"Judges who act contrary to law and usage, through fear, avarice, or partiality, shall be severally fined twice the amount of the suit.1 66 'Judges who give opinions inconsistent with law and equity; those who accept bribes; and men who defraud such as have trusted them; should all be invariably banished." "Of false witnesses the whole property should be confiscated, and of corrupt judges.3 "Those who accept bribes, let the king banish, having stript them of their wealth.1 "An iniquitous judge, a perjured witness, and the slayer of a priest, are considered equal criminals.5 "A chief judge, corruptly deciding a cause according to his own perverse will, though conscious that the opinion of the assessors is right, shall also incur punishment." "Whatever loss is sustained through the fault of a judge, must be fully made good by him; but the king should not reverse the judgment which has been so passed between the litigant parties [or as differently read and interpreted, the king should investigate anew the cause which has been so decided]." "If the chief judge converse in secret with. one of the parties in an undecided suit, he shall doubtless be liable to punishment; and so shall a member of the judicial assembly, who is guilty of the same collusion.8 "A judge who gives an opinion contrary to justice, through the influence of affection or avarice, or through fear, should be fined in twice the amount of the penalty which is incident to the loss of the cause.8 "The assessors before mentioned, acting contrary to law, or inconsistently with the sacred code, or contrary to usage (as implied by the conjunctive particle), being overcome by ungovernable passion, through excess of affection, inordinate covetousness, or overpowering terror, shall be amerced respectively in twice the penalty which would be incurred by the party that is cast: not twice the value of the thing which was the subject of the law-suit: else it might be supposed that no fine would be incurred in the case of a trial for adultery or other matter [not pecuniary]. Partiality, avarice, and fear, are specified to restrict the precept which prescribes a penalty of twice the amount, to the instance of acting 1 Yajnavalkya, 2. 4. 3 Vishnu, 5. 179, 180. 5 Vrihaspati, cited in Vyav. Chint. 1 Vyav. Chint. 2 Vrihaspati, cited in Sm. Chand., etc. 4 Yajnavalkya, 1. 340. 6 Kátyáyana, cited in the Kalp., etc. 8 Dev. Bh. in Sm. Chand. through partiality, etc.; it shall not be incurred in the case of inadvertence, error, and so forth.' "Judges passing a decision contrary to law, through the influence of passion, shall be severally fined in twice the amount of the thing which is the subject of the law-suit. This direction for imposing fines is applicable in controversies concerning valuables; but in other disputes, such as personal insult, etc., a different punishment must be understood. Accordingly Vishnu directs confiscation of property for acceptance of bribes; and here acceptance of bribes is stated merely as an instance.2 "The offending judge shall be compelled to pay twice the penalty which is involved in the suit. This meaning, consonant to the interpretation of many commentators, must be received. Not as it has been interpreted by a certain commentator,3 twice the amount of the thing which is the subject of controversy, for that is incongruous; and the incongruity has been shown by many authors: it is not here repeated, for fear of prolixity. "Kátyáyana ordains punishment when the judge's fault is discovered subsequently to the decision of the cause. Though determined by a corrupt judge, the judgment is not to be rescinded by the king; but he should compel the iniquitous judge to make good the loss.1 "The king should again try that cause which has been ill investigated and wrong decided." "The same author provides that the chief judge, or assessors, shall be fined even for merely conversing in private with either of the parties, previous to the decision of the cause."6 § 13. Court-House. "The place where the original matter is thoroughly investigated by a disquisition of law, is a court of justice." 8 "The court of justice should be built on the eastern quarter [of the king's palace]; and should be furnished with fire and water." "In the middle of his fortress, let the king construct a house, apart [from other edifices], with trees and water adjacent 10 to it [or, according to a different reading, a large edifice encompassed with water"]; and let him allot for a court [an apartment] on the 1 Mit. on Yajn. 2. 4. 3 Alluding apparently to Aparárka. 5 Vách. mi3r. in Vyar. Chint 7 Katyayana, cited in Sm. Chand. and Mádh. • S'ankha, cited in Sm. Ch. 11 As read in Sm. Chand. 2 Aparárka on Yajn. 2. 4. 4 Dev. Bh. in Sm. Chand. 6 Dev. Bh. in Sm. Chand. 