25.
KING
1. We have explained the general and specific Laws of all the classes.
We will now present specifically the Laws pertaining to a king.
1. Royal Fort
2. He should have a residence and a fort constructed, with their gates facing the south. 3. The residence is within the fort, 4. and in front of the residence is the lodge, which is known as the Audience Hall.
5. To the south of the fort is the assembly hall with doors on both the south and the north sides so that one can see what goes on within and without.
2. Duties
6. In every one of these buildings fires should be kept burning continuously, 7. and every day offerings should be made in these fires in the same manner as at the domestic ritual.
8. The king should put up in the lodge at least those guests who are Vedic scholars. 9. They should be given accommodation, as well as beds, food, and drink, in accordance with their distinction.
10. The king should not live more opulently than his elders and ministers. 11. And in his realm no one should suffer from hunger, illness, cold, or heat, either through want or by design.
3. Gambling
12. In the middle of the assembly hall he should erect a gaming table, sprinkle it with water, and place there dice - they should be in pairs, of Vibhītaka seeds, and in adequate numbers.
13. Āryas who are upright and honest may gamble there.
14. Weapons contests, dancing, singing, and concerts should not be held without the presence of royal officials.
4. Protection of Subjects
15. A king provides protection only when there is no fear of thieves in the villages or wild tracts of his realm.
26.
1. If he gives land and wealth to Brahmins according to their worth without depriving his own dependants, he will win eternal worlds.
2. When a king is killed attempting to recover property stolen from Brahmins, they call it a sacrifice at which his own body serves as the sacrificial post and an unlimited amount is given as the sacrificial fee.
3. This explanation covers also other heroes who sacrifice their lives fighting for a just cause.
5. Appointment of Security Officers
4. To protect his subjects he should appoint over villages and towns Āryas who are upright and honest. 5. Their subordinates should also be men possessing the very same qualities.
6. They must protect a town from thieves up to 9 miles on all sides, 7. and a village up to a couple of miles. 8. They must be forced to make good anything that is stolen within those limits.
6. Collection of Taxes
9. The king should get them to collect lawful taxes.
10. The following persons are exempt from taxes:
- Vedic scholars, 11. women of all classes, 12. pre-pubescent boys,
13. those who are living in someone’s house for the purpose of study,
14. ascetics devoted to the Law, 15. Śūdras who are personal servants,
16. people who are blind, dumb, deaf, and sick,
17. and those who are excluded from acquiring property.
Sexual Misconduct
7. Rape
18. If a young man all primped up barges accidentally into the presence of another man’s wife or a young woman, he should be verbally reprimanded;
19. but if he does so deliberately and with a malicious intent, he should be punished.
20. If intercourse took place, his penis should be cut off along with the testicles.
21. If it was with a young woman, he should be banished and his property confiscated. 22. Thereafter, the king should support those women 23. and from then onwards guard them from sexual congress.
24. If they agree to perform the expiation, however, he should hand them over to their respective guardians.
27.
1. Once the expiation has been performed, the guardians should treat them as before, for their relationship is based on the Law.
8. Levirate
2. ‘A man should not introduce to an outsider the woman who has assumed his lineage, 3. for a wife is given to the family’––so they admonish.
4. That is now forbidden because of the weakness of the flesh,
5. for with respect to the husband all are equally outsiders.
6. When this is violated, both husband and wife will undoubtedly end up in hell, 7. for the happiness resulting from following this restriction is far greater than that resulting from children obtained by following that custom.
9. Adultery
8. An Ārya who has sex with a Śūdra woman should be banished,
9. while a Śūdra who has sex with an Ārya woman should be executed,
10. and that wife of his should be emaciated.
11. If a man has sex once with a married woman of his own class,
they say, the punishment is 1/4 of what is prescribed for one fallen from his caste.
12. Each time he repeats it, likewise, 1/4 is added,
13. and the 4th time he gets the full punishment.
10. Crime and Punishment
14. If a Śūdra hurls abusive words at a virtuous Ārya, his tongue shall be cut out.
15. If, while he is speaking, walking on the road, lying in bed, or occupying a seat, a Śūdra pretends to be equal to Āryas, he should be flogged.
16. If a Śūdra kills a man, steals, or appropriates land,
he should be executed and his property confiscated.
17. If a Brahmin is guilty of these crimes, however, he should be blindfolded. 18. Alternatively, those who transgress their specific duties should be kept in secret confinement 19. until they relent.
20. If they do not relent, they should be banished. 21. A teacher, an officiating priest, a bath-graduate, and the king may save him from punishment, except in the case of a capital crime.
28.
1. If someone takes a piece of land on lease and it produces no harvest because he puts no effort into it, then, if he has the means, he should be made to pay the landowner what would have been his due.
2. An indentured farmhand who quits working should be flogged;
3. so also a herdsman, 4. and his flock should be impounded.
5. If cattle escape from the corral and begin to eat the crops, one may emaciate them but not abuse them. 6. If someone takes charge of cattle and lets them die or become lost, he should pay restitution to the owners.
7. If someone sees cattle that have been carelessly allowed to wander into the wilderness, he should bring them to the village and return them to their owners.
8. If such negligence happens again, he should return them after first impounding them, 9. and thereafter he should ignore them.
10. If someone unknowingly takes the property of another, such as fuel, water, roots, flowers, fruits, perfume, fodder, or vegetables, he should be verbally reprimanded. 11. If he does so knowingly, his clothes should be taken away.
12. Even if it is done intentionally, no one should be punished for taking food to save his life.
13. If the king fails to inflict punishment when it is called for, the sin recoils upon him.
29.
1. Those who direct, those who consent, and those who carry out an act - share in its fruit, whether it is heaven or hell, 2. but those who are more closely involved with the act receive a larger share of the fruit.
11. Marital Property
3. The husband and wife have joint control over their property.
4. With their consent and for their benefit, others also may tend to it.
12. Judicial Process
5. Men who are learned, of good family, elderly, wise, and unwavering in their duties shall adjudicate lawsuits, 6. in doubtful cases investigating the matter by examining the evidence and using ordeals.
13. Witnesses
7. In the morning of an auspicious day and in the presence of a blazing fire, water, and the king, both sides should be asked to present their case and, with everyone’s approval, the chief witness should answer the questions truthfully.
8. Should he answer untruthfully, the king should punish him; 9. and in addition hell awaits him after death. 10. Should he answer truthfully, he will go to heaven and all beings will sing his praises.
14. CONCLUSION OF THE STUDY OF LAW
11. The knowledge found among women and Śūdras forms the conclusion,
12. and they point out that it is a subsidiary component of the Atharva Veda.
13. It is difficult to gain mastery of the Law by means of scriptures alone, but by acting according to the markers one can master it.
14. And the markers in this case are as follows:
he should model his conduct after that which is unanimously approved in all regions by Āryas who have been properly trained, who are elderly and self-possessed, and who are neither greedy nor deceitful.
In this way he will win both worlds.
15. According to some, one should learn the remaining Laws from women and people of all classes.
That concludes the Āpastamba Dharmasūtra.