अध्याय 12
श्लोक 220.1
[य] मग्नस्य वयसने कृच्छ्रे किं शरेयः पुरुषस्य हि बन्धुनाशे महीपाल राज्यनाने ऽपि वा पुनः
[ya] magnasya vayasane kṛcchre kiṃ śareyaḥ puruṣasya hi bandhunāśe mahīpāla rājyanāne 'pi vā punaḥ
हिन्दी अर्थ
ब्रह्म धारयतां नित्य॑ं वब्रतानि नियमांस्तथा
English
affairs, act unjustly, moved by self-interest, all sink in hell along with the king himself. Those helpless men who are oppressed by the powerful and who indulge on that account in piteous and copious lamentations, have their protector in the king. In cases of dispute between two parties the decision should be based upon the evidence of witnesses. If one of the disputants has no witnesses and is helpless, the king should give the case his best consideration. The king should cause chastisement to be meted out to offenders according to the measure of their offences. They that are wealthy should be punished with fines and confiscations; they that are poor, with loss of liberty. Those that are of very wicked conduct should be chastised by the king with even corporal inflictions. The king should cherish all good men with agreeable speeches and gifts of wealth. He who seeks to compass the death of the king should be punished with death to be effected by diverse means. The same should be the punishment of one who becomes guilty of arson or theft or such co-habitation with women as may lead to a confusion of castes. A king, O monarch, who inflicts punishments duly and conformably to the dictates of the science of chastisement, incurs no sin by the act. On the other hand, he earns merit that is eternal. That foolish king who inflicts punishments capriciously, earns infamy here and sinks into hell hereafter. One should not be punished for the fault of another, Reflecting well upon the (criminal) code, a person should be convicted or acquitted. A king should never slay an envoy under any circumstances. That king who slays art envoy sinks into hell with all his ministers. That king observant of Kshatriya practices who slays an envoy that faithfully utters the message with which he is charged, causes the manes of his deceased ancestors to be stained with the sin of killing a foetus. An envoy should possess these seven