The king should
cherish all good men with agreeable speeches and gifts of wealth. He who
seeks to compass the death of the king should be punished with death to
be effected by diverse means. The same should be the punishment of one
who becomes guilty of arson or theft or such co-habitation with women as
may lead to a confusion of castes. A king, O monarch, who inflicts
punishments duly and conformably to the dictates of the science of
chastisement, incurs no sin by the act. On the other hand, he earns merit
that is eternal. That foolish king who inflicts punishments capriciously,
earns infamy here and sinks into hell hereafter. One should not be
punished for the fault of another, Reflecting well upon the (criminal)
code, a person should be convicted or acquitted. A king should never slay
an envoy under any circumstances. That king who slays art envoy sinks
into hell with all his ministers. That king observant of Kshatriya
practices who slays an envoy that faithfully utters the message with
which he is charged, causes the manes of his deceased ancestors to be
stained with the sin of killing a foetus. An envoy should possess these
seven accomplishments, viz., he should be high-born, of a good family,
eloquent, clever, sweet-speeched, faithful in delivering the message with
which he is charged, and endued with a good memory. The aid-de-camp of
the king that protects his person should be endued with similar
qualities. The officer also that guards his capital or citadel should
possess the same accomplishments.
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