O Rama, listen as the sacred law unfolds regarding justice and punishment, for the upholding of order and righteousness in the kingdom is the king’s foremost duty. If a Brahmin is to be exiled for wrongdoing, he should never be deprived of food; such is the rule of dharma. When someone misuses a deposit entrusted to him, he must pay a fine equal to the full value of that deposit. The same principle applies to garments and similar items—this law remains undiminished. Whoever destroys a deposit or falsely claims something was entrusted to him, both are to be punished as thieves and required to pay double the penalty. Likewise, one who, even out of ignorance, sells another’s property is equally culpable. Even a blameless person, if he knowingly commits a wrongful act, deserves punishment like a thief. If a craftsman accepts payment but fails to deliver the agreed work, he is punishable. Similarly, if someone dismisses a servant before the agreed time, he is liable to a penalty in proportion to the harm caused. In matters of buying and selling, if either party regrets the transaction, he may return or reclaim the item within ten days; after that period, the transaction stands, and neither party may reverse it. If a girl has been given in marriage but not yet handed over, and the giver gives her again to another, he should be fined two hundred by the king. The king should impose the highest fine for such deceit, for truthfulness in intent and speech is meritorious. A seller who, out of greed, acts unjustly elsewhere deserves a fine of six hundred. A herdsman who, though receiving food and wages, fails to offer even half a bow in service is at fault and should be fined a hundred, or a gold piece if he fails in his duty of protection. The boundary of a village is measured by a hundred bows, and for a city, this measure is doubled or tripled. Yet the camel-keeper should not inspect the produce in these cases. If grain in an unprotected field is damaged, there is no penalty. But one who seizes a house, orchard, or field by threat must be fined five hundred, or two hundred if done unknowingly. All who break boundaries are to be punished with the first degree of fine. If a Kshatriya abuses a Brahmin, he is fined one hundred; a Vaishya, two hundred, and a Shudra faces corporal punishment. If a Brahmin abuses a Kshatriya, he is fined fifty; for a Vaishya, half of fifty, and for a Shudra, twelve. If a Vaishya abuses a Kshatriya, he incurs the first degree of fine; but a Shudra who abuses a Kshatriya should have his tongue cut off. A Shudra who presumes to teach dharma to Brahmins is punishable. One who gives false testimony about what he has seen or heard must pay double the highest fine. He who slanders the virtuous with evil words deserves the highest fine; if done out of carelessness or affection, he should pay half the fine. Whoever abuses his mother, father, elder brother, father-in-law, or teacher, or presumes to take his teacher’s path, is to be fined one hundred. If a person of lower caste, or even a twice-born, commits an offense with any limb, that very limb should be cut off by the king without hesitation. If someone spits on the ground out of arrogance, the king should cut off both lips; for urinating in public, the penis; for obscene words, the anus. If an inferior person sits on a superior’s seat, his buttocks should be cut; whatever limb causes harm, that limb is to be severed. Those who kill cows, elephants, horses, or camels should have half their feet and hands cut off. One who destroys a fruitless tree should pay a fine in gold. If someone steals or damages property on a road, boundary, or water reservoir, he should pay double the value, whether knowingly or unknowingly. He must surrender to the king the profit gained and then pay the prescribed penalty. One who takes a rope or pot from a well, or cuts the rope of a public water source, should be punished for a month; if he endangers life, he is punishable by death. One who steals more than ten pots of grain deserves death, while for lesser thefts, the penalty is eleven times the value. For stealing gold, silver, or women, the punishment is death. Whatever limb a thief uses to commit his crime, the king should confiscate that very thing as retribution. If a Brahmin takes a small amount of vegetables or grain, he is not at fault; but if he steals for the sake of cattle or gods and is wicked, he should be killed if he is ready to commit evil. One who steals a house or field, approaches another’s wife, sets fire, administers poison, or raises a weapon should be killed. The king should execute those who attack with the intent to steal cows and commit similar crimes. One must not speak to or enter the house of another’s wife when forbidden. A woman who transgresses against her husband should be cast out to be devoured by dogs. If corrupted by a man of her own caste, she should live on alms alone. If corrupted by a superior, her head should be shaved. If a Brahmin is corrupted by a Vaishya, or a Kshatriya by an outcaste, the Kshatriya is punished first, then the Vaishya, for intercourse with a Shudra. If a prostitute, having taken her fee, goes elsewhere out of greed, she should return double the fee and pay a double fine as well. If a wife, son, slave, student, or brother commits an offense, he may be beaten with a rope or a thin stick. But if struck on the back or head, the striker incurs the guilt of a thief. If those appointed for protection excessively oppress the people, the king should confiscate all their property and banish them. Those who neglect their assigned duties, being pitiless and cruel, should be compelled by the king to perform their own work. If a minister or judge acts contrary to his prescribed duty, the king shall confiscate all his property and banish him. Thus, O Rama, is the law of punishment and justice, to be administered with discernment and fairness, upholding the order of society and the sanctity of dharma.