Verse 7.65

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

अमात्ये दण्ड आयत्तो दण्डे वैनयिकी क्रिया ।
नृपतौ कोशराष्ट्रे च दूते सन्धिविपर्ययौ ॥ ६५ ॥

amātye daṇḍa āyatto daṇḍe vainayikī kriyā |
nṛpatau kośarāṣṭre ca dūte sandhiviparyayau || 65 ||

The army is dependent upon the minister (of war); on the army rests the act of ruling; the treasury and the realm are dependent upon the king, and upon the ambassador depend peace and its opposite.—(65)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Upon the minister’—i.e., on the commander—‘is dependent the army’—composed of the elephant and the rest; since it is according to his wishes that it operates.

‘On the army rests the act of ruling’;—since the person, be he an inhabitant of the king’s own realm, or of another kingdom, who is to be ‘ruled’ has got to be punished; and the act pertaining thereto is called the ‘act of ruling’.

‘The Treasury and the Realm are dependent upon the king’—‘Treasury’ is the place of accumulation; and ‘realm’ is the country; and these two should not be made over to the charge of any other person; the king should look after them himself.

‘Upon the ambassador depend peace and its opposite’—‘Peace’ is obtained by the use of agreeable word and showing off what is done by his master; the opposite of this leads to ‘war’; both of these thus are dependent upon the Ambassador.—(65)

The work of the ambassador has thus been eulogised. The same fact is again reiterated:—

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti, p. 188); and in Rājanītiratnākara (p. 27b.)