Dāsa Kaṇḍa — On Servants
Dhamma Nīti · 2 verses with translation and commentary
180. The Four Kinds of Servant (by origin)
อนฺโตชาโต ธนกฺกีโต ทาสพฺโยปคโต สยํ ทาสกรมรานีโต อิจฺเจวํ จตุธา สิยุํ ฯ
There are four kinds of servant: one born in the household, one bought with wealth, one who enters servitude of his own accord, and one taken captive in war.
This verse sets out four ways a person may come into servitude: being born into it, being purchased like a commodity, entering it voluntarily on account of debt, destitution, or for the sake of protection, and being taken prisoner in war. What is absent is the category of those seized and traded systematically for purely commercial exploitation—the defining feature of modern slavery. The verse thus reflects the paradigm of its age, in which servitude was usually absorbed into existing social, legal, or military structures.
181. The Five Kinds of Servant (by character)
ทาสา ปญฺเจว โจรยฺยสขญาตตฺตสาทิสา ตถา วิญฺญูหิ วิญฺเญยฺยา มิตฺตา ทารา จ พนฺธวา ฯ
There are five kinds of servant (by character): one like a thief, one like a master, one like a friend, one like a kinsman, and one like oneself. The wise should understand them thus, and should understand friends, wives, and relatives in the same way.
A servant may be like a thief—pilfering from the household or shirking work; like a master—wielding undue influence or carrying himself with arrogance; a true friend—honest and dependable; like a kinsman—bound by familial affection; or like oneself—one whose interests align with the master's so that he works with an owner's care. These types the wise should understand, and they should understand friends, wives, and relatives in the same way, for the conduct of each affects the whole household.
End of Dāsa Kaṇḍa (On Servants), verses 180–181, two verses in all.