Shishupala-vadha (Study)

by Shila Chakraborty | 2018 | 112,267 words

This page relates ‘Taxpayers King’ of the study on the Shishupala-vadha (in English) in the light of Manusamhita (law and religious duties) and Arthashastra (science of politics and warfare). The Shishupalavadha is an epic poem (Mahakavya) written by Magha in the 7th century AD. It consists of 1800 Sanskrit verses spread over twenty chapters and narrates the details of the king of the Chedis.

The characteristics of a king of desirous of victory (vijigīṣu) is to compell other kings to be taxpayers king. Tax payer kings are karadā ṣaṣṭhabhāgapradā. Means, the kings paying one sixth of produced crop as revenue toward other vigorous king. Taking the example of Yudhiṣṭhira from the Mahābhārata Māgha elaborated this concept. He reminds us how yudhiṣṭhira became vijigīṣu with the help of his brothers. He compelled other kings to be taxpayers with the help of his brothers. In the commentary named sarvaṃkaṣā of the ninth verse of the second canto of the epic

Śiśupālavadha Mallinātha says—

“bhrātṛbhiḥ bhīmādibhiḥ hetubhiḥ karadāḥ ṣaṣṭhabhāgapradāḥ | akaradāḥ karadāḥ sampadyamānā kṛtā karadīkṛtāḥ bhūpālāḥ yasya sa karadīkṛtabhūpālamaṇḍalaḥ tapasaḥ sutaḥ dharmaputraḥ asmat vinā asmābhirvinā api ityarthaḥ |”

Therefore Yudhiṣṭhira was ‘karadīkṛta bhūpālaḥ’. He is the king vijigīṣu of all kings.

Lord Manu did not say anything about taxpayer king but he elaborately discussed about the system of revenue of an ideal country in the seventh chapter of the Manusaṃhitā. Main duty and responsibilitiy of a king are to conduct well administration for the important of the kingdom. For the fulfillment of this duty king collects annual revenue and tax from his subjects at a fixed rate according to the books sacred rules.

It is said in the Manusaṃhitā.—

“yathā phalena yujyeta rājā kartā ca karmaṇām |
tathāvekṣya nṛpo rāṣṭre kalpayet satataṃ karān ||” 7.128 ||[1]

“After due consideration king shall always fix in his realm the taxes in such a manner that both he himself and the man who does the work receive their due reward.”[2]

In this way, the king will fixed the rate of revenue upon his subjects, so that they would not be in problem and on the other hand treasury would not be vacant.

It is seen in the Manusaṃhitā.

“yathālpālpamadantyādyaṃ vārṣokovatsaṣaṭpadāḥ |
tathālpālpo grahītavyo rāṣṭrādrājñāvdikaḥ karaḥ ||” 7.129 ||[3]

“As the leach, the calf, and the bee take their food little by little even so must the king draw from his realm moderate annual taxes”[4].

Another important principle of taxation is stated in this verse. Tax should be levied in such a manner that the person who pays it should not feel any pressure or difficulty. It is worthy to note, that Manu recommends annual payment of taxes.

In the Raghuvaṃśa Kālidāsa composed that the sun takes juice from the earth at summer season and at the time of monsoon he accomplishes welfare of the earth by thousand times rain.

Like that king (Raghu) collected tax or revenue from his subjects and took care of them by comprehensive welfare by the using of collected revenue—

“sahasraguṇamutsraṣṭumādatte hi rasaṃ raviḥ |”

For the arrangement of people’s happiness prosperity concrete defence, fund raising in treasury are verstly important. Treasury is enriched by one sixth percentage of harvested crop, export and import duty, fine and collected money from enemy. These are mentioned in the Śāntiparvan of the Mahābhārata.

130, 131, and 132 verses of the Manusaṃhitā give a detailed scale of taxes on different things. The scale here differ from the Arthaśāstra (2.22).

“In the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya we get:

“(2.6.2-9) Purport to give a classified list of income sources, but this is a rather confusing mixture of many things—revenue from Crown enterprises, taxes and tools, service charges and fines. Sometimes only the title of the Head of a Department is specified, perhaps to indicate revenue resulting from his activities. Sometimes it is just a list of different kinds of forests, flowers or fruit or the list under mines (gold, silver, diamonds etc.) How revenue is obtained from these is not clearly spelt out. Of the different lists in the eight verses, (2.6.2) enumerating the types of revenue collected from within the fortified towns and (2.6.3) those collected from the countryside are the most extensive.”[5]

Kauṭilya says:

śulkaṃ daṇḍaḥ pautavaṃ nāgariko lakṣaṇādhyakṣo mudrādhyakṣaḥ surā sūnā sutraṃ tailaṃ ghṛtaṃ kṣāraḥ sauvarṇikiḥ papyasaṃstha veśyā dyutaṃ vāstukaṃ kāruśilpigaṇo devatādhyakṣo dvārabāhirikādeya ca durgam | sītā bhāgo baliḥkaro vaṇik nadīpālastaro nāvaḥ pattanaṃ vivitaṃ vartanī rajjuścorarajjuśca rāṣṭram | suvarṇarajatavajramaṇimuktāpravālaśaṅkhalohalavaṇabhūmiprastararasadhātavaḥ khaniḥ | puṣpaphalavāṭaṣaṇḍakedāramūlavāpāḥ setuḥ | paśumṛgadravya hastivanaparigraho vanam | gomahiṣamajāvikaṃ kharoṣṭramaśvāśvataraṃ ca vrajaḥ | sthalapatho vāripathaśca vaṇikapatha. ityayaśarīram |” (2.6.2-9) ||[6]

