execution. // Mn_8.193 //

Whatever deposit was made by whom, and of whatever amount, in the presence of his family, that much it is to be known as; one who says otherwise deserves punishment. // Mn_8.194 //

A deposit which was made secretly, or taken secretly, must be returned secretly; as is the giving, so is the taking. // Mn_8.195 //

For a deposit and for what has been entrusted out of friendship, the king should thus make a decision, without causing loss to the holder of the trust. // Mn_8.196 //

He who, not being the owner and without the owner's consent, sells another's property, one should not bring him as a witness, that thief who thinks himself not a thief. // Mn_8.197 //

He should be made to pay a fine of six hundred, if he has a family; if he has no family and cannot be traced, he would incur the guilt of a thief. // Mn_8.198 //

A gift or a sale made by one who is not the owner is to be known as void; this is the established rule in legal proceedings. // Mn_8.199 //

Where enjoyment is seen, but no title is seen anywhere, there the title is the cause, not the enjoyment; this is the established rule. // Mn_8.200 //

He who buys any property from a seller in the presence of his family, he obtains that property justly and by a pure purchase. // Mn_8.201 //

But if the original owner cannot be produced, and the purchase is cleared by a public sale, he is released by the king without punishment, and the original owner gets his property. // Mn_8.202 //

One thing mixed with another should not be sold, nor what is bad, nor what is deficient, nor what is distant, nor what is concealed. // Mn_8.203 //

If, having shown one maiden, another is given to the bridegroom, he may marry both of them for the single bride-price; so said Manu. // Mn_8.204 //

He who gives a maiden who is insane, or leprous, or who has been deflowered, does not deserve punishment if he has declared her faults beforehand. // Mn_8.205 //

If a sacrificial priest, having been chosen for a sacrifice, should abandon his own work, a share should be given to him by his fellow priests, in proportion to the work done. // Mn_8.206 //

But if he abandons his work after the sacrificial fees have been given, he should receive his full share, and have the rest done by another. // Mn_8.207 //

Whatever sacrificial fees are declared for each part of the rite, he alone should take them, or all should share them. // Mn_8.208 //

The Adhvaryu should take the chariot, and the Brahma priest the horse at the establishment of the fire; the Hotri priest may also take a horse, and the Udgatri priest a cart at the purchase of Soma. // Mn_8.209 //

Of all of them, the chief priests are sharers of a half; the next, sharers of half of that; the third-rank priests, of a third part; and the fourth-rank priests, of a quarter part. // Mn_8.210 //

When men here perform their own tasks by combining together, the division of shares must be made by this rule. // Mn_8.211 //

If someone has given money to a beggar for a religious purpose, and it later turns out not to be so, that money need not be given to him. // Mn_8.212 //

If, however, he should exact it out of arrogance or greed, he should be made by the king to pay one gold piece as atonement for that theft. // Mn_8.213 //

This has been declared as the righteous rule for the non-revocation of a gift; hereafter I will declare the rule for the non-payment of wages. // Mn_8.214 //

A hired servant who, not being sick, out of arrogance does not perform his work as agreed, shall be fined eight kṛṣṇalas, and his wage shall not be given to him. // Mn_8.215 //

But if he is sick, he should, upon becoming well, perform the work as originally agreed; and he shall receive that wage, even after a long time. // Mn_8.216 //

Whether he is sick or well, if he does not have that work performed as agreed, his wage shall not be given, even for a small part of the work. // Mn_8.217 //

This law for the non-payment of wages has been declared in its entirety; hereafter I will declare the law for those who break an agreement. // Mn_8.218 //

That man who, having made a sworn agreement with the people of a village, a district, or a guild, breaks it out of greed, the king should banish from the realm. // Mn_8.219 //

Having seized that breaker of the agreement, he should make him pay a fine of four suvarṇas, six niṣkas, and a silver śatamāna. // Mn_8.220 //

A righteous king should apply this rule of punishment to those who break agreements in village, caste, and guild assemblies. // Mn_8.221 //

Whoever, having bought or sold something, should have regret here, he may give or take back that article within ten days. // Mn_8.222 //

But after ten days, he may not give it nor have it given back; one who takes it or gives it shall be fined six hundred by the king. // Mn_8.223 //

