Verse 7.128

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

यथाऽल्पाल्पमदन्त्याद्यं वार्योकोवत्सषट्पदाः ।
तथाऽल्पाल्पो ग्रहीतव्यो राष्ट्राद् राज्ञाब्दिकः करः ॥ १२८ (१२९) ॥

yathā'lpālpamadantyādyaṃ vāryokovatsaṣaṭpadāḥ |
tathā'lpālpo grahītavyo rāṣṭrād rājñābdikaḥ karaḥ || 128 (129) ||

As the water-insect, the calf and the bee eat their food little by little, so little by little should the King draw from his kingdom the annual taxes.—(128)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

This text is meant to assert that only a small tax shall be levied upon the person whose agricultural holding is not prosperous.

‘Water-insect’— leech.

‘Ṣaṭpada’—The black bee.

Just as these derive full nourishment by taking in only a little food, similarly the King should not uproot his people (by overtaxing them).—(128)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

The order of verses 128 and 129 of Medhātithi is reversed in the other commentaries and hence by Buhler and Burnell.

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 404);—and in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti, p. 260), which adds the following notes:—‘Adanti’, ‘eat’;—‘ādyam,’ ‘what is fit for eating, i.e., blood, milk and honey’;—‘vāryoko-vatsa-ṣaṭpadāḥ,’ ‘the leech, the calf and the bee’;—in the same manner should the king draw from his kingdom only a small amount of annual revenue, so that the principal capital of the people may not be affected.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 7.128-129)

Baudhāyana (1.18.15).—‘He shall levy equitable duties on other marketable goods according to their intrinsic value, without causing oppression.’

Āpastamba (2.26.9).—‘The king shall make them collect the lawful taxes.’

Mārkaṇḍeya (Parāśaramādhava, p. 404).—‘Just as during eight months of the year the sun draws out moisture, gently through his rays,—so should the king collect the taxes by gentle methods.’