The learned among the Hindus say that litigation in its various kinds falls under eighteen titles,* for each of which there is a separate course of procedure, viz.—(1). Non-payment of debt. (2). Deposits. (3). Sale without ownership. (4). Disputes in partnership. (5). Reclaiming a gift. (6). Disputes between master and servant regarding wages, under which head are included labourers and such as work for hire. (7). Default of revenue by the cultivator. (8). Recision of purchase between buyer and seller. (9). Mulcts on herdsmen. (10). Boundary disputes. (11). Slander. (12). Assault. (13). Theft. (14). Vio­lence with bloodshed. (15). Adultery. (16). Altercation between man and wife. (17). Inheritance. (18). Gambling disputes.

The king in his judicial character must erect his tribunal facing the east. He must conduct the duties of his office in person, and if he cannot always himself attend to them, he must delegate his authority to a wise, fearless and painstaking deputy.

The plaintiff is termed Vádin and the defendant Prati-vádin. A child under twelve years of age may not be summoned to court, nor one who is drunk; nor one crazy, nor one who is sick or engaged in the service of the State, nor a woman without relations, or of high family, or who has recently given birth to a child. A discreet person should be commis­sioned to interrogate in such cases, or they should be brought into the royal presence.

The plaintiff's statement is taken down in writing, with the date of the year, month, and day, and the names of the two parties and their ancestors for three descents, and many other particulars. The reply of the defendant is then recorded and both their statements are carefully investi­gated. The plaintiff is then asked for any documentary evidence and for his witnesses. These should not be fewer than four, though some allow only three, and even one is considered sufficient if he be a person of known veracity.

A child under five may not serve as a witness, nor a man broken down with age. The evidence of a ´Súdra is only available for a ´Súdra, and that of a handicraftsman for one of his own trade. The evidence of a blind man may not be taken, nor of one who is deaf, or diseased, or drunk, or crazy, nor of a gambler, nor of a notorious evil-liver, nor of one oppressed by hunger and thirst, nor of an angry man, nor of a thief, nor of one who is being taken to execution. For women, women should serve as witnesses. A friend may not witness for a friend, nor an enemy against an enemy, nor partners for each other. In all oral litigation, dryness of the lips, and biting them, and licking the sides of the mouth, alteration of voice and change of colour, should be taken into consideration as collateral proof.

In all suits these conditions of evidence are imperative except under titles eleven to fourteen.

If there be no documentary evidence or witnesses, the judge must decide to the best of his ability, with caution and prudence; but if he cannot discover the facts of the case, he must cause the plaintiff or, as some say, either of the two parties, as he thinks best, to undergo the ordeal.* This is of eight kinds.

The first kind. The man is weighed and taken out of the scales, and after some prayers and incantations, he is again weighed. If his scale rises, his claim is allowed, but an even balance or his scale preponderating, are proofs of its falsehood. Some authorities say that the balance is never even. This ordeal is only for Bráhmans.

The second kind. Seven or nine circles are drawn with a distance of sixteen fingers' breadth between each periphery. The person is then bathed and religious ceremonies and incantations, as above described, are gone through. His two hands are then rubbed over with rice-bran, and seven green leaves of the pipal-tree (Ficus religiosa) are placed upon them and bound round seven times with raw silk. A piece of iron, weighing 3⅓ sers and heated red-hot, is then placed upon the leaves which, thus heated, he carries and advances taking one step between each circle, till, on arriving at the last, he throws the iron down. If there is no sign of a burn, his word is accepted. If the iron fall from his hands mid-way, he must begin again.

The third kind. The person is made to stand in water up to his navel and dips under with his face to the east. Then, from a bow measuring 106 fingers breadth, a reed arrow without an iron point, is shot off so that it shall fly with the wind and a fast runner is sent to fetch it. If he can keep under water from the time the shaft is loosed till the runner returns with it, his cause is declared just. This ordeal is especially for the Vaiśya caste.

