Kautilya

“ When a judge threatens, browbeats, sends out, or unjustly silences any one of the disputants in his court, he shall first of all be punished with the first amercement. If he defames or abuses any one of them, the punishment shall be doubled. ”

“ Persons whose family subsist on slender means of inheritance; who have little or no comfort; who frequently change their residence, caste and the names, not only of themselves, but also of their family (gotra) ; who conceal their own avocations and calls; who have betaken themselves to such luxurious modes of life as eating flesh and condiments, drinking liquor, wearing scents, garlands, fine dress, and jewels; who have been squandering away their money; who constantly move with profligate women, gamblers, or vintners; who frequently leave their residence ”

“ No man shall have sexual intercourse with any woman against her will.
If a person substitutes in marriage another maiden for the one he has before shown, he shall, if the substitute is of the same rank, be fined 100 panas, and 200 panas if she is of lower rank. The substituted maiden shall be fined 54 panas, while the offender shall also be compelled to return both the nuptial fee and the amount of expenditure (incurred by the bridegroom) .
When a man refuses to live in marriage a particular maiden as agreed upon, he shall pay double the above fine. ”

“ When there are no such evidences and when the accused is wailing much, he shall be regarded as innocent. For owing to one's accidental presence on the scene of theft, or to one's accidental resemblance to the real thief in respect to his appearance, his dress, his weapons, or possession of articles similar to those stolen, or owing to one's presence near the stolen articles as in the case of Mándavya who under the fear of torture admitted himself to be the thief, one, though innocent, is often seized as a thief. ”

“ A woman of high caste, with children and having no desire for sexual enjoyment, may be let off after receiving an adequate amount of ransom.
Those women who have been rescued from the hands of thieves, from floods, in famine, or in national calamities, or who, having been abandoned, missed, or thrown out as if dead in forests, have been taken home may be enjoyed by the rescuer as agreed upon. ”

“ Whoever is believed to secure for others the love of women by means of magical charms, drugs or ceremonials performed on cremation grounds may be approached by a spy with the request that the wife, daughter, or daughter- in-law of some one, whom the spy pretends to love may be made to return the love and that a certain amount of money may be accepted. ”

“ On taking these enthusiasts thus induced to a village, where persons under the guise of women and men are previously stationed and which is different from the one intended to be reached, the youths may be told that it is difficult to reach in time the village aimed at and that the power of incantation may be seen then and there alone.
Having opened the doors seemingly with the power of incantation, the youths may be asked to get in. Having, in the midst of wakeful watchmen under concert, rendered the youths invisible with incantation, they may be asked to go into the interior. ”

“ When an animal which has its nose-string cut off or which is not well tamed to yoke causes hurt; or when an animal, either coming furiously against a man or receding backwards with the cart to which it is tied, causes hurt or when an animal causes hurt in confusion brought about by the thronging of people and other animals; the owner of the animal shall not be punished;. but for hurt caused to men under circumstances other than the above, fines shall be imposed as laid down before, while the loss of any animal life due to such causes shall be made good. ”

“ Persons who charge an innocent man with theft, or conceal a thief shall themselves be liable to the punishment for theft.
When a person accused of theft proves in his defence the complainant's enmity or hatred towards himself he shall be acquitted. ”

“ A woman who, of her own accord, yields herself to a man shall be a slave to the king.
For committing intercourse with a woman outside a village, or for spreading false report regarding such things, double the usual fines shall be imposed. ”

“ When a person steals images of gods or of animals, abducts men, or takes possession of fields, houses, gold, gold-coins, precious stones, or crops of others, he shall either be beheaded or compelled to pay the highest amercement. ”

“ It is the duty of the trader to calculate the daily earnings of middlemen and to fix that amount on which they are authorised to live; for whatever income falls between sellers and purchasers (i.e., brokerage) is different from profit.
Hence authorised persons alone shall collect grains and other merchandise. Collection of such things without permission shall be confiscated by the Superintendent of Commerce.
Hence shall merchants be favourably disposed towards the people in selling grains and other commodities. ”

“ In all kinds of dangers from demons, the incantation ‘we offer thee cooked rice’' shall be performed.
The king shall always protect the afflicted among his people as a father his sons.
Such ascetics as are experts in magical arts, and being endowed with supernatural powers, can ward off providential visitations, shall, therefore, be honoured by the king and made to live in his kingdom. ”

“ When a person causes abortion in pregnancy by striking, or with medicine, or by annoyance, the highest, middlemost, and first amercements shall be imposed respectively.
Those who cause violent death either to men or women, or those who are in the habit of often going to meet prostitutes (abhisáraka) , those who inflict unjust punishment upon others, those who spread false or contemptuous rumours, who assault or obstruct travellers on their way, who commit house-breaking, or who steal or cause hurt to royal elephants, horses, or carriages shall be hanged. ”

“ When the king punishes an innocent man, he shall throw into water dedicating to god Varuna a fine equal to thirty times the unjust imposition; and this amount shall afterwards be distributed among the Bráhmans. By this act, the king will be free from the sin of unjust imposition; for king Varuna is the ruler of sinners among men. ”

“ It is no offence for a man of equal caste and rank to have connection with a maiden who has been unmarried three years after her first menses. Nor is it an offence for a man, even of different caste, to have connection with a maiden who has spent more than three years after her first menses and has no jewellery on her person ”

“ Whoever is suspected of manufacturing counterfeit coins in that he often purchases various kinds of metals, alkalis, charcoal, bellows, pincers, crucibles, stove, and hammers, has his hands and cloths dirty with ashes and smoke, or possesses such other accessory instruments as are necessary for this illegal manufacture, may be requested by a spy to take the latter as an apprentice, and being gradually betrayed by the spy, such person, on proclamation of his guilt as the manufacturer of false coins, shall be banished. ”

“ Any person of miserable appearance, present on the occasion, associated with rogues or thieves, and possessed of such instruments as are necessary for theft; a woman who is born of a poor family, or has placed her affections elsewhere; servants of similar condemnable character; any person addicted to too much sleep or who is suffering from want of sleep; any person who shows signs of fatigue, or whose face is pale and dry with voice stammering and indistinct and who may be watching the movements of others or bewailing too much; any person whose body bears the signs of scaling heights ”

“ Spies under the disguise of old and notorious robbers, herdsmen, hunters, or keepers of hounds may mix themselves with criminal tribes living in forests, and conspire with them to attack villages or caravanserais which, according to previous plan, contain plenty of counterfeit gold and other articles. During the tumult, they may be killed by armed men concealed for the purpose. ”

“ Whatever of their merchandise is stolen or lost in the intervening places between any two villages shall the superintendent of pasture lands make good. If there are no pasture lands (in such places) , the officer called Chorarajjuka shall make good the loss. If the loss of merchandise occurs in such parts of the country as are not provided even with such security (a Chorarajjuka) , the people in the boundaries of the place shall contribute to make up the loss. If there are no people in the boundaries, the people of five or ten villages of the neighbourhood shall make up the loss. ”

“ If a man or woman under the infatuation of love, anger, or other sinful passions commits or causes to commit suicide by means of ropes, arms, or poison, he or she shall be dragged by means of a rope along the public road by the hands of a Chandála. For such murderers as the above, neither cremation rites nor any obsequies usually performed by relatives shall be observed. ”

“ If he raises any objection, the woman shall have her ears and nose cut off, while her keeper shall be put to death as an adulterer.
When a man falsely accuses another of having committed theft while in reality the latter is guilty of adultery, the complainant shall be fined 500 panas. ”