Chapter 21 - Personal Safety

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

On getting up from the bed, the king shall be received by troops of women armed with bows. In the second compartment, he shall be received by the Kañcuki (presenter of the king’s coat), the Uṣṇīṣi (presenter of king’s head-dress), aged persons, and other harem attendants.

In the third compartment, he. shall be received by crooked and dwarfish persons; in the fourth, by prime ministers, kinsmen, and door-keepers with barbed missiles in their hand.

The king shall employ as his personal attendants those whose fathers and grandfathers had been royal servants, those who bear close relationship to the king, those who are well trained and loyal, and those who have rendered good service.

Neither foreigners, nor those who have earned neither rewards nor honour by rendering good service, nor even natives found engaged in inimical works shall form the bodyguard of the king or the troops of the officers in charge of the harem.

In a well-guarded locality, the head-cook (māhānasika) shall supervise the preparation of varieties of relishing dishes. The king shall partake of such fresh dishes after making an oblation out of them first to the, fire and then to birds.

When the flame and the smoke turn blue and crackle, and when birds (that eat the oblation) die, presence of poison (in the dish) shall be inferred. When the vapour arising from cooked rice possesses the colour of the neck of a peacock, and appears chill as if suddenly cooled, when vegetables possess an unnatural colour, and are watery and hardened, and appear to have suddenly turned dry, being possessed of broken layers of blackish foam, and being devoid of smell, touch and taste natural to them; when utensils reflect light either more or less than usual, and are covered with a layer of foam at their edges; when any liquid preparation possesses streaks on its surface; when milk bears a bluish streak in the centre of its surface; when liquor and water possess reddish streaks; when curd is marked with black and dark streaks, and honey with white streaks; when watery things appear parched as if over-cooked and look blue and swollen; when dry things have shrinked and changed in their colour; when hard things appear soft, and soft things hard; when minute animalcule die in the vicinity of the dishes; when carpets and curtains possess blackish circular spots, with their threads and hair fallen off; when metallic vessels set with gems appear tarnished as though by roasting, and have lost their polish, colour, shine, and softness of touch, presence of poison shall be inferred.^[1]

As to the person who has administered poison, the marks are parched and dry mouth; hesitation in speaking; heavy perspiration; yawning; too much bodily tremour; frequent tumbling; evasion of speech; carelessness in work; and unwillingness to keep to the place assigned to him.

Hence physicians and experts capable of detecting poison shall ever attend upon the king.

Having taken out from the store-room of medicines that medicine the purity of which has been proved by experiment, and [44] having himself together with the decoctioner and the purveyor (pācaka and poṣaka) tested it, the physician shall hand over the medicine to the king. The same rule shall apply to liquor and other beverages.

Having cleaned their person and hands by fresh bath and put on newly-washed garment, servants in charge of dresses and toilets shall serve the king with dresses and toilets received under- seal from the officer in charge of the harem.

Prostitutes shall do the duty of bath-room servants, shampooers, bedding-room servants, washermen, and flower garland-makers, while presenting to the king water, scents, fragrant powders, dress and garlands; servants along with the above prostitutes shall first touch these things by their eyes, arms and breast.

The same rule shall apply to whatever has been received from an outside person.

Musicians shall entertain the king with those kinds of amusements in which weapons, fire, and poison are not made use of. Musical instruments as well as the ornaments of horses, chariots, and elephants shall invariably be kept inside (the harem).

The king shall mount over chariots or beasts of burden only when they are first mounted over by his hereditary driver or rider.

He shall get into a boat only when it is piloted by a trustworthy sailor and is conjoined to a second boat. He shall never sail on any ship which had once been weather-beaten; and (while boating on a good ship) his army shall all the while stand on the bank or the shore.

He shall get into such water as is free from large fishes (matsya) and crocodiles. He shall ramble only in such forests as are freed from snakes and crocodiles (grāha).

With a view of acquiring efficiency in the skill of shooting arrows at moving objects, he shall engage himself in sports only in such forests as are cleared by hunters and hound-keepers from the fear of highway-robbers, snakes, and enemies.

Attended by trustworthy bodyguard armed with weapons, he shall give interview to saints and ascetics. Surrounded by his assembly of ministers, he shall receive the envoys of foreign states.

Attired in military dress and having mounted a horse, a chariot or an elephant, he shall go to see his army equipped in military array.

On the occasion of going out of, and coming into (the capital), the king’s road shall on both sides be well guarded by staff-bearers and freed from the presence of armed persons, ascetics and the cripple (vyaṅga).

He shall go to witness festive trains, fairs (yātra), procession, or sacrificial performances only when they are policed by bands of “The Ten Communities” (daśavargikā-dhiṣṭhitāni).

Just as he attends to the personal safety of others through the agency of spies, so a wise king shall also take care to secure his person from external dangers.^[2]

[Thus ends Chapter XXI, “Personal Safety,” in Book I, “Concerning Discipline” of the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya. With this, the Book I, “Concerning Discipline” of the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya, has ended.]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Ka. VII, 15-26.

[2]:

In śloka-metre. Ka, VII, 39-59.