The fourth kind. Seven barley corns of a deadly poison are administered in the spring season (Vasanta), or five in the heats (Grishmá), or four in the rains (Varsha), six in the autumn (´Sarad), and seven in the winter (Haimanta). These are to be mixed with thirty-three times the quantity of clarified butter and given to the man after certain incantations. The face of the patient must be towards the south, and the person who administers must face the east or north. If during a period in which the hands may be clapped 500 times, the poison does not take effect, his truth is proved. Antidotes are then given to him to prevent any fatal effects. This ordeal is peculiar to the ´Súdra caste.

The fifth kind. An idol is first washed, and after worship is paid to it, incantations are pronounced over the water it was washed with, and three mouthfuls of it are given to the person under ordeal. If no misfor­tune happens to him within a fortnight the justness of his cause is acknowledged.

The sixth kind. Rice of the class called Sáṭhi* is placed in an earthen vessel and kept all night. Incantations are next morning pronounced over it, and the person is made to eat it while facing the east. He is then required to spit upon a leaf of the pipal (Ficus religiosa), or the bhojpatra (Betula bhojpatra).* If there should be any marks of blood, or the corners of the mouth swell, or symptoms of ague supervene, the untruth of his case is inferred.

The seventh kind. An earthen or stone vessel is taken, measur­ing sixteen fingers in length and breadth, and four fingers deep. Into this forty dáms weight of clarified butter or sesame-oil is poured and brought to boiling point, and one másha of gold, which is equal to four surkhs, is thrown into the boiling-oil. If the person can take out the gold with two fingers without being scalded, his cause is just.

The eighth kind. A symbol of Dharma, or Innocence, is fashioned of silver, and one of Adharma, or Guilt, of lead or iron; or the former word is written on a piece of a white cloth, or a leaf of the bhoj tree, and the latter on a piece of black cloth, and these are put into a jar which has never held water. The person under ordeal is then told to draw out one of these. If the symbol of innocence is drawn out, his cause is just. This ordeal is applicable in determining the righteousness of all four castes.

If a suit cannot be decided in one day, bail is taken; and a second suit may not be brought against the same person till the first is disposed of. When a claim is proved, the plaintiff is put in possession, and a fine of an amount equal to the value of the suit is exacted of the defendant. If the plaintiff loses his cause, he pays double the value of the suit.

Having cursorily explained the procedure regarding suits, evidence and ordeal, I now as briefly record the mode of adjudication under the eighteen titles of law-suits.

1. Non-payment of debt. If the debt be without deposit and the dispute be regarding the amount of interest, a Bráhman shall pay two per cent. (per mensem), a Kshatriya three, a Vaiśya four, and a ´Súdra five per cent. If there be security, only one-fourth of the above amounts are recoverable though a higher rate may have been agreed to. For risks by land-travel, up to ten per cent. is allowed, and not exceeding twenty-five per cent. for risks at sea. If interest has been agreed upon, and ten times the length of the stipulated period has elapsed, a claim shall not be allowed for more than double the principal.* When the interest is paid on corn, the sum of the interest and principal should not be more than five times the principal. If the debtor is unable to pay, he must renew the obligation bringing the instrument* and witnesses for its verification.

2. Deposits. If the receiver of a deposit make use of it without the owner's permission and delay its restoration when claimed, he shall forego half the interest due (in compensation). If he deny the deposit and there be no documentary evidence or witnesses, the judge may pri­vately direct a third person to make a deposit with the same man and after some time to demand it back. If he acts as before, he shall be com­pelled to satisfy the first claim, or submit to trial by ordeal; but if the pledge be stolen by a thief, or if it be burnt, or washed away by water, or plun­dered by an enemy, restitution shall not be made. If he has dealt fraudu­lently with it, he shall make restitution and pay a similar amount as a fine.

