Hence authorised persons alone shall collect grains and other merchandise. Collection of such things without permission shall be confiscated by the Superintendent of Commerce.
Hence shall merchants be favourably disposed towards the people in selling grains and other commodities.
The Superintendent of Commerce shall fix a profit of five per cent over and above the fixed price of local commodities, and ten per cent on foreign produce. Merchants who enchance the price or realise profit even to the extent of half a pana more than the above in the sale or purchase of commodities shall be punished with a fine of from five panas in case of realising 100 panas up to 200 panas.
Fines for greater enhancement shall be proportionally increased.
In case of failure to sell collected merchandise wholesale at a fixed rate, the rate shall be altered.
In case of obstruction to traffic, the Superintendent shall show necessary concessions.
Whenever there is an excessive supply of merchandise, the Superintendent shall centralise its sale and prohibit the sale of similar merchandise elsewhere before the centralised supply is disposed of.
Favourably disposed towards the people, shall merchants sell this centralised supply for daily wages.
Kautilya's Arthashastra The Superintendent shall, on consideration of the outlay, the quantity manufactured, the amount of toll, the interest on outlay, hire, and other kinds of accessory expenses, fix the price of such merchandise with due regard to its having been manufactured long ago or imported from a distant country (desakdldntaritdndm panydndm.)
[Thus ends Chapter II, "Protection of merchants" in Book IV "The Removal of Thorns" of the Arthasdstra of Kautilya. End of the seventy-ninth chapter from the beginning.]
CHAPTER III. REMEDIES AGAINST NATIONAL CALAMITIES.
THERE are eight kinds of providential visitations: They are fire, floods, pestilential diseases, famine, rats, tigers (vydldh), serpents, and demons. From these shall the king protect his kingdom.
(Fire.)
During the summer, villages shall carry on cooking operations outside. Or they shall provide themselves with the ten remedial instruments (dasamuli).
Precautionary measures against fire have been dealt with in connection with the description not only of the duties of superintendents of villages, but also of the king's, harem and retinue.
Not only on ordinary days, but also on full-moon days shall offerings, oblations, and prayers be made to fire.
Kautilya's Arthashastra (Floods.)
Villagers living on the banks of rivers shall, during the rainy reason, remove themselves to upcountries. They shall provide themselves with wooden planks, bamboos, and boats. They shall, by means of bottle-gourds, canoes, trunks of trees, or boats rescue persons that are being carried off by floods. Persons neglecting rescue with the exception of those who have no boats, etc., shall be fined 12 panas. On new and full-moon days shall rivers be worshipped. Experts in sacred magic and mysticism (mdydyogavidah), and persons learned in the Vedas, shall perform, incantations against rain.
During drought shall Indra (sachindtha), the Ganges, mountains, and Mahdkachchha be worshipped.
(Pestilences.)
Such remedial measures as will be treated of in the 14th book shall be taken against pestilences. Physicians with their medicines, and ascetics and prophets with their auspicious and purificatory ceremonials shall also overcome pestilences. The same remedial measures shall be taken against epidemics (maraka = killer). Besides the above measures, oblations to gods, the ceremonial called, Mahd-kachchhavardhana, milking the cows on cremation or burial grounds, burning the trunk of a corpse, and spending nights in devotion to gods shall also be observed.
With regard to cattle diseases (pasuvyddhimarake), not only the ceremony of waving lights in cowsheds (nirdjanam) shall be half done, but also the worship of family-gods be carried out.
(Famines.)
Kautilya's Arthashastra During famine, the king shall show favour to his people by providing them with seeds and provision (bijabhaktopagrdham).
He may either do such works as are usually resorted to in calamities; he may show favour by distributing either his own collection of provisions or the hoarded income of the rich among the people; or seek for help from his friends among kings.
Or the policy of thinning the rich by exacting excessive revenue (karsanam), or causing them to vomit their accumulated wealth (vamanam) may be resorted to.
Or the king with his subjects may emigrate to another kingdom with abundant harvest.
Or he may remove himself with his subjects to seashores or to the banks of rivers or lakes. He may cause his subjects to grow grains, vegetables, roots, and fruits wherever water is available. He may, by hunting and fishing on a large scale, provide the people with wild beasts, birds, elephants, tigers or fish.
(Rats.)
To ward off the danger from rats, cats and mongooses may be let loose. Destruction of rats that have been caught shall be punished with a fine of 12 panas. The same punishment shall be meted out to those who, with the exception of wild tribes, do not hold their dogs in check.