He who gives a maiden with a defect without declaring it, the king should inflict on him a punishment of ninety-six paṇas. // Mn_8.224 //

But that man who out of malice calls a maiden "not a maiden," he shall receive a fine of one hundred, if he cannot show a defect in her. // Mn_8.225 //

The sacred formulas for the taking of the hand are established for maidens only; they are nowhere for non-maidens among men, for they have lost their right to religious rites. // Mn_8.226 //

The sacred formulas for the taking of the hand are the certain mark of wifehood; but their completion is to be known by the wise at the seventh step. // Mn_8.227 //

In whatever transaction anyone here should have regret, him he should place on the righteous path by this rule. // Mn_8.228 //

In disputes concerning the transgression of owners of cattle and of herdsmen, I will now declare the law, as it is, according to the truth of Dharma. // Mn_8.229 //

By day, the responsibility lies with the herdsman; by night, with the owner, if the cattle are in his house; but if it is otherwise in respect to their care, the herdsman shall be held responsible. // Mn_8.230 //

A herdsman who is hired for milk should milk the best of ten cows; with the owner's consent, that shall be the wage for the unpaid herdsman. // Mn_8.231 //

What is lost, destroyed by worms, killed by a dog, or has died in a perilous place, if it was lost through a lack of human effort, the herdsman alone must replace it. // Mn_8.232 //

But the herdsman is not obliged to replace what was carried off by thieves after he has raised an alarm, provided he informs his master at the proper place and time. // Mn_8.233 //

The ears, the hide, and the hair, the bladder, the sinews, and the bile-stone—these he should give to the owners of the cattle; and for the dead, he should show the brand marks. // Mn_8.234 //

But if, when goats and sheep are penned up, a wolf should attack while the herdsman is not present, for any that the wolf seizes and kills, the guilt shall be the herdsman's. // Mn_8.235 //

But if, while they are penned up and grazing together in the forest, a wolf should leap up and kill one, the herdsman is not guilty in that case. // Mn_8.236 //

A pasture-ground of a hundred bow-lengths should surround a village on all sides; or three throws of a staff; and for a town, it should be three times that. // Mn_8.237 //

If cattle should damage unfenced grain there, the king should not inflict a punishment on the keepers of the cattle. // Mn_8.238 //

One should make a fence there which a camel cannot look over; and one should block up every hole through which a dog or a pig could enter. // Mn_8.239 //

On a path, in a fenced field, or near a village, a herdsman with his cattle is liable to a fine of one hundred; without a herdsman, he should keep the cattle away. // Mn_8.240 //

But in other fields, the cattle are liable to a fine of one and a quarter paṇa; and in all cases, the produce must be given to the owner of the field; this is the rule. // Mn_8.241 //

A cow that has not been calved for ten days, bulls, and cattle sacred to the gods, whether with or without a herdsman, Manu has declared to be not punishable. // Mn_8.242 //

For a transgression by the owner of the field, the fine shall be ten times his share; for the servants, half that fine, if it was due to the ignorance of the field's owner. // Mn_8.243 //

A righteous king should apply this rule in cases of transgression by owners, cattle, and herdsmen. // Mn_8.244 //

When a dispute has arisen between two villages concerning a boundary, he should settle the boundary in the month of Jyeshtha, when the boundary marks are most visible. // Mn_8.245 //

He should make boundary-trees, such as banyans, pipal trees, and palashas, silk-cotton trees, sal and palm trees, and also milky trees. // Mn_8.246 //

And various kinds of shrubs and bamboos, and shami plants and mounds of earth, and clumps of shara grass and kubjaka shrubs, so that the boundary may not be lost. // Mn_8.247 //

Tanks, wells, cisterns, and springs // Mn_8.248a[M250] //

should be made at the junctions of boundaries, and also temples to the deities. // Mn_8.248[M250c] //

And he should have other concealed boundary-marks made, seeing the constant confusion among men in the world regarding the knowledge of boundaries. // Mn_8.249 //

Stones, bones, cow's hair, husks, ashes, potsherds, // Mn_8.250[M248] //

dried cow-dung, bricks, charcoal, pebbles, and sand as well. // Mn_8.250[M248] //

And whatever other things of this kind the earth does not consume over time, those he should have buried secretly at the junctions of the boundary. // Mn_8.251 //

