Verse 9.278

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

अग्निदान् भक्तदांश्चैव तथा शस्त्रावकाशदान् ।
संनिधातॄंश्च मोषस्य हन्याच्चौरमिवेश्वरः ॥ २७८ ॥

agnidān bhaktadāṃścaiva tathā śastrāvakāśadān |
saṃnidhātṝṃśca moṣasya hanyāccauramiveśvaraḥ || 278 ||

The king shall strike like thieves those who provide fire, offer food and supply arms and lodging, as also those who abet their escape.—(278)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

Those who provide for the thieves fire for warming themselves and such other purposes.

‘Arms’— Cutlass and the like.

‘Abettors’—Contrivers—‘of escape.’

All those shall be dealt with like thieves.

‘Those who supply arms and lodging.’—Though this has been already mentioned before, yet it has been added again by way of summing up all that is intended.—(278)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

‘Agnidān’.—‘Those who give fire to the thieves,—so that they may warm themselves, or for similar purposes’ (Medhātithi),—‘so that they may put fire to houses’ (Nārāyaṇa).

‘Moṣaṣya sannidhātṛṛn (sannidhātṝn?)—‘Receivers of stolen goods’ (Kullūka);—‘abettors of theft’ (Medhātithi and Nārāyaṇa).

This verse is quoted in Vivādaratnākara (p. 338), which adds the following notes:—‘Avakāśa’, lodging,—‘agni’, fire as helping the act of stealing,—‘moṣaṣya sannidhātṛṛn’, those who help in bringing about conditions conducive to the stealing of property;—it adds that the cases referred to are those in which the culprit has not been led either by fear or by ignorance to do what he has done.

It is quoted in Aparārka (p. 849);—and in Vyavahāra-Bālambhaṭṭī (p. 991).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

[See texts under 271.]