With a view to destroy rats, grains mixed with the milk of the milk-hedge plants (snuhi: Euphorbia Antiquorum), or grains mixed with such ingredients as are treated of in the 14th book may be left on the ground. Asceties and prophets may perform auspicious ceremonials. On new and full-moon days rats may be worshipped.
Kautilya's Arthashastra Similar measures may also be taken against the danger from locusts, birds and insects.
(Snakes.)
[When there is fear from snakes, experts in applying remedies against snake poison shall resort to incantations and medicines; or they may destroy snakes in a body; or those who are learned in the Atharvaveda may perform auspicious rites. On new and full moon days, (snakes) may be worshipped. This explains the measures to be taken against the dangers from water- animals.
(Tigers.)
In order to destroy tigers, either the carcasses of cattle mixed with the juice of madana plant, or the carcasses of calves filled with the juice of madana and kodrava plants may be thrown in suitable places.
Or hunters or keepers of hounds may catch tigers by entrapping them in nets. Or persons under the protection of armour may kill tigers with arms.
Negligence to rescue a person under the clutches of a tiger shall be punished with a fine of 12 panas. Similar sum of money shall be given as a reward to him who kills a tiger.
On new and full moon days mountains may be worshipped. Similar measures may be taken against the inroad of beasts, birds, or crocodiles.
(Demons.)
Persons acquainted with the rituals of the Atharvaveda, and Kautilya's Arthashastra experts in sacred magic and mysticism shall perform such ceremonials as ward off the danger from demons.
On full-moon days the worship of Chaityas may be performed by placing on a verandah offerings such as an umbrella, the picture of an arm, a flag, and some goat's flesh.
In all kinds of dangers from demons, the incantation 'we offer thee cooked rice" shall be performed.
The king shall always protect the afflicted among his people as a father his sons.
Such ascetics as are experts in magical arts, and being endowed with supernatural powers, can ward off providential visitations, shall, therefore, be honoured by the king and made to live in his kingdom.
[Thus ends Chapter III, "Remedies against national Calamities" in Book IV, "The Removal of Thorns," of the Arthasdstra of Kautilya. End of the eightieth chapter from the beginning.]
CHAPTER IV. SUPPRESSION OF THE WICKED LIVING BY FOUL MEANS.
MEASURES necessary for the protection of countries have been briefly dealt with in connection with the description of the duties of the Collector-general.
We are now going to treat of in detail such measures as can remove the disturbing elements of peace.
Kautilya's Arthashastra The Collector-general shall employ spies disguised as persons endowed with supernatural power, persons engaged in penance, ascetics, world trotters (chakra-chara), bards, buffoons, mystics (prachchhandaka), astrologers, prophets foretelling the future, persons capable of reading good or bad time, physicians, lunatics, the dumb, the deaf, idiots, the blind, traders, painters, carpenters, musicians, dancers, vintners, and manufacturers of cakes, flesh and cooked rice, and send them abroad into the country for espionage.
The spies shall ascertain the fair or foul dealings of villagers, or of the Superintendents of villages and report the same.
If any person is found to be of foul life (gudhajivi), a spy who is acquainted with similar avocation shall be let loose upon him.
On acquiring friendship with the suspected person who may be either a judge or a commissioner, the spy may request him that the misfortune in which a friend of the spy is involved may be warded off and that a certain amount of money may be accepted. If the judge accedes to the request, he shall be proclaimed as the receiver of bribes and banished. The same rule shall also apply to commissioners.
A spy may tell the congregation of villages (grdmakutam) or its superintendent that a wealthy man of wicked character is involved in some trouble and that this opportunity may be availed of to squeeze money from him. If either the one or the other complies with the spy, banishment shall be ordered under the proclamation of 'extortion.'
Under the pretence of having been charged with criminal offence, a spy may, with promise of large sums money, begin to deal with false witnesses. If they agree with him, they shall be proclaimed as false witnesses and banished.
Kautilya's Arthashastra Manufacturers of counterfeit coins shall also be treated similarly.
Whoever is believed to secure for others the love of women by means of magical charms, drugs or ceremonials performed on cremation grounds may be approached by a spy with the request that the wife, daughter, or daughter-in-law of some one, whom the spy pretends to love may be made to return the love and that a certain amount of money may be accepted. If he consents to it, he shall be proclaimed as one engaged in witchcraft (samvadanakdraka) and banished.
Similar steps may be taken against persons engaged in such witchcraft as is hurtful to others.
Whoever is suspected of administering poison (rasa = mercury) to others by reason of his talking of it or selling or purchasing mercury, or using it in preparing medicines, may be approached with the tale that a certain enemy of the spy may be killed and that a certain amount of money may be received as reward. If he does so, he shall be proclaimed as a poisoner (rasada), and banished.