English version says:

“Custom-duties, fines, standardization of weights and measures, the city superintendent, the mint master, the superintendent of passports, spirituous liquors, animal slaughter, yarn, oil, ghee sugars the goldsmith, the marketestablishment, prostitutes, gambling, buildings, the group of artisans and artists, the temple—superintendent and what is to be received at the gates and from outsiders,—these constitute (the source of income called) ‘fort’.

Agricultural produce, share, tribute, tax, the trader, the river-guard,the ferry, ships, the port, pastures, road-cess, land-survey, and thief-catching,-these constitute ‘country’.

Gold, silver, diamonds, gems pearls, corals conch shells, metals, sait and ores derived from the earth, rocks and liquids,-these constitute ‘mines’.

Flower gardens, fruit orchards, vegetable gardens wet crop fields and sowings of roots,-these constitute ‘irrigation works’.

Enclosures for beasts, deer-parks, forest for produce and elephant forests-these constitute “forests.”

Cows and buffaloes, goats and sheep, donkeys and camels and horses and mules,-these constitute herds.’

The land-route and the water-route constitute ‘trade-routes’. This is the corpus of income.”[7]

In the Manusaṃhitā we find people were used to pay tax to the king by the different ratio of the different source, This opinion is the same in the Arthaśāstra. The concept of tax is found in the epic of Māgha.

This is reflected in a verse of his epic the Śiśupālavadha.

“karadīkṛtabhūpālo bhrātṛbhirjitvarairdiśām |
vināṇyasmadalambhūrijyāyai tapasaḥ sutaḥ ||” 2.9 ||[8]

“The son of dharma (i.e) (Yudhiṣṭhira) with all the kings made tributary to him by his brothers. Who are the conquerors of the quarters, will be able to perform the sacrifice even without us”.[9]

The vijigīṣu kings compell other kings to pay tax. This is the speciality of them.

Yudhiṣṭhira’s mighty brothers are heroes indomitable champions who have extended their conquests over the entire arena of this wide-wide universe. Thereby they have brought all the rulers, great and small, under Yudhiṣṭhira’s complete control. With much powerful brothers and assisted by the whole host of earthly kings, the strong pious monarch is competent enough to bring the sacrifice to a successful termination inspite of our abstention from participation in the ceremony.

Vijigīṣu king never over looks prosperous enemy. Because conversant with the śāstra’ s said grown up desease and enemy are the same word.

This concept arises through Māgha’s political thought.

“uttiṣṭhamānastu paro nopekṣyaḥ pathyamicchatā |
samau hi śipṭairāmnātau vartsyantāvāmayaḥ sa ca ||” 2.10 ||[10]

“A rising enemy should not be neglected by one who desires welfare. An ascending disease and an enemy have been said to be equal by the learned.”[11]

The vijigīṣu King should not neglect any type of enemy. Specially he should care gradually increasing enemy. Śāstrakāras say that advancing disease and developing enemy are the same. If they are neglected then disease and enemy would be out of control and most harmful also.

A rising enemy is a standing menace and so his progress should chased and cheeked by all means. A disease when not nipped in the bud looms awful and appalling. A dreadful disease before it assumes as an alarming turn. So, it should be hunted down and held at lay in its very nascent nature that an enemy, before him becomes implacable and invulnerable. By all means enemy should be exterminated at all hazards.

In this respect commentator Mallinātha said—

“alpīyaso'ṣyarervṛddhimahānarthāya rogavat |”

In the Śiśupālavadha tax came in the context of the Vijigīṣu king and Government power. Here the poet established his conception of tax basing the thoughts of the Manusaṃhitā and the Arthaśāstra. Here Māga used the word kara like Manu. But Kauṭilya used the word śulka bearing the same meaning.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Manabendu Bandyopadhaya, (Ed. & Beng. trans.): Manusṃhitā, p. 688.

[2]:

Ashokanath Shastri, (Ed.): Manusaṃhitā, p. 142.

[3]:

Manabendu Bandyopadhaya: Op. cit., p. 688.

[4]:

Ashokanath Shastri: Op. cit., p. 143.

[5]:

L. N. Rangarajan, (Ed. trans. and rearranged): Kauṭilīya the Arthaśāstra, p.226.

[6]:

R. P. Kangle, (Ed. & trans): The Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra, Part-I, p.41.

[7]:

ibid., part–II, pp.75-77.

[8]:

Haridas Siddahantavagisha, (Ed. & trans.): Śiśupālavadha, p. 50.

[9]:

Sitanath Kavyaratna & Madhab Dass Sankhyatirtha: Op. cit., p. 27.

[10]:

Haridas Siddantavagisha: Op. cit., p.50.

[11]:

Sitanath kavyaratna & Madhab Dass Sankhyatirtha: Op. cit., p. 31.

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