Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c11.s2.t1.24

c11.s2.t1.24

Injustice is never to be tolerated, since it ruins all. Large, indeed, is the category of those who hinder the prosperity of the people. Thieves and robbers, state surveyors and evaluators, foresters and guards, state officers, hoarders and profiteers, all are mentioned in the same breath. If the king commands prestige and exercises a certain amount of sternness, he can render them harmless. This punishment, this maintenance of order, is one of the chief topics of political science. Its importance is enormous. But punishment by a king ought to be like the ministration of medicine by a physician. It should never be prostituted to monetary ends. It is a bad king, and a bad physician who eagerly looks out for disorders with a view to selfish gratification. Unjust punishment recoils on the head of the monarch.