Similar steps may be taken against those who deal with medicines prepared from madana plant.
Whoever is suspected of manufacturing counterfeit coins in that he often purchases various kinds of metals, alkalis, charcoal, bellows, pincers, crucibles, stove, and hammers, has his hands and cloths dirty with ashes and smoke, or possesses such other accessory instruments as are necessary for this illegal manufacture, may be requested by a spy to take the latter as an apprentice, and being gradually betrayed by the spy, such person, on proclamation of his guilt as the manufacturer of false coins, shall be banished.
Kautilya's Arthashastra Similar steps may be taken against those who lower the quality of gold by mixing it with an alloy, or deal with counterfeit gold (suvarna = coin?)
There are thirteen kinds of criminals who, secretly attempting to live by foul means, destroy the peace of the country. They shall either be banished or made to pay an adequate compensation according as their guilt is light or serious.
[Thus ends Chapter IV, "Suppression of the wicked living by foul means" in Book IV "The Removal Thorns" of the Arthasdstra of Kautilya. End of the eighty-first chapter from the beginning.]
CHAPTER V. DETECTION OF YOUTHS OF CRIMINAL TENDENCY BY ASCETIC SPIES.
ON availing themselves of the opening made by ordinary spies sent in advance, special spies pretending to be endowed with supernatural powers may, under the pretence of knowing such incantations as cause rapid speed in running away, or render persons invisible, or cause hard fastened doors to open, induce highway robbers to robbery; and may under the pretence of knowing such incantations as secure the love of women, entice adulterers to take part in criminal actions planned for the purpose of proving their criminal intentions.
On taking these enthusiasts thus induced to a village, where persons under the guise of women and men are previously stationed and which is different from the one intended to be reached, the youths may be told that it is difficult to reach in time the village aimed at and that the power of incantation may be seen Kautilya's Arthashastra then and there alone.
Having opened the doors seemingly with the power of incantation, the youths may be asked to get in. Having, in the midst of wakeful watchmen under concert, rendered the youths invisible with incantation, they may be asked to go into the interior. Having caused the watchmen seemingly sleepy, the youths may, as ordered, move the beds of the watchmen with no hesitation. Persons under the guise of others, wives may, seemingly under the influence of incantation, please the youths.
Soon after the youths have actually experienced the powers of incantation, they may be taught the recitation and other accessory procedure of that art. They may afterwards be asked to test the power of their new learning in plundering such houses as contain articles or money with marks of identification, and simultaneously caught hold of in the very act. They may either be arrested while selling, purchasing, or mortgaging articles with marks of identification, or caught hold of while under intoxication brought about by medicinal drinks (yogasurdmatta).
From these youths thus arrested may be gathered information regarding the past life of them and of their accomplices.
Spies under the disguise of old and notorious thieves may similarly associate with robbers and, instituting similar measures, cause the latter to be arrested.
The Collector- general shall exhibit these arrested robbers and announce to the public that their arrest is due to the instructions obtained from the king who has learnt the divine art of catching robbers: 'I shall similarly catch hold of other robbers again and again, and you, people, ought to prevent any one of your own kinsmen from his wicked deeds.'
Kautilya's Arthashastra Whoever is known, through the information of spies, to have been a robber of yoking ropes, whips and other (agricultural) implements may be arrested and told that his arrest is due to the omniscient power of the king. Spies under the disguise of old and notorious robbers, herdsmen, hunters, or keepers of hounds may mix themselves with criminal tribes living in forests, and conspire with them to attack villages or caravanserais which, according to previous plan, contain plenty of counterfeit gold and other articles. During the tumult, they may be killed by armed men concealed for the purpose. Or on their securing plenty of stolen treasure, the robbers may either be made to eat such food as is mixed with the intoxicating juice of madana plant, or caught hold of either while sleeping with fatigue caused by incessant movements or while under intoxication due to the drinking of medicinal beverage on the occasions of religious festivals.
The Collector-general shall exhibit in public these and other arrested criminals and proclaim the omniscient power of the king among the people at large.
[Thus ends Chapter V, "Detection of youths of criminal tendency by ascetic spies," in Book IV, "The Removal Thorns" of the Arthasdstra of Kautilya. End of the eighty-second chapter from the beginning.]
CHAPTER VI. SEIZURE OF CRIMINALS ON SUSPICION OR IN THE VERY ACT.
IN addition to the measures taken by spies under the guise of prophets, such steps as are suggested by suspicious movements or possession of stolen articles may also be taken.
Kautilya's Arthashastra (Suspicion.)