By these marks, the king should settle the boundary between two disputing parties; and also always by long-standing enjoyment and by the course of water. // Mn_8.252 //

If there should be doubt even on the evidence of the marks, the decision in a boundary dispute must be based on the testimony of witnesses. // Mn_8.253 //

In the presence of the villagers and the families, the witnesses for the boundary should be questioned about the boundary-marks, and also about the two disputants. // Mn_8.254 //

As they, being questioned, may all together declare the decision on the boundary, so he should record the boundary, and all of them by name. // Mn_8.255 //

They, with their heads covered, wearing garlands and red garments, having taken an oath by their own good deeds, should settle the boundary justly. // Mn_8.256 //

By settling it as stated, they are purified as truthful witnesses; but by settling it falsely, they should be made to pay a fine of two hundred. // Mn_8.257 //

In the absence of witnesses, four men from the neighboring villages should make the boundary decision, being purified, in the king's presence. // Mn_8.258 //

In the absence of neighbors, he should question even these men who are elders and witnesses on the boundary, and who are forest-dwellers. // Mn_8.259 //

Hunters, fowlers, herdsmen, fishermen, root-diggers, snake-catchers, gleaners, and other forest-dwellers. // Mn_8.260 //

As they, being questioned, may declare the marks at the boundary junctions, so the king should establish it according to Dharma for the two villages. // Mn_8.261 //

For fields, wells, tanks, gardens, and houses, the decision on the boundary and its marks is to be known from the testimony of neighbors. // Mn_8.262 //

If the neighbors should speak falsely in a dispute about a boundary mark, all of them should be fined separately by the king with the middle amercement. // Mn_8.263 //

He who seizes a house, a tank, a garden, or a field by intimidation shall be fined five hundred; if out of ignorance, the fine is two hundred. // Mn_8.264 //

If a boundary cannot be determined, the king himself, knowing the Dharma, should assign land to one of them out of favor; this is the established rule. // Mn_8.265 //

This has been declared in its entirety as the law for the determination of boundaries; hereafter I will declare the determination of verbal assault. // Mn_8.266 //

A Kshatriya who insults a Brahmana deserves a fine of one hundred; a Vaishya, one hundred and fifty or two hundred; but a Shudra deserves corporal punishment. // Mn_8.267 //

A Brahmana shall be fined fifty for defaming a Kshatriya; for a Vaishya, it shall be twenty-five; for a Shudra, the fine is twelve. // Mn_8.268 //

For a transgression among men of the same varna among the twice-born, the fine is twelve; but for unspeakable words in disputes, it shall be double that. // Mn_8.269 //

A man of a single birth who assails the twice-born with harsh speech shall have his tongue cut out, for he is of low origin. // Mn_8.270 //

If he mentions their name and caste with malice, an iron nail, ten fingers long and glowing hot, shall be thrust into his mouth. // Mn_8.271 //

If he arrogantly gives religious instruction to Brahmanas, the king shall have hot oil poured into his mouth and ear. // Mn_8.272 //

He who out of arrogance falsely speaks of another's learning, country, caste, or bodily form, shall be made to pay a fine of two hundred. // Mn_8.273 //

He who calls another one-eyed, or lame, or by any other such name, even truthfully, shall be made to pay a fine of at least one kārṣāpaṇa. // Mn_8.274 //

He who reviles his mother, father, wife, brother, son, or guru, and he who does not give way to his guru, shall be made to pay one hundred. // Mn_8.275 //

For a dispute between a Brahmana and a Kshatriya, a fine should be imposed by one who knows; for a Brahmana, the first amercement; and for a Kshatriya, the middle one. // Mn_8.276 //

For a Vaishya and a Shudra, it is just the same, in truth, against their own caste; the imposition of punishment, excluding mutilation, is the decision. // Mn_8.277 //

This rule of punishment for verbal assault has been declared in truth; hereafter I will declare the determination of physical assault. // Mn_8.278 //

With whatever limb a low-born man should injure a superior, that very limb of his shall be cut off; this is the ordinance of Manu. // Mn_8.279 //

He who raises his hand or a stick deserves to have his hand cut off; he who strikes in anger with his foot deserves to have his foot cut off. // Mn_8.280 //

