DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49827#0310
APPENDIX.
295'
Dhammathat, ^III, Introd., p. 69. Of boundary marks
between two cities or villages, the original ownership shall
not be lost, though they may have been in the possession
of strangers for hundreds or thousand^, of years. All In-
dian writers agree in excepting boundaries from the general
provisions of the law of prescription; and Narada (I. 4, 11)
speaks of certain species of property which are not lost to
the rightful owner, even though they have been enjoyed
by strangers for hundreds of years.
Dhammathat, III, 7, p. 72. If a debtor claims to have
paid his debt, and the creditor denies it, let the creditor make
an oath. If the amount of the sum in dispute be ten tickals,
let him make an oath at the head of the stairs. If the
amount be twenty tickals, he shall make an oath at the
bottom of the steps. If it be thirty tickals, let him make
an oath at the foot of some respectable tree under the pro-
tection of a Nat (spirit). If it be forty, fifty, or sixty tickals,
he shall be made to swear at the foot of an image of the
most excellent god. In other cases he shall be made to
undergo one of the ordeals, by fire, water, rice, or lead. A
similar gradation of oaths and ordeals, varying in heaviness
according to the amount of the sum in dispute, may
be found in the Vishnu-smriti (IX. 3-14). Vishnu says
expressly that the value of the property claimed must be
estimated in gold, and the choice of a particular oath made
to depend on the value of the property. Thus, e. g., sup-
posing the value to be less than one Krishnala, the defend-
ant must be made to swear by a blade of Durva grass. If
it be less than five Krishnalas, he shall swear by a lump of
earth taken from a furrow. If it be more than half of a
Suvarna, he must be subjected to one of the ordeals, by
balance, by fire, by water, or by poison. These rules have
been further developed by subsequent writers, such as
Katyayana, Pitamaha, and Brihaspati, by introducing a
similar climax among the ordeals. Thus, e. g., it is ordained
by .Katyayana, that the ordeal by rice shall only be
administered in light cases, whereas the ordeal by poison is
reserved for the heaviest cases. Two out of the four ordeals
mentioned by Burmese writers,—viz., the ordeals by rice and
by lead,—are not referred to in any of the early Smritis of
India, but they do occur in the Smritis of Katyayana,
Brihaspati, Pitamaha, and Narada (unprinted recension).
The ordeal by rice, it is true, is not performed in the same
way in India, as it is in Burma. In Burma, each of the
295'
Dhammathat, ^III, Introd., p. 69. Of boundary marks
between two cities or villages, the original ownership shall
not be lost, though they may have been in the possession
of strangers for hundreds or thousand^, of years. All In-
dian writers agree in excepting boundaries from the general
provisions of the law of prescription; and Narada (I. 4, 11)
speaks of certain species of property which are not lost to
the rightful owner, even though they have been enjoyed
by strangers for hundreds of years.
Dhammathat, III, 7, p. 72. If a debtor claims to have
paid his debt, and the creditor denies it, let the creditor make
an oath. If the amount of the sum in dispute be ten tickals,
let him make an oath at the head of the stairs. If the
amount be twenty tickals, he shall make an oath at the
bottom of the steps. If it be thirty tickals, let him make
an oath at the foot of some respectable tree under the pro-
tection of a Nat (spirit). If it be forty, fifty, or sixty tickals,
he shall be made to swear at the foot of an image of the
most excellent god. In other cases he shall be made to
undergo one of the ordeals, by fire, water, rice, or lead. A
similar gradation of oaths and ordeals, varying in heaviness
according to the amount of the sum in dispute, may
be found in the Vishnu-smriti (IX. 3-14). Vishnu says
expressly that the value of the property claimed must be
estimated in gold, and the choice of a particular oath made
to depend on the value of the property. Thus, e. g., sup-
posing the value to be less than one Krishnala, the defend-
ant must be made to swear by a blade of Durva grass. If
it be less than five Krishnalas, he shall swear by a lump of
earth taken from a furrow. If it be more than half of a
Suvarna, he must be subjected to one of the ordeals, by
balance, by fire, by water, or by poison. These rules have
been further developed by subsequent writers, such as
Katyayana, Pitamaha, and Brihaspati, by introducing a
similar climax among the ordeals. Thus, e. g., it is ordained
by .Katyayana, that the ordeal by rice shall only be
administered in light cases, whereas the ordeal by poison is
reserved for the heaviest cases. Two out of the four ordeals
mentioned by Burmese writers,—viz., the ordeals by rice and
by lead,—are not referred to in any of the early Smritis of
India, but they do occur in the Smritis of Katyayana,
Brihaspati, Pitamaha, and Narada (unprinted recension).
The ordeal by rice, it is true, is not performed in the same
way in India, as it is in Burma. In Burma, each of the