Persons whose family subsist on slender means of inheritance; who have little or no comfort; who frequently change their residence, caste and the names, not only of themselves, but also of their family (gotra); who conceal their own avocations and calls; who have betaken themselves to such luxurious modes of life as eating flesh and condiments, drinking liquor, wearing scents, garlands, fine dress, and jewels; who have been squandering away their money; who constantly move with profligate women, gamblers, or vintners; who frequently leave their residence; whose commercial transaction, journey, or destination is difficult to understand; who travel alone in such solitary places as forests and mountainous tracts; who hold secret meetings in lonely places near to, or far from, their residence; who hurry on to get their fresh wounds or boils cured; who always hide themselves in the interior of their houses; who are excessively attached to women; who are always inquisitive to gather information as to the women and property of others; who associate themselves with men of condemnable learning and work; who loiter in the dark behind walls or under shades; who purchase rare or suspicious articles in suspicious times or places; who are known for their inimical dealings; whose caste and avocation are very low; who keep false appearances or put on different caste signs; who change their ancestral customs under false excuses; whose notoriety is already marked; who, though in charge of villages, are terribly afraid of appearing before the prime minister and conceal themselves or go elsewhere; who pant in fear while sitting alone; who show undue agitation or palpitation of heart; whose face is pale and dry while the voice is indistinct and stammering; who always move in company with armed men; or who keep threatening appearance; these and other persons may be suspected to be either murderers or robbers or offenders guilty of misappropriation of treasure-trove or deposits or to be any other kind of knaves subsisting by foul means Kautilya's Arthashastra secretly employed.
Thus the seizure of criminals on suspicion is dealt with. (Seizure of stolen articles.)
AS regards the seizure of criminals in the very act:- Information regarding such articles as are either lost or stolen shall, if the articles are not found out, be supplied to those who trade in similar articles. Traders who conceal the articles as to the loss of which they have already received information shall be condemned as abettors. If they are found not to be aware of the loss, they may be acquitted on restoring the articles.
No person shall, without giving information to the superintendent of commerce, mortgage or purchase for himself any old or second-hand article.
On receiving information regarding the sale or mortgage of old articles, the Superintendent shall ask the owner how he came by it. He may reply: it has been inherited; it has been received from a third person; it is purchased by himself; or it has been made to order; or it is a secret pledge; he may definitely state that the time and place when and where it came into being. Or he may adduce evidence as to the price and commission (kshanamulyam) for which it was purchased. If his statement regarding the antecedent circumstances of the article is found to be true, he shall be let off.
If the article in question is found to be the one lost by another person whose deposition regarding the antecedent circumstances of the article in no way differs from the previous story, the article shall be considered to belong to that person who is found to have long been enjoying it and whose life is very pure. For while even Kautilya's Arthashastra quadrupeds and bipeds are found to bear such common evidences of identification as colour, gait and form, can there be any difficulty in identifying such articles as, in the form of raw materials, jewels, or vessels, are the product of a single source, definite materials, a particular manufacturer for a definite purpose?
The possessor of an article in question may plead that the article is either borrowed or hired, a pledge or a sealed deposit, or one obtained from a particular person for retail sale.
If he proves his allegation by producing the referee, he shall be let off; or the referee may deny having had any concern in the matter.
With regard to the reasons which a person, seized with an article lost by another, assigns as to his having taken the article as a gift from a third person, he shall corroborate them by producing as witnesses not only those who gave and caused to give the article to him, but also those who, being mediators, custodians, bearers, or witnesses, arranged for the transfer of the article.
When a person is found possessed of an article which he alleges to have been thrown out, lost, or forgotten by a third person, he shall prove his innocence by adducing evidence as to the time, place, and circumstances of finding the article. Otherwise he shall restore the article, besides paying a fine equal to its value; or he may be punished as a thief.
Thus the seizure of criminals in the very act is dealt with.
(Circumstancial Evidence.)
As regards the seizure of criminals on the clue of circumstancial evidence:— Kautilya's Arthashastra In cases of house breaking and theft the circumstances, such as entrance and exit effected through other than doors; breaking the door by means of special contrivances breaking the windows with or without lattice work, or pulling off the roof in houses consisting of upstairs, ascending and descending upstairs; breaking the wall; tunnelling; such contrivances as are necessary to carry off the treasure secretly hoarded, information about which can only be gathered from internal sources; these and other accessory circumstances of wear and tear cognisable in the interior shall tend to indicate the concern of internal hands in the crime, and those of reverse nature, external agencies. The blending of these two kinds of circumstances shall indicate both internal and external agencies.