A low-born man who desires to sit on the same seat as a superior shall be branded on his hip and banished, or the king shall have his buttock cut off. // Mn_8.281 //

If he spits on him out of arrogance, the king shall have his two lips cut off; if he urinates on him, his penis; if he breaks wind on him, his anus. // Mn_8.282 //

If he seizes him by the hair, he should have his hands cut off without hesitation; and likewise if he seizes him by the feet, the beard, the neck, or the testicles. // Mn_8.283 //

One who breaks the skin shall be fined one hundred; one who shows the blood, a hundred; but a cutter of flesh, six niṣkas; and a breaker of a bone shall be banished. // Mn_8.284 //

For all kinds of trees, according to their usefulness, a fine should be imposed for causing injury; this is the rule. // Mn_8.285 //

When a blow is struck to cause pain to men and animals, the greater the pain, the greater the punishment he should inflict. // Mn_8.286 //

For causing injury to a limb, and for causing a wound or bleeding, he shall be made to pay the cost of the cure, or the entire fine as well. // Mn_8.287 //

He who damages the property of another, whether knowingly or unknowingly, he must make satisfaction to that one, and he shall pay to the king a fine equal to the value. // Mn_8.288 //

For things made of leather or hide, and for things made of wood or clay, the fine is five times the value; and likewise for flowers, roots, and fruits. // Mn_8.289 //

For a vehicle, its driver, and the owner of the vehicle, they declare ten cases of exemption; in other cases, a punishment is prescribed. // Mn_8.290 //

When the nose-rope is broken, when the yoke is broken, when it comes sideways or head-on, and when the axle of the vehicle is broken, and likewise when a wheel is broken; // Mn_8.291 //

And when the harness is broken, and likewise the yoke-thong and the reins, and when there is a cry of "Get out of the way!", Manu has not declared a punishment. // Mn_8.292 //

Where the draft animal swerves due to the fault of the driver, there the owner shall be fined two hundred for causing injury. // Mn_8.293 //

If the driver is competent, the driver deserves the punishment; if the driver is incompetent, all those in the vehicle shall be fined one hundred each. // Mn_8.294 //

But if, being blocked on the road by cattle or by another vehicle, he should cause the death of a living creature, there the punishment is not to be considered. // Mn_8.295 //

For killing a man, the guilt is quickly like that of a thief; for large living creatures like cows, elephants, camels, and horses, it is half that. // Mn_8.296 //

For injuring small animals, the fine is two hundred; but the fine shall be fifty for auspicious wild animals and birds. // Mn_8.297 //

For donkeys, goats, and sheep, the fine shall be five māṣas; but the fine shall be one māṣa for killing a dog or a pig. // Mn_8.298 //

A wife, a son, a slave, a servant, and a uterine brother, when they have committed a fault, may be beaten with a rope or a split bamboo. // Mn_8.299 //

But on the back of the body, and never on the upper part; one who strikes otherwise than this would incur the guilt of a thief. // Mn_8.300 //

This determination of physical assault has been declared in its entirety; hereafter I will declare the rule for the determination of punishment for a thief. // Mn_8.301 //

A king should make the utmost effort in the suppression of thieves; for by the suppression of thieves, his fame and his kingdom increase. // Mn_8.302 //

He who is a giver of safety is to be constantly honored as a king; for his sacrifice is ever-increasing, with the constant gift of safety. // Mn_8.303 //

A sixth part of the Dharma from all belongs to the king who protects; but a sixth part of the non-Dharma also belongs to him who does not protect. // Mn_8.304 //

Of what he studies, what he sacrifices, what he gives, and what he worships, the king becomes a sharer of the sixth part by means of righteous protection. // Mn_8.305 //

By protecting beings according to Dharma and by slaying those who deserve to be slain, a king sacrifices daily with sacrifices that have fees of a hundred thousand. // Mn_8.306 //

That king who, without protecting, takes tribute, taxes, tolls, and a share of fines, he goes immediately to hell. // Mn_8.307 //

A king who does not protect but takes a sixth part of the tribute, him they call a taker of the collective filth of the whole world. // Mn_8.308 //

A king who disregards the law, who is an atheist, a plunderer, a non-protector, and a devourer—one should know him to be destined for a lower state. // Mn_8.309 //