3. Sale without ownership. If a man claim possession of property, it shall be restored to him free on proof of ownership, and the money taken back from the seller. And if it be sold privately or under its value, or by a person not entitled to do so, the judge shall fine the offender as he thinks proper. And if he brings forward the thief,* it shall not be imputed as the crime of a thief, but a fine shall be exacted from him as a thief.

4. Partnership. If there be a dispute between partners and any formal deed of partnership exist and be proved, it shall be carried out in accordance with its terms; otherwise the profit and loss shall be divided according to the proportions of capital invested. If one of the partners dissipate the joint property or, without the consent of the other, remove it or otherwise fraudulently deal with it, he shall make it good to the other by a fine. Or if on the other hand, he make a profit, he shall not be required to give more than one-tenth to his partner. If one of them is guilty of fraud, he shall be ejected from partnership and the interest due to him shall be exacted by the judge. If one of the partners be left in charge of the joint property and any deficiency or injury occurs through his neglect, he shall make it good.

5. Reclaiming a gift. If a gift is made under the influence of anger, sickness, grief, fear, or as a bribe, or in jest, it may be recalled: also what has been given by a child, or a drunken or crazy man. In other cases it may not be reclaimed. And if the gift be made for a future benefit or in exchange, it may not, under any pretence, be resumed.

6. Wages, Hire, Rent. If wages, hire, or rent be received in advance, the agreement may not be violated. If it be broken, the offender shall be fined to the amount of double the sum; but if the money has not been actually paid, the fine shall extend only to the amount originally fixed. If a servant loses his master's property, he must make good the equivalent, but if it be taken from him by violence, he is not liable to restitution.

7. Revenue. If any one fail to pay the usual revenue, the whole of his effects shall be confiscated, and he shall be expelled the country.

8. Purchase and sale. A purchaser may on the day of purchase return the goods bought; on the second day he may return them on a forfeit of a twentieth of their cost: on the third day, of a tenth, after which they cannot be sent back.* But a maid-servant may be sent back within one month; a slave, within fifteen days; corn, within ten days; jewels, within seven days; cattle in general, within five days; a milch-cow, within three days; iron, within one day; unless there be any stipulation to the contrary. The same conditions hold good with the seller, but he must sustain the loss in the same proportion as the excess payments of the purchaser in the opposite case.

9. Herdsmen. If through the neglect of a herdsman a beast is lost or dies or is injured, he must make good the loss. If cattle eat a grain-crop near a village or city, the herdsman is not amenable to fine. Sown-fields should be distant from a small village four hundred cubits; from one of moderate size, eight hundred, and from a large settlement, sixteen hundred cubits.* If the trespass should occur through the neglect of the keeper, he must pay the value of the crop destroyed, otherwise the owner of the cattle is responsible. For a buffalo, a camel or donkey the fine is seven máshas of silver: for an ox, half the above: for a sheep or goat, half the fine for an ox. If the beast lies down to eat, the fine is doubled. An ele­phant, a horse, as well as cattle set at liberty as an act of piety, (it being the custom, eleven days after the death of a Bráhman, thirteen days after the death of a Kshatriya, sixteen after that of a Vaiśya, and thirty after the death of a ´Súdra, to let loose eight or four bulls, or one bull with a number of cows after branding them in a special manner) or a cow that has lately calved, or animals that have strayed, are not amenable to fine if they damage the crops. The same rule applies to royal preserves* as to crops.

10. Boundaries. Disputes regarding boundaries may be adjudicated at any season save during the rains.* The owners of land define their boundaries by burying charcoal, stones, potsherds, hair, bones, and the like that do not perish even after a long time; and sometimes a tree* is made the boundary. The judge determines the dispute on the production of such evidence, and the witness of four, eight, or ten husbandmen, keepers,* or hunters.

The witnesses shall wear red garments, place earth upon their heads and wear a string of red flowers round their necks, and shall swear that their good deeds may lose all merit if they lie. If there be no witnesses nor boundary mark, the judgment of the king shall determine the line.

11. Slander. This is of three kinds, viz.—(1). Reviling another