Regarding crimes suspected to be the work of internal agencies: Any person of miserable appearance, present on the occasion, associated with rogues or thieves, and possessed of such instruments as are necessary for theft; a woman who is born of a poor family, or has placed her affections elsewhere; servants of similar condemnable character; any person addicted to too much sleep or who is suffering from want of sleep; any person who shows signs of fatigue, or whose face is pale and dry with voice stammering and indistinct and who may be watching the movements of others or bewailing too much; any person whose body bears the signs of scaling heights; any person whose body appears to have been scratched or wounded with dress torn off; any one whose legs and hands bear the signs of rubbing and scratching; any one whose hair and nails are either full of dirt or freshly broken; any one who has just bathed and daubed his body with sandal; any one who has smeared his body with oil and has just washed his hands and legs; any one whose foot-prints can be identified with those made near the house during ingress or egress; any one whose broken fragments of garlands, sandal or dress can be identified with those thrown out in or near the house during entrance or exit; any person the smell of whose sweat or drink can Kautilya's Arthashastra be ascertained from the fragments of his dress thrown out in or near the house;— these and other persons shall be examined.
A citizen or a person of adulterous habits may also be suspected.
* A commissioner (pradeshtd) with his retinue of gopas and sthdnikas shall take steps to find out external thieves; and the officer in charge of a city (ndgaraka) shall, under the circumstances sketched above, try to detect internal thieves inside fortified towns.
[Thus ends Chapter VI, "Seizure of criminals on suspicion or in the very act," in Book IV, "The Removal of Thorns" of the Arthasdstra of Kautilya. End of the eighty-third chapter from the beginning.]
CHAPTER VII. EXAMINATION OF SUDDEN DEATH.
IN cases of sudden death, the corpse shall be smeared over with oil and examined.
Any person whose corpse is tainted with mucus and urine, with organs inflated with wind, with hands and legs swollen, with eyes open, and with neck marked with ligatures may be regarded as having been killed by suffocation and suppression of breathing.
Any person with contracted arms and thighs may be regarded as having been killed by hanging.
Any dead person with swollen hands, legs and belly, with Kautilya's Arthashastra sunken eyes and inflated navel may be regarded as having been killed by hanging.
Any dead person with stiffened rectum and eyes, with tongue bitten between the teeth, and with belly swollen, may be considered as having been killed by drowning.
Any dead person, wetted with blood and with limb, wounded and broken, may be regarded as having been killed with sticks or ropes.
Any dead person with fractures and broken limbs, may be regarded as having been thrown down.
Any dead person with dark coloured hands, legs, teeth, and nails, with loose skin, hairs fallen, flesh reduced, and with face bedaubed with foam and saliva, may be regarded as having been poisoned.
Any dead person of similar description with marks of a bleeding bite, may be considered as having been bitten by serpents and other poisonous creatures.
Any dead person, with body spread and dress thrown out after excessive vomitting and purging may be considered as having been killed by the administration of the juice of the madana plant.
Death due to any one of the above causes is, sometimes under the fear of punishment, made to appear as having been brought about by voluntary hanging, by causing marks of ligature round the neck.
In death due to poison, the undigested portion of meat may be examined in milk. Or the same extracted from the belly and thrown on fire may, if it makes 'chitchita' sound and assumes the rainbow Kautilya's Arthashastra colour, be declared as poisoned.
Or when the belly (hridayam) remains unburnt, although the rest of the body is reduced to ashes, the dead man's servants may be examined as to any violent and cruel treatments they may have received at the hands of the dead. Similarly such of the dead man's relatives as a person of miserable life, a woman with affections placed elsewhere or a relative defending some woman that has been deprived of her inheritance by the dead man may also be examined.
The same kind of examination shall be conducted concerning the hanging of the body of an already dead man.
Causes such as past evils or harm done to others by a dead man, shall be inquired into regarding any death due to voluntary hanging.
All kinds of sudden death, centre round one or the other of the following causes:- Offence to women or kinsmen, claiming inheritance, professional competition, hatred against rivals, commerce, guilds and any one of the legal disputes, is the cause of anger: anger is the cause of death.
When, owing to false resemblance, one's own hirelings, or thieves for money, or the enemies of a third person murder one, the relatives of the deceased shall be inquired as follows:— Who called the deceased; who was with him; who accompanied him on his journey; and who took him to the scene of death?
Those who happened to be at the locality of murder shall be Kautilya's Arthashastra severally asked as follows:— By whom the deceased was brought there; whether they (the witnesses) saw any armed person lurking in the place and showing signs of troubled appearance?
Any clue afforded by them shall be followed in further enquiry.