Carl Clausewitz - The Strategy of Warfare – Boxed Set

Pure, smooth, efflugent, sounding (when struck), very hard (satatívrah), and of little colour (tanurága) are precious stones.

The yield of mines may be put to such uses as are in vogue.

Commerce in commodities manufactured from mineral products shall be centralized and punishment for manufacturers, sellers, and purchasers of such commodities outside the prescribed locality shall also be laid down.

A mine-labourer who steals mineral products except precious stones shall be punished with a fine of eight times their value.

Any person who steals mineral products or carries on mining operations without license shall be bound (with chains) and caused to work (as a prisoner).

Mines which yield such minerals as are made use of in preparing vessels (bhánda) as well as those mines which require large outlay to work out may be leased out for a fixed number of the shares of the output or for a fixed rent (bhágena prakrayena va) Such mines as can be worked out without much outlay shall be directly exploited (by Government agency).

The superintendent of metals (lóhádhyakshah) shall carry on the manufacture of copper, lead, tin, vaikrintaka (mercury [?]), árakúta (brass), vritta(?); kamsa (bronze or bell-metal), tála (sulphurate of arsenic), and lodhra (?), and also of commodities (bhánda) from them.

The superintendent of mint (lakshnádhyakshah), shall carry on the manufacture of silver coins (rúpyarúpa) made up of four parts of copper and one-sixteenth part (másha) of any one of the metals, tikshna, trapu, sisa, and anjana. There shall be a pana, half a pana, a quarter and one-eighth.

Copper coins (támrarúpa) made up of four parts of an alloy (pádajívam), shall be a máshaka, half a máshaka, kákani and half a kákani.

The examiner of coins (rúpadarsaka) shall regulate currency both as a medium of exchange (vyávahárikim) and as legal tender admissible into the treasury (kosapravesyám): The premia levied on coins paid into the treasury shall be) 8 per cent, known as rúpika, 5 per cent known as vyáji, one-eighth pana per cent as páríkshika (testing charge), besides (cha) a fine of 25 pana to be imposed on offenders other than the manufacturer, the seller, the purchaser and the examiner.

The superintendent of ocean-mines (khanyadhyakshah) shall attend to the collection of conch-shells, diamonds, precious stones, pearls, corals, and salt (kshára) and also regulate the commerce in the above commodities.

Soon after crystalisation of salt is over, the superintendent of salt shall in time collect both the money-rent (prakraya) and the quantity of the shares of salt due to the government; and by the sale of salt (thus collected as shares) he shall realise not only its value (múlyam), but also the premium of five per cent (vyájím), both in cash (rúpa).

Imported salt (ágantulavanam) shall pay one-sixth portion (shadbhága) to the king. The sale of this portion (bhágavibhága) shall fetch the premia of five per cent (vyáji), of eight per cent (rúpika) in cash (rúpa). The purchasers shall pay not only the toll (sulka), but also the compensation (vaidharana) equivalent to the loss entailed on the king's commerce. In default of the above payment, he shall be compelled to pay a fine of 600 panas.

Adulteration of salt shall be punished with the highest amercement; likewise persons other than hermits (vánaprastha) manufacturing salt without license.

Men learned in the Vedas, persons engaged in penance, as well as labourers may take with them salt for food; salt and alkalies for purposes other than this shall be subject to the payment of toll.

Thus; besides collecting from mines the ten kinds of revenue, such as (1) value of the out-put (múlya), (2) the share of the out-put (vibhága), (3) the premium of five per cent (vyáji), (4) the testing charge of coins (parigha), (5) fine previously announced (atyaya), (6) toll (sulka), (7) compensation for loss entailed on the king's commerce (vaidharana), (8) fines to be determined in proportion to the gravity of crimes (danda), (9), coinage (rúpa), (10) the premium of eight per cent (rúpika), the government shall keep as a state monopoly both mining and commerce (in minerals).

Thus taxes (mukhasangraha) on all commodities intended for sale shall be prescribed once for all.

[Thus ends Chapter XII, "Conducting Mining Operations and Manufacture" in Book II, "The Duties of Government Superintendents" of the Arthasástra of Kautilya. End of thirty-third chapter from the beginning.]

Table of Contents

IN order to manufacture gold and silver jewellry, each being kept apart, the superintendent of gold shall have a goldsmiths office (akshasála) consisting of four rooms and one door.

In the centre of the high road a trained, skilful goldsmith of high birth and of reliable character shall be appointed to hold his shop.

Jámbúnada, that which is the product of the river, Jambu; Sátakumbha, that which is extracted from the mountain of Satakumba; Hátaka, that which is extracted from the mines known as Hátaka; Vainava, that which is the product of the mountain, Vénu; and Sringasúktija, that which is extracted from sringasúkti (?) are the varieties of gold.

(Gold may be obtained) either pure or amalgamated with mercury or silver or alloyed with other impurities as mine gold (ákaródgata).

That which is of the colour of the petals of a lotus, ductile, glossy, incapable of making any continuous sound (anádi), and glittering is the best; that which is reddish yellow (raktapíta) is of middle quality; and that which is red is of low quality.

Impure gold is of whitish colour. It shall be fused with lead of four times the quantity of the impurity. When gold is rendered brittle owing to its contamination with lead, it shall be heated with dry cowdung (sushkapatala). When it splits into pieces owing to hardness, it shall be drenched (after heating) into oil mixed with cowdung (taila-gomaye).

Mine gold which is brittle owing to its contamination with lead shall be heated wound round with cloth (pákapatráni kritvá); and hammered on a wooden anvil. Or it may be drenched in the mixture made of mushroom and vajrakhanda (Antiquorum).

Tutthodgata, what which is extracted from the mountain, Tuttha; gaudika, that which is the product of the country known as Gauda; kámbuka, that which is extracted from the mountain, Kambu; and chákraválika, that which is extracted from the mountain Chakravála are the varieties of silver.

Silver which is white, glossy, and ductile is the best; and that which is of the reverse quality is bad.

Impure silver shall be heated with lead of one-fourth the quantity of the impurity.

That which becomes full of globules, white, glowing, and of the colour of curd is pure.

When the streak of pure gold (made on touch-stone) is of the colour of turmeric, it is termed suvarna. When from one to sixteen kákanis of gold in a suvarna (of sixteen máshakas) are replaced by from one to sixteen kákanis of copper, so that the copper is inseparably alloyed with the whole mass of the remaining quantity of the gold, the sixteen varieties (carats) of the standard of the purity of gold (shodasavarnakáh) will be obtained.

Having first made a streak with suvarna on a touchstone, then (by the side of the streak) a streak with a piece of the gold (to be compared with it) shall be made.

Whenever a uniform streak made on the even surface of a touch-stone can be wiped off or swept away or when the streak is due to the sprinkling of any glittering powder (gairika) by the nail on touch-stone, then an attempt for deception can be inferred.

If, with the edge of the palm dipped in a solution, of vermilion (játihinguláka) or of sulphate of iron (pushpakásísa) in cow's urine, gold (suvarna) is touched, it becomes white.