Chapter 12 - Sexual Intercourse with Immature Girls

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

He who defiles a maiden of equal caste before she has reached her maturity shall have his hand cut off or pay a fine of 400 paṇas;^[1] if the maiden dies in consequence, the offender shall be put to death.

He who defiles a maiden who has attained maturity shall have his middle finger cut off or pay a fine of 200 paṇas, besides giving an adequate compensation to her father.^[2]

No man shall have sexual intercourse with any woman against her will

He who defiles a willing maiden shall pay a fine of 54 paṇas, while the maiden herself shall pay a fine of half the amount.

When a man impersonates another man who has already paid the nuptial fee to a woman (paraśulkopadhāyā),^[3] he shall have his hand cut off or pay a fine of 400 paṇas, besides making good the nuptial fee.

No man who has connection with a maiden that has passed seven menses and has not yet succeeded in marrying her, though she has been betrothed to him, shall either be guilty or pay any compensation to her father; for her father has lost his authority over her in consequence of having deprived her so long of the result of her menses.

It is no offence for a man of equal caste and rank to have connection, with a maiden who has been unmarried three years after her first menses. Nor is it an offence for a man, even of different caste, to have connection with a maiden who has spent more than three years after her first menses and has no jewellery on her person; for taking possession of paternal property (under such circumstances) shall be regarded as theft.

Any person who, while pretending to secure a bride to a particular person, ultimately obtains her for a third person, shall be fined 200 paṇas.

No man shall have sexual intercourse with any woman against her will.

If a person substitutes in marriage another maiden for the one he has before shown, he shall, if the substitute is of the same rank, be fined 100 paṇas; and 200 paṇas if she is of a lower rank.^[4] The substituted maiden shall be fined 54 paṇas, while the offender shall also be compelled to return both the nuptial fee and the amount of expenditure (incurred by the bridegroom). When a man refuses to give in marriage a particular maiden as agreed upon, he shall pay double the above fine. When a man substitutes in marriage a maiden of different blood or is found to have bestowed false praises (on her quality), he shall not only pay a fine of 200 paṇas and return the nuptial fee, but also make good the expenditure.^[5]

No man shall have sexual intercourse with any woman against her will.

When a woman being desirous of intercourse, yields herself to a man of the same caste and rank, she shall be fined 12 paṇas, while any other woman who is an abettor in the case shall be fined twice as much. Any woman who abets a man in having intercourse with a maiden against her will shall not only pay a fine of 100 paṇas, but also please the maiden, providing her with an adequate nuptial fee.

A woman who, of her own accord, yields herself to a man, shall be a slave to the king.

For committing intercourse with a woman outside a village, or for spreading false report regarding such things,^[6] double the usual fines shall be imposed.

He who carries off a maiden by force shall be fined 200 paṇas; if the maiden thus carried off has golden ornaments on her person, the highest amercement shall be imposed. If a number of persons abduct a maiden, each of them shall be punished as above.^[7]

When a man nas connection with a harlot’s daughter, he shall not only pay a fine of 54 paṇas, but also give her mother sixteen times her daily income.

When a man defiles the daughter of his own male or female slave, he shall not only pay a fine of 24 paṇas, but also provide the maiden with an adequate nuptial fee (śulka) and jewellery (ābadhya).

When a man has connection with a woman who has been held in slavery on account of certain ransom due from her, he shall not only pay a fine of 12 paṇas, but also provide the woman with dress and maintenance.

Abettors in all the above cases shall each have the same punishment as the principal offender.

A relative, or a servant of an absentee husband may take the latter’s wife of loose character under his own protection (saṃgṛhṇīyāt =may marry her). Being under such protection, she shall wait for the return of her husband. If her husband, on his return, entertains no objection, both the protector and the woman shall be acquitted. If he raises any objection, the woman shall have her ears and nose cut off, while her keeper shall be put to death as an adulterer.

When a man falsely accuses another of having committed theft while in reality the latter is guilty of adultery, the complainant shall be fined 500 paṇas.^[8]

He who lets off an adulterer by receiving gold shall pay a fine of eight times the value of the gold (he received).

(Adultery may be proved by circumstances, such as) hand to hand figt, abduction, any marks made on the body of the culprits, opinion of experts on consideration of the circumstances, or the statements of women involved in it.^[9]

When a man rescues a woman from enemies, forests, or floods, or saves the life of a woman who has been abandoned in forests, forsaken in famine, or thrown out as if dead, he may enjoy her as agreed upon during the rescue.

A woman of high caste, with children and having no desire for sexual enjoyment, may be let off after receiving an adequate amount of ransom,

* Those women who have been rescued from the hands of thieves, from floods, in famine, or in national calamities, or who, having been abandoned, missed, or thrown out as if dead in forests, have been taken home, may be enjoyed by the rescuer as agreed upon.

* But no such women as have been cast out under royal edict, or by their own kinsmen; nor such as belong to high caste, or do not like to be rescued, nor even those who have children, shall be rescued either for ransom or for their person.

[Thus ends Chapter XII, “Sexual Intercourse with Immature Girls,” in Book IV, “The Removal of Thorns” of the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya. End of the eighty-ninth chapter from the beginning.]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Y. 2, 286.

[2]:

Y. 2, 288; M. 8, 366-68; 9, 90-93; Vi. 24, 40.

[3]:

The Munich Manuscript reads, “Śulkāvaruddhāyām,” when a man defiles a maiden who is bound to another by śulka.

[4]:

M. 8, 204.

[5]:

Meyer translates the passage differently:—A wife having intercourse with her husband before puberty shall be fined 54 paṇas, and also repay the śulka and the amount of expenditure. If her immaturity is proved by the blood caused by the intercourse, she shall pay double the fine. If another woman’s blood is substituted for her own, she shall pay 200 paṇas; a man uttering a lie under such circumstances shall be equally fined. He shall also lose his śulka and the amount of expenditure.

[6]:

Mithyabhiśaṃsane, or for falsely denying of such act.

[7]:

N. 12, 72; Y. 2, 287, 289, 291.

[8]:

Y. 2, 301.

[9]:

Y. 2, 283.