He should diligently restrain an unrighteous man by three methods: by confinement, by imprisonment, and by various forms of corporal punishment. // Mn_8.310 //

For by the restraint of the sinful and by the support of the virtuous, kings are constantly purified, just as the twice-born are by sacrifices. // Mn_8.311 //

A lord, desiring his own welfare, must always forgive the insults of litigants, of children, the aged, and the sick. // Mn_8.312 //

He who, being insulted by the afflicted, forgives, by that he is exalted in heaven; but he who, out of power, does not forgive, by that he goes to hell. // Mn_8.313 //

A thief should go to the king, running, with his hair unbound, proclaiming his theft, saying, "I have done this deed, punish me." // Mn_8.314 //

Carrying on his shoulder a pestle, or a club of Khadira wood, or a spear sharp at both ends, or an iron staff. // Mn_8.315 //

Whether by punishment or by pardon, the thief is freed from the theft; but by not punishing him, the king incurs the sin of the thief. // Mn_8.316 //

The slayer of a learned Brahmana wipes his sin on one who eats his food; an unfaithful wife, on her husband; a pupil and one for whom a sacrifice is performed, on the guru; and a thief, on the king. // Mn_8.317 //

But men who have committed sins and have been punished by kings, they go to heaven, pure, like the virtuous who have done good deeds. // Mn_8.318 //

He who should steal a rope or a pot from a well, and he who should break a place for distributing water, he shall receive a fine of one māṣa, and he must repair that damage. // Mn_8.319 //

For one who steals more than ten kumbhas of grain, the punishment is death; for less, he shall be made to pay eleven times the value and restore that property to its owner. // Mn_8.320 //

Likewise, for things that are weighed or measured, death is the punishment for stealing more than a hundred; and for gold, silver, and other such things, and for fine clothes. // Mn_8.321 //

But for stealing more than fifty, the cutting off of the hand is desired; for less, he should impose a fine of eleven times the value. // Mn_8.322 //

For the abduction of men of noble family, and especially of women, and for the theft of the chief jewels, one deserves death. // Mn_8.323 //

For the theft of large cattle, of weapons, and of medicine, the king should impose a punishment, having considered the time and the purpose. // Mn_8.324 //

For cattle belonging to Brahmanas, for piercing with a dagger, and for the theft of cattle, the cutting off of half a foot should be done immediately. // Mn_8.325 //

For thread, cotton, yeast, cow-dung, and molasses; // Mn_8.326 //

of curds, milk, buttermilk, water, and grass; of things made of bamboo or split cane, and likewise of salt; // Mn_8.327 //

of earthen things, and of earth and ashes; of fish and of birds, and of oil and ghee; // Mn_8.328 //

of meat and of honey, and of whatever else comes from an animal; and for other things of this kind, for liquors, for rice, and for all kinds of cooked food, the fine is double the value. // Mn_8.329 //

For flowers, green grain, shrubs, creepers, and trees, and for other things that are not consecrated, the fine shall be five kṛṣṇalas. // Mn_8.330 //

For consecrated grain, and for vegetables, roots, and fruits, the fine is one hundred if there is no owner present, and half a hundred if there is an owner present. // Mn_8.331 //

A violent crime is an act done forcibly with an owner present; theft is when there is no owner present, and when one takes something and denies it. // Mn_8.332 //

That man who should steal these things that have been prepared, him the king should punish with the first amercement, and also him who should steal fire from a house. // Mn_8.333 //

With whatever limb a thief acts among men, that very limb the king should take away from him, for the sake of setting an example. // Mn_8.334 //

A father, an ācārya, a friend, a mother, a wife, a son, or a family priest—no one is unpunishable by the king who does not abide in his own Dharma. // Mn_8.335 //

Where a common man would be fined one kārṣāpaṇa, there the king shall be fined a thousand; this is the established rule. // Mn_8.336 //

For a theft, the guilt of a Shudra shall be eightfold; of a Vaishya, sixteenfold; of a Kshatriya, thirty-twofold. // Mn_8.337 //

For a Brahmana, it shall be sixty-fourfold, or a full hundred, or even twice sixty-four; for he is a knower of the good and bad qualities of that act. // Mn_8.338 //