8 Dev. Bh. 10 As read in the Madh. eastern side of it, with an eastern aspect, and duly proportioned, furnished too with a throne, decorated with wreaths, perfumed with fragrant resins, supplied with corn, embellished with gems, adorned with statues and pictures, and with images of deities, and accommodated likewise with fire and water.' "An apartment for the assembly or court of justice should be allotted on the eastern side of the royal palace. It should be designed according to the dimensions taught by the rules of architecture. The place of assembly is termed a court of justice.2 "The place where a thorough investigation, or complete ascertainment of the original matter set forth, is competently instituted and conducted by means of a legal inquiry, and by persons qualified to decide, is called a court of justice (dharmadhikarana); a term signifying, agreeably to its etymology, a place where the original matter is thoroughly investigated according to rules of law." 3 § 14. Time and mode of Sitting. "Having risen in the last watch of the night, his body being pure and his mind attentive, having made oblations to fire, and shown due respect to the priests, let him [the king'] enter his hall decently splendid." "The king, having made oblations early in the morning and performed ablutions, and being composed and collected, and having shown due honour to his spiritual parents, to learned astronomers and physicians, to the deities and to bráhmaṇas, and to domestic priests, with flowers, ornaments and vesture, and having saluted his spiritual parents and the rest, should enter the court-room with a cheerful aspect. "Let the king, uninfluenced by partiality, decide causes in the mode prescribed by law, during the forenoon, in his courts of justice; omitting the [first] eighth part of a day, but during [the next] three: such is the best time for the trial of causes, as ordained by the sacred code." "After the first four hours (ghaṭṭiká), for that time is allotted to the business of the perpetual fire, and other religious affairs. In this space of three [eighth] parts of a day, the king should constantly inspect law-suits. "The eighth part,' from the first half watch (prahara) to the second (prahara). 1 Vrihaspati, cited in Sm. Ch. and Mádh. 3 Dev. Bh. 4 Sm. Chand. 6 Vrihaspati, cited in Sm. 7 Katyayana, cited in Sm. Ragh, in Vyav. tattwa. 2 Madhava. 5 Manu, 7. 145. 8 Dev. Bh. in Sm. Ch. "The trial of causes, during the forenoon only, is here ordained. That again is intended for temporal purposes, because the understanding is then clear, and the king is yet disengaged from other business. A restriction is subjoined. The eighth part is half the first prahara: three parts subsequent thereto, but preceding the turn of noon; for else it would contradict the injunction for hearing causes in the forenoon. The omission of half the first prahara, too, is intended for a sensible purpose; as it serves to obviate any obstruction to the performance of daily sacrifices and the like.' "A wise man should not inspect judicial proceedings on these lunar days; namely, the fourteenth of each half of the month; the day of conjunction (new moon); that of opposition (full moon); and the eighth day of every semilunation." "This prohibition is intended for spiritual ends, since it can have no temporal use: just like the prohibition of sitting towards a certain quarter [the south] during meals.3 "Let the king sit facing the east, and the judges facing the north; the accountant looking towards the west, and the scribe towards the south and the king should cause gold, fire, water, and the code of law, to be placed in the midst of them, and also other holy things.* "The rest may sit as most convenient; since there is no restriction concerning their places."" 1 Mitr, miśr. in Viramitr. 3 Mitr. miśr. in Viramitr. 5 Mitr. misr. in Viramitr. 2 Samvarta, cited in Sm. Ohand. 528 XV. ON INDIAN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.1 [From the Asiatic Researches, vol. v. pp. 91-109. COMMENTATORS reconcile the contradictions of ancient authors on the subject of weights and measures by a reference to different standards. To understand their explanations I have been led to some inquiries, the result of which I shall state concisely, to alleviate the labour of others, who may seek information on the same subject; omitting, however, such measures as are of very limited use. Most of the authorities, which I shall quote, have not been consulted by myself, but are assumed from the citations in a work of Gopála-bhaṭṭa on numbers and quantities, which is entitled Sankhyáparimáṇa. 2 Manu, Yajnavalkya,3 and Nárada trace all weights from the least visible quantity, which they concur in naming trasareņu, and describing as "the very small mote, which may be discerned in a sunbeam passing through a lattice." Writers on medicine proceed a step further, and affirm, that a trasareņu contains thirty paramánu or atoms; they describe the trasarenu 1 [For further information on the subject I would refer the reader to Mr. Thomas's edition of Prinsep's Useful Tables, pp. 109-130, and also his papers in the Numismatic Chronicle, vol. iv. (N.s.), and Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vols. ii. and vi. (N.s.), his "Initial Coinage of Bengal," Parts i. and ii., and his "Chronicles of the Pathan Kings of Dehli," pp. 221, etc. I have admitted some verbal corrections from the author's own copy of the Researches.] 3 [i. 361, etc.] 2 [viii. 132, etc.] |