History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.360

v4.c62.360

We saw above (pp. 130-131) that spies were to be employed (acc. to Kāuṭ.) to test whether State officers took bribes. Yāj. (I. 336, 338, 339) prescribes that the king should protect his subjects from the harassment caused by *kāyasthas* (the accountants and scribes), that he should ascertain the doings of the State officers through spies, honour those that are well-conducted and severely punish those who are badly behaved and should deprive those who take bribes of their wealth and banish them from the country. Vide also Manu VII. 122-124 and Viṣṇudharmottara for similar rules. The Pañcatantra (I. 343) has the same verse as Yāj. I. 336 (except the last pāda). Medhātithi on Manu IX. 294 remarks that the kingdom has no fear of ruin if kaṇṭakas (wicked people who are like thorns) are removed and justice is properly administered and that kaṇṭakas are generally under the protection of the queen, the prince, the king's favourites or the commander-in-chief.