Book 2, Chapter 34: The Superintendent of Passports

Translated by R. Shamasastry (1915, public domain), 1915. Public domain.

Original script:

The Sanskrit text and the translation are aligned at chapter level, not sentence by sentence. Sutra numbers follow the critical edition (book.chapter.sutra).

2.34.1
मुद्रा-अध्यक्षो मुद्रां माषकेण दद्यात्
2.34.2
समुद्रो जन-पदं प्रवेष्टुं निष्क्रमितुं वा लभेत
2.34.3
द्वादश-पणं अमुद्रो जानपदो दद्यात्
2.34.4
कूट-मुद्रायां पूर्वः साहस-दण्डः तिरो-जन-पदस्यौत्तमः
2.34.5
विवीत-अध्यक्षो मुद्रां पश्येत्
2.34.6
ग्राम-अन्तरेषु च विवीतं स्थापयेत्
2.34.7
चोर-व्याल-भयान्-निम्न-अरण्यानि शोधयेत्
2.34.8
अनुदके कूप-सेतु-बन्ध-उत्सान्स्थापयेत् । पुष्प-फल-वाटांश्च
2.34.9
लुब्धक-श्व-गणिनः परिव्रजेयुररण्यानि
2.34.10
तस्कर-अमित्र-अभ्यागमे शङ्ख-दुन्दुभि-शब्दं अग्राह्याः कुर्युः शैल-वृक्ष-अधिरूढा वा शीघ्र-वाहना वा
2.34.11
अमित्र-अटवी-संचारं च राज्ञो गृह-कपोतैर्मुद्रा-युक्तैर्हारयेत् । धूम-अग्नि-परम्परया वा
2.34.12
द्रव्य-हस्ति-वन-आजीवं वर्तनीं चोर-रक्षणं सार्थ-अतिवाह्यं गो-रक्ष्यं व्यवहारं च कारयेत्

THE Superintendent of Passports shall issue passes at the rate of a masha per pass. Whoever is provided with a pass shall be at liberty to enter into, or go out of, the country. Whoever, being a native of the country enters into or goes out of the country without a pass shall be fined 12 panas. He shall be punished with the first amercement for producing a false pass. A foreigner guilty of the same offence shall be punished with the highest amercement.

The superintendent of pasture lands shall examine passes.

Pasture grounds shall be opened between any two dangerous places. Valleys shall be cleared from the fear of thieves, elephants, and other beasts.

In barren tracts of the country, there shall be constructed not only tanks, buildings for shelter, and wells, but also flower gardens and fruit gardens.

Hunters with their hounds shall reconnoitre forests. At the approach of thieves or enemies, they shall so hide themselves by ascending trees or mountains as to escape from the thieves, and

blow conch-shells or beat drums. As to the movements of enemies or wild tribes, they may send information by flying the pigeons of royal household with passes (mudrd) or causing fire and smoke at successive distances.

It shall be his duty to protect timber and elephant forests, to keep roads in good repair, to arrest thieves, to secure the safety of mercantile traffic, to protect cows, and to conduct the transaction of the people.

Commentary

Book 2 (The Duties of Government Superintendents), Chapter 34 of Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra. English: R. Shamasastry's 1915 translation, the first into English, made from the manuscript he discovered at the Government Oriental Library, Mysore. Sanskrit: the Sanskrit Wikisource transcription, whose sutra numbers (book.chapter.sutra) follow the critical edition of R. P. Kangle. Shamasastry's prose is aligned to the Sanskrit at chapter level, not sutra by sutra. Modern translations (Kangle 1963, Olivelle 2013) are more philologically rigorous; we cite them but do not reproduce.