Fruit and roots from a wild tree, wood for the sake of a fire, and likewise grass for the sake of feeding cows—Manu has declared this not to be theft. // Mn_8.339 //

A Brahmana who desires to obtain wealth from the hand of one who takes what is not given, even by sacrificing or teaching for him, he is just like a thief. // Mn_8.340 //

A twice-born traveler whose livelihood is exhausted, by taking two sugarcanes or two roots from another's field, does not deserve to pay a fine. // Mn_8.341 //

He who binds the unbound, and he who frees the bound, and he who steals a slave, a horse, or a chariot, would incur the guilt of a thief. // Mn_8.342 //

A king who performs the suppression of thieves by this rule obtains fame in this world and, after death, unsurpassed happiness. // Mn_8.343 //

A king who desires the station of Indra and fame that is imperishable and unchanging must not overlook for even a moment a violent criminal. // Mn_8.344 //

A man who commits a violent crime is to be known as the most wicked of sinners, more so than one who is abusive in speech, than a thief, and than one who injures with a weapon. // Mn_8.345 //

That king who tolerates one who is engaged in a violent crime, he quickly goes to ruin and incurs hatred. // Mn_8.346 //

A king must not, for the sake of a friend or from a great influx of wealth, let go of violent criminals who are a cause of fear to all beings. // Mn_8.347 //

A weapon may be taken up by the twice-born when Dharma is obstructed, and in a calamity caused by time that afflicts the twice-born and the varnas. // Mn_8.348 //

And in the protection of oneself, and in a conflict over sacrificial fees, and in the defense of women and Brahmanas, one who slays according to Dharma is not tainted. // Mn_8.349 //

One may slay without hesitation an aggressor who is approaching, whether he be a guru, a child, an old man, or a Brahmana of great learning. // Mn_8.350 //

There is no fault whatsoever for the slayer in the slaying of an aggressor, whether openly or secretly; fury meets fury. // Mn_8.351 //

Men who are engaged in molesting the wives of others, the king should have them marked with punishments that cause terror and then banish them. // Mn_8.352 //

For from that arises the mixing of varnas in the world, by which root-destroying non-Dharma is produced, leading to the destruction of all. // Mn_8.353 //

A man who engages in conversation in secret with the wife of another, having been previously accused of such faults, shall receive the first amercement. // Mn_8.354 //

But he who, not having been previously accused, speaks with her for a reason, he incurs no fault whatsoever, for there is no transgression on his part. // Mn_8.355 //

He who speaks with another's wife at a sacred ford, in a forest, or in a wood, or at the confluence of rivers, he incurs the guilt of adultery. // Mn_8.356 //

Offering services, dallying, touching her ornaments and clothes, and sitting with her on a bed—all this is remembered as adultery. // Mn_8.357 //

He who touches a woman in an improper place, or who, being touched, allows it, with mutual consent—all this is remembered as adultery. // Mn_8.358 //

A non-Brahmana deserves the punishment of death for adultery; for the wives of all four varnas must always be most carefully protected. // Mn_8.359 //

Mendicants and bards, those initiated for a sacrifice, and likewise artisans, may hold conversation with women without being prevented. // Mn_8.360 //

A man who has been forbidden should not hold conversation with the wives of others; but if, having been forbidden, he speaks with them, he deserves a fine of one gold piece. // Mn_8.361 //

This rule does not apply to the wives of wandering actors, nor to those who live by their own bodies; for they display their women and also send them out secretly. // Mn_8.362 //

But he who holds conversation with them shall be made to pay a small fine, and also with female servants who serve one master, and with female ascetics in secret. // Mn_8.363 //

He who defiles an unwilling maiden shall immediately receive the punishment of death; but a man of equal rank who defiles a willing one shall not receive the punishment of death. // Mn_8.364 //

A maiden who consorts with a man of a superior caste should not be made to pay anything; but one who serves a man of a lower caste should be confined and kept in the house. // Mn_8.365 //

But a man of a lower caste who serves a woman of a superior caste deserves death; one who serves a woman of equal rank shall pay the bride-price, if her father wishes it. // Mn_8.366 //

But that man who, out of arrogance, should forcibly violate a maiden, his two fingers shall be cut off immediately, and he deserves a fine of six hundred. // Mn_8.367 //

A man of equal rank who defiles a willing maiden shall not receive the punishment of having his fingers cut off; but he shall be made to pay a fine of two hundred, for the prevention of the offense. // Mn_8.368 //

A maiden who defiles another maiden shall receive a fine of two hundred; she shall also pay double the bride-price and receive ten lashes with a whip. // Mn_8.369 //

But that woman who defiles a maiden shall immediately receive the punishment of having her head shaved, or the cutting off of her two fingers, and likewise being paraded on a donkey. // Mn_8.370 //

That woman who, proud of her family and her qualities, transgresses against her husband, the king shall have her devoured by dogs in a place frequented by many. // Mn_8.371 //

He should have the sinful man burned on a heated iron bed; and they should pile wood on it, and there the sinner shall be burned. // Mn_8.372 //

For one who has been accused for a year, the fine for the offense is double; for intercourse with a Vratya woman, and likewise with a Chandala woman, it is the same. // Mn_8.373 //

A Shudra who has intercourse with a twice-born woman, whether she is guarded or unguarded, shall be deprived of his limb and all his property if she is unguarded; of everything, if she is guarded. // Mn_8.374 //

A Vaishya shall be punished with the confiscation of all his property after a year's imprisonment; a Kshatriya shall be fined a thousand and deserves to have his head shaved with urine. // Mn_8.375 //

If a Vaishya or a Kshatriya should have intercourse with an unguarded Brahmana woman, he should fine the Vaishya five hundred, and the Kshatriya a thousand. // Mn_8.376 //

But both of them, if they have intercourse with a guarded Brahmana woman, having been defiled, shall be punished like a Shudra, or they shall be burned in a fire of straw. // Mn_8.377 //

A Brahmana who forcibly has intercourse with a guarded Brahmana woman shall be fined a thousand; but he shall be fined five hundred if he has intercourse with a willing one. // Mn_8.378 //

Shaving the head is prescribed as a capital punishment for a Brahmana; but for the other varnas, the punishment shall be capital. // Mn_8.379 //

One must never slay a Brahmana, even if he is involved in all sins; one should banish him from the kingdom with all his property and uninjured. // Mn_8.380 //

No greater non-Dharma is known on earth than the slaying of a Brahmana; therefore, a king must not contemplate his slaying even in his mind. // Mn_8.381 //

If a Vaishya has intercourse with a guarded Kshatriya woman, or a Kshatriya with a Vaishya woman, they both deserve the same punishment as for an unguarded Brahmana woman. // Mn_8.382 //

A Brahmana shall be made to pay a fine of a thousand for having intercourse with those two when they are guarded; for intercourse with a Shudra woman, the fine for a Kshatriya or a Vaishya shall be a thousand. // Mn_8.383 //

For intercourse with an unguarded Kshatriya woman, the fine for a Vaishya is five hundred; but a Kshatriya should receive the punishment of having his head shaved with urine, or a fine. // Mn_8.384 //

A Brahmana who has intercourse with an unguarded Kshatriya or Vaishya woman, or with a Shudra woman, shall be fined five hundred; but for an outcaste woman, a thousand. // Mn_8.385 //

That king in whose city there is no thief, no adulterer, no one of abusive speech, no one who wields the rod of violence—he is a partaker of the world of Indra. // Mn_8.386 //

The suppression of these five by a king in his own domain brings him sovereignty among his peers and is a cause of fame in the world. // Mn_8.387 //

If the one for whom a sacrifice is performed should abandon his priest, or if the priest should abandon him, when they are able to perform the work and are not at fault, the fine for both is one hundred each. // Mn_8.388 //

A mother, a father, a wife, and a son do not deserve to be abandoned; one who abandons them when they are not outcastes shall be fined six hundred by the king. // Mn_8.389 //

When the twice-born in their āśramas are disputing with each other about a matter, a king, desiring his own welfare, should not declare the Dharma. // Mn_8.390 //

Having honored them according to their merit, the king, together with Brahmanas, should first pacify them with conciliation and then establish them in their own Dharma. // Mn_8.391 //

A Brahmana who does not feed his worthy immediate and next-door neighbors at an auspicious ceremony with twenty twice-born guests deserves a fine of one māṣaka. // Mn_8.392 //

A śrotriya who does not feed a virtuous śrotriya at rites for prosperity shall be made to pay double the value of that food, and also a gold piece of one māṣaka. // Mn_8.393 //

A blind man, a simpleton, a cripple who moves on a stool, one who is seventy years old, and one who serves śrotriyas—these are not to be made to pay a tax by anyone. // Mn_8.394 //

A king should always honor a śrotriya, the sick and afflicted, the young and the old, the destitute, one of a great family, and an honorable man. // Mn_8.395 //

A washerman should wash clothes gently on a smooth board of silk-cotton wood; and he should not take out clothes with other clothes, nor mix them. // Mn_8.396 //

A weaver should give back ten palas of thread with an increase of one pala; one who acts otherwise shall be made to pay a fine of twelve. // Mn_8.397 //

At the toll-stations, those who are skilled and expert in all merchandise should fix the price according to the goods, and from that the king should take a twentieth part. // Mn_8.398 //

Those goods that are well-known to belong to the king, and those that are forbidden, the king should confiscate all the property of one who exports them out of greed. // Mn_8.399 //

One who avoids a toll-station, who buys or sells at an improper time, and one who speaks falsely in counting shall be made to pay a fine of eight times the amount. // Mn_8.400 //

Having considered the import and export, the storage, and likewise both the increase and decrease, he should have the buying and selling of all merchandise conducted. // Mn_8.401 //

Every five nights, or every fortnight, the king should perform for them, in their presence, the fixing of prices. // Mn_8.402 //

The balance, the weights, and the measures should all be well-marked; and every six months, he should examine them again. // Mn_8.403 //

A vehicle shall be made to pay one paṇa as a ferry-toll; a man carrying a load, half a paṇa; an animal and a woman, a quarter; and an unladen man, half a quarter. // Mn_8.404 //

Vehicles full of goods shall be made to pay a toll according to their value; empty vessels, a trifle; and men without baggage, the same. // Mn_8.405 //

For a long journey, the toll shall be according to the place and time; one should know this for riverbanks; on the sea, there is no fixed rule. // Mn_8.406 //

A woman who is two or more months pregnant, and likewise a wandering ascetic, a sage, and Brahmanas wearing the marks of their order, are not to be made to pay a ferry-toll. // Mn_8.407 //

Whatever on a boat should be damaged through the fault of the boatmen, that must be paid by the boatmen themselves, having come together, from their own shares. // Mn_8.408 //

This has been declared as the decision for legal proceedings concerning boat-travelers; for damage in the water due to the fault of the boatmen, but for an act of God, there is no punishment. // Mn_8.409 //

He should make a Vaishya engage in trade, money-lending, and agriculture, and also in the protection of cattle; and a Shudra, in the service of the twice-born. // Mn_8.410 //

A Brahmana should, out of compassion, support a Kshatriya and a Vaishya who are distressed for a livelihood, making them perform their own duties. // Mn_8.411 //

But a Brahmana who, out of greed, makes initiated twice-born men perform the work of a slave against their will, through his power, shall be fined six hundred by the king. // Mn_8.412 //

But he should make a Shudra perform the work of a slave, whether bought or not bought; for he was created by the Self-existent One for the service of a Brahmana. // Mn_8.413 //

A Shudra, even if released by his master, is not freed from servitude; for that is innate in him; who then can remove that from him? // Mn_8.414 //

One captured under a banner, one who becomes a slave for food, one born in the house, one who is bought, one who is given, one inherited from his father, and one who becomes a slave to pay off a fine—these are the seven origins of slaves. // Mn_8.415 //

A wife, a son, and a slave—these three are remembered as having no property; whatever they acquire, that property belongs to him to whom they belong. // Mn_8.416 //

A Brahmana may confidently take property from a Shudra; for he has nothing of his own, for his property may be taken by his master. // Mn_8.417 //

He should diligently make the Vaishya and the Shudra perform their own duties; for those two, having fallen from their duties, would throw this world into confusion. // Mn_8.418 //

Day by day he should inspect the workshops and the vehicles, and the fixed income and expenditure, the mines, and the treasury. // Mn_8.419 //

Thus a king, by settling all these legal proceedings, having cast off all sin, attains the supreme state. // Mn_8.420 //