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same attitude towards heretics is mentioned in the 18th adhyāya of
Arthaśāstra.
Since the Jaina śrāvakas owe to the merchant-class, the motif of 'gathering the wealth' might have appealed to them a lot. [I] In the 94th adhyāya of Arthaśāstra, Kauțilya says, “Generally the fire will burn a body or a part of a body, but when a king is enraged he will kill a person along with his whole family.”
In the Niśītha-bhāsya, we find the story of 'grāma-dāha' in which it is depicted that when the villagers broke Cāņakya's orders, the village was set on fire by Cāņakya. It is very interesting that the bhāsyakāra does not blame Cāņakya for his cruel act. Likewise the story of the weaver Naladāma occurs in the Āvaśyakacūrņi and Parisista-parva where Naladāma kills the people of Nanda by adding poison in their food. The strict administration of Cāņakya is admired in spite of the cruel punishments provided by him.
Both the narratives are as if the concrete examples of the purport expressed at the end of the 94th adhyāya of Arthaśāstra. [J] In the 84th adhyāya of Arthaśāstra, the examination of a person having sudden death is dealt with. The details of the funeral rites are given in such cases. Kautilya says, “A person whether male or female, commits suicide with anger, jealousy or other sinful intentions, or causes others to do so, then his feet should be tied with a rope and a lower-caste person should drag him with rope on the royal highway. His relatives are not allowed to perform the funeral rites like śrāddha. One who breaks this rule, would be punished in the same way.”
When we see the reflection of this rule in the Ardhamāgadhi text Bhagavati-sūtra, we really get startled. In the 15th śataka (chap
