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434
LAWS OF MANU.
XI, 17.
duties, without (however) making a provision for the morrow,
17. Either from the threshing-floor, or from a field, or out of the house, or wherever he finds it; but if (the owner) asks him, he must confess to him that (deed and its cause).
18. (On such occasions) a Kshatriya must never take the property of a (virtuous) Brâhmana; but he who is starving may appropriate the possessions of a Dasyu, or of one who neglects his sacred duties.
19. He who takes property from the wicked and bestows it on the virtuous, transforms himself into a boat, and carries both (over the sea of misfortune).
20. The property of those who zealously offer sacrifices, the wise call the property of the gods; but the wealth of those who perform no sacrifices is called the property of the Asuras.
21. On him (who, for the reasons stated, appropriates another's possessions), a righteous king shall not inflict punishment; for (in that case) a Brâhmana pines with hunger through the Kshatriya's want of care.
22. Having ascertained the number of those dependent on such a man, and having fully considered his learning and his conduct, the king shall allow him, out of his own property, a maintenance whereon he may live according to the law;
23. And after allotting to him a maintenance, the
18. A Dasyu,' see above, X, 45. According to Når., this verse too refers to the king.
19. “Both,'i. e. him from whom he takes it by saving him from sin (or, from the trouble of protecting his property, Gov.), and the recipient' (Kull., Gov.). Nand. omits verses 19-21.
21-22. See above, VII, 134-135. 23. See above, VIII, 304.
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