Verse 8.344 [Violence (hiṃsā)]

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

अइन्द्रं स्थानमभिप्रेप्सुर्यशश्चाक्षयमव्ययम् ।
नोपेक्षेत क्षणमपि राजा साहसिकं नरम् ॥ ३४४ ॥

aindraṃ sthānamabhiprepsuryaśaścākṣayamavyayam |
nopekṣeta kṣaṇamapi rājā sāhasikaṃ naram || 344 ||

The king who is desirous of indra’s eternal place, as also of imperishable fame, shall not ignore the desperado even for a moment.—(344)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

In the terra ‘sāhasikaḥ,’ ‘desperado,’ ‘desperation’ means violence; hence the ‘desperado’ is one who commits violence; i.e, the man who, not minding either the physical or spiritual effects of his acts, is prompted by the sheer spirit of violence, and openly engages himself in causing suffering to others by such acts as theft, hurt, adultery and so forth. This is what has been already referred to under 332.

This ‘violence’ is not anything different from theft and the rest; these same acts are called ‘violent crimes’ when they are done with a certain amount of daring. Such acts as setting fire, tearing clothes and the like, are also ‘acts of violence,’ since they involve the destruction of property.

The punishment of such a person the king ‘shall not ignore,’—should not delay,—‘even for a single moment,’ i.e., he should be punished the moment he is caught.

‘Indra’s place,’—the place that belongs to Indra, i.e., Heaven;—‘he who seeks to obtain’ that; or he who desires his own kingly position to be ‘aindra,’ like that of Indra, in point of stability.

If the king punishes those that deserve to be punished,—exercising both rigour and mercy—his people become attached to him,—‘as the rivers to the ocean,’ as described above.

‘Imperishable and eternal fame’;—we have two qualifying epithets, because we have two nouns to qualify—‘eternal place,’ and ‘imperishable fame.’ Or both the epithets may he taken as qualifying ‘fame’;—‘perishing’ denoting lessening of quantity, and ‘non-eternality,’ absolute destruction. And both these qualities belong to the ‘fame’; it never wanes, and it never dies.

This is a valedictory description of things as they happen.—(344)

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Nārada (18.30).—‘When the King seated on the throne of judgment, full of majesty, deals out punishment, equitable towards all creatures, he is called Vaivasvata.’

Śukranīti (4.5.107).—‘For cases of murder, thieving, robbery and felonies, there is no fixed time; these should he adjudicated at once.’