DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.52452#0128
TOO
NARADA.
I, 247.
19. Proof by Ordeal.
247. If no witness is forthcoming for either of
the two litigant parties, he must test them through
ordeals and oaths of every sort.
248. (Let him cause a Brahman to swear by)
truth, (a Kshatriya) by his (horse or other) vehicle,
and by his weapons, (a Va.hya) by his cows, seeds or
gold and so on, (or all) by venerable deities or deified
ancestors, by their pious gifts or meritorious deeds.
249. Where a heavy crime has been committed,
the ruler shall administer one of the ordeals. In
light cases, on the other hand, a virtuous king shall
swear a man with (various) oaths.
* 250. Thus have these oaths been proclaimed by
Mann for trifling cases. In a suit concerning a heavy
crime, divine test should be resorted to.
251. Holy Manu has ordained that five kinds of
ordeals should be administered to those involved in
a doubtful case (which has become the object of
a lawsuit), especially if the matter under dispute is
of a recondite nature.
* 252. The balance, fire, water, poison, and, fifthly,
consecrated water, are the ordeals ordained for the
purgation of high-minded persons.
248. In this rule are indicated the various oaths to be administered
according to the caste and individual character of the offender. A.
Manu VIII, 114.
249, 250. These two verses are intended to indicate the difference
in point of applicability between an ordeal and an oath. A.
251. Holy Manu has said that those against whom a charge of
an aggravated nature has been brought, shall have to undergo one
out of the five ordeals, in order to clear themselves from suspicion,
especially when a secret transgression is concerned. A.
252. In this paragraph the author proceeds to enumerate the five
ordeals singly. A. Ya^navalkya II, 95; Vishwu IX, n.
NARADA.
I, 247.
19. Proof by Ordeal.
247. If no witness is forthcoming for either of
the two litigant parties, he must test them through
ordeals and oaths of every sort.
248. (Let him cause a Brahman to swear by)
truth, (a Kshatriya) by his (horse or other) vehicle,
and by his weapons, (a Va.hya) by his cows, seeds or
gold and so on, (or all) by venerable deities or deified
ancestors, by their pious gifts or meritorious deeds.
249. Where a heavy crime has been committed,
the ruler shall administer one of the ordeals. In
light cases, on the other hand, a virtuous king shall
swear a man with (various) oaths.
* 250. Thus have these oaths been proclaimed by
Mann for trifling cases. In a suit concerning a heavy
crime, divine test should be resorted to.
251. Holy Manu has ordained that five kinds of
ordeals should be administered to those involved in
a doubtful case (which has become the object of
a lawsuit), especially if the matter under dispute is
of a recondite nature.
* 252. The balance, fire, water, poison, and, fifthly,
consecrated water, are the ordeals ordained for the
purgation of high-minded persons.
248. In this rule are indicated the various oaths to be administered
according to the caste and individual character of the offender. A.
Manu VIII, 114.
249, 250. These two verses are intended to indicate the difference
in point of applicability between an ordeal and an oath. A.
251. Holy Manu has said that those against whom a charge of
an aggravated nature has been brought, shall have to undergo one
out of the five ordeals, in order to clear themselves from suspicion,
especially when a secret transgression is concerned. A.
252. In this paragraph the author proceeds to enumerate the five
ordeals singly. A. Ya^navalkya II, 95; Vishwu IX, n.