216. i.e., no one should covet the possessions of the king.
217. Kalya means able or strong; anakrandam is ‘without allies’; anantaram means, ‘without friends’; and Vyasaktam is ‘engaged at war with another.’
218. Tatparah is explained by Nilakantha as Karshanaparah.
219. I follow Nilakantha in reading this verse.
220. Chaitya trees are those that are regarded holy and unto which worship is offered by the people.
221. Nilakantha thinks that ucchvasa means breath or air. The small doors, he thinks, are directed to be kept for the admission of air.
222. The tirthas are eighteen in number, such as the council-room etc.
223. Pays off his debt, i.e., discharges his obligations to the subjects.
224. The ablative has here the sense of “towards.”
225. The correct reading seems to be sreshtham and not srishtam. If the latter reading be preferred, it would mean “the age called Krita that comes in Time’s course.”
226. i.e., these are the true sources of the royal revenue.
227. The meaning is that if a king attends only to the acquisition of wealth, he may succeed in acquiring wealth, but he will never succeed in earning religious merit.
228. Literally, ‘never flourishes.’
229. The charcoal-maker uproots trees and plants, and burns them for producing his stock-in-trade. The flowerman, on the other hand, waters his trees and plants, and gathers only their produce.
230. Dharmakosha literally means the ‘repository of all duties.’
231. Children is a euphemism for subjects, suggested by the word pitris to which it is antithetical.
232. Mahapathika is believed to mean a person making a voyage by the sea or the ocean, The literal meaning seems to be ‘a person making a long or distant voyage.’
233. A Ritwij is a priest employed on a special occasion. A Purohita is one who always acts as a priest.
234. Ama is raw food, such as paddy or uncooked rice, or fruits, etc.
235. The allusion is to such men as Utanka and Parasara, who although they performed such cruel acts as the snake-sacrifice and the Rakshasa sacrifice, were none-the-less entitled to heaven. So Kshatriya kings, by invading the kingdoms of their foes and slaying thousands of Mali and animals, are nevertheless regarded to be righteous and ultimately go to heaven.
236. Kshatrarthe, i.e., for protecting the subjects. Anya means someone who is not a Kshatriya. Abhibhavet means ‘subdues.’
237. Idam sastram pratidhanam na is thus explained by Nilakantha. In cases of incapacity, again, to give the prescribed Dakshina, the sacrificer is directed to give away all he has. This direction or command is certainly terrible, for who can make up his mind to part with all his wealth for completing a sacrifice?
238. The falsehood consists in finding substitutes for the Dakshina actually laid down. They are morsels of cooked food for a living cow, a grain of barley for a piece of cloth; a copper coin for gold; etc.
239. The fact is that although the sacrificer may not be able to give the Dakshina actually laid down in the Vedas, yet by giving its substitute he does not lose any merit, for a single Purnapatra (256 handfuls of rice) is as efficacious if given away with devotion, as the richest Dakshina.
240. i.e., such a sacrifice, instead of producing no merit, becomes the means of extending the cause of sacrifices. In other words, such a sacrifice is fraught with merit.
241. A Pavitra is made by a couple of Kusa blades for sprinkling clarified butter upon the sacrificial fire.
242. The fact is that Ahuka and Akrura were bitterly opposed to each other. Both of them, however, loved Krishna. Ahuka always advised Krishna to shun Akrura, and Akrura always advised him to shun Ahuka. Krishna valued the friendship of both and could ill dispense with either. What he says here is that to have them both is painful and yet not to have them both is equally painful.
243. The belief is still current that a wounded snake is certain to seek vengeance even if the person that has wounded it places miles of distance between himself and the reptile. The people of this country, therefore, always kill a snake outright and burn it in fire if they ever take it.
244. i.e., as long as they are paid and have in their hands what has been given to them.
245. i.e., shows these virtues in his conduct.
246. Tryavarah is explained by Nilakantha as “not less than three.” The number laid down generally is five. In no case it should be less than three.
247. Water-citadels are those that are surrounded on all sides by a river or rivers, or the sea. Earth-citadels are those that are built, on plains fortified with high walls and encircled with trenches all around. Human-citadels are unfortified cities properly protected by guards and a loyal population.
248. Nilakantha says that this has reference to the second variety of citadels mentioned in the previous verse.
249. Such as banian, peepul, etc. These afford refreshing shade to sunburnt travellers.
250. ‘Take wisdom,’ i.e., consult with them. ‘Should not always wait upon them, etc.’ lest robbers should kill them, suspecting them to be depositories of the king’s wealth.
251. The sense seems to be that if a sufficient margin of profit, capable of maintaining one at ease, be not left, one would refrain absolutely from work. The king, therefore, in taxing the outturns of work, should leave such a margin of profit to the producers.
252. The sense is that the subjects then, on occasions of their sovereign’s want, hasten to place their resources at his disposal.
253. i.e., without injuring the source.
254. The Bengal reading of the first I me of this verse is vicious. The Bombay reading kinchidanapadi (for Kasyanchidpadi) is the correct one. The commentator explains that this has reference to alms, loans, and taxes. Both the Bengal translators have made nonsense of this and the following verse.
255. Karmabhedatah is explained differently by Nilakantha. He thinks that it means ‘lest those acts suffer injury.’
256. Anga is literally a part. The idea, however, is that the wealthy form an estate in the realm. Kakud is the hump of the bull. The meaning, of course, is that the man of wealth occupies a very superior position.
