Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c8.118

c8.118

*Ātatāyin* meant originally ‘having one’s bow drawn (ready for shooting)’ and so ‘prepared to take another’s life’. Then it was applied to cases of murderous assault as in the Matsya and Padma passages, which lay down that it was no offence to kill an *ātatāyin* outright. This was evidently a maxim of popular justice, because Āpastamba cites as his authority, not a law-book, but a Purana. His phraseology shows he was quoting the doctrine as expressed in the Matsya, and Manu afterwards copied the very words of that version (viii, 350–1). *Ātatāyin* was afterwards extended in its scope and applied as a legal term to include other heinous offenders, such as incendiaries, poisoners, robbers, &c., and is so defined in those two Puranas,³ and similarly in law-books.⁴ The word thus came to include one who was actuated by injurious or malign intent,⁵ and Āpastamba’s expression *himsārtham*, ‘in order to injure,’ rather suggests that it had acquired its wider meaning before his time.⁶