History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.2.2

v4.c62.2.2

that the king should appoint in towns and villages officers and their subordinates, who are pure and truthful, for the protection of the subjects against thieves and who are to be made to make good what is stolen; that they are to collect lawful taxes for the king from the people except from learned brāhmaṇas, women of all castes, minors, students staying with teachers and ascetics fulfilling the rules of their order, śūdras who do menial work for the higher castes (such as washing their feet), persons that are blind, deaf or dumb. Āp. then lays down punishments for adultery and rape, for slander and defamation, for manslaughter, for theft and appropriation of another's land, for breach of contract to cultivate the field of another, for a herdsman leaving his herd or negligently allowing it to perish. He states that if the king does not punish the guilty he incurs sin, that in disputes judges should be men of learning, clever and fulfilling their duties, that witnesses were to tell the truth and were to be punished if they be untruthful. It will be noticed how Āp. briefly covers the whole field of rājadharma. In the Śāntiparva of the Mahābhārata rājadharma is dealt with at great length in chapters 56-130 and to some extent in 131-172. The Manusmṛti also states at the beginning of chap. VII (1) that it will expound rājadharmas.