Verse 7.146

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

तत्र स्थितः प्रजाः सर्वाः प्रतिनन्द्य विसर्जयेत् ।
विसृज्य च प्रजाः सर्वा मन्त्रयेत् सह मन्त्रिभिः ॥ १४६ ॥

tatra sthitaḥ prajāḥ sarvāḥ pratinandya visarjayet |
visṛjya ca prajāḥ sarvā mantrayet saha mantribhiḥ || 146 ||

Staying there, he shall welcome all his subjects and then send them away. Having sent off all the people, he shall take counsel with his minister.—(146)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘There’—in that hall—‘staying’,—‘he shall welcome’— gratify with proper forms of address, looks, marks of respect and salutation—‘the subjects’— who happen to come to see him,—‘and then send them away’,—permit them to go as they had come.

Then, often the people have been sent off, ‘he shall take counsel with his ministers’,—discussing what should be done in connection with matters relating to his own kingdom and that of other Kings. The five requisites of ‘Counsel’ are now described.

Those requisites of ‘counsel’ are as follows:—The means of undertaking a project, (2) the supply of men and material, (3) due apportionment of place and time, (4) remedy for miscarriage, and (5) success of the project.

What the verse means is that the King shall not trespass upon the time for listening to the prayers of the people. It is possible that the sitting of the council may be prolonged; and of this he shall not apeak to the men; he shall keep his counsel secret.—(146)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 410);—in Vīramitroday (Rājanīti, p. 159), which explains ‘tatra’ as ‘in the Court’;—and in Smṛticandrikā (Vyavahāra, p. 61).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Viṣṇudharmottara (Vīramitrodaya-Rājanīti, p. 158).—‘Then, being announced by the gate-keeper, he shall see the Brāhmaṇa, councillors and ministers and the people seated in the court. Then he shall listen to the histories for a little while and then look into the suits of the suitors.’

Bṛhaspati (Vīramitrodaya-Rājanīti, p. 158).—‘In the forenoon, seated in the Court, he shall see the aged men, the ministers and his dependants and also the gods; thereafter he shall listen to the law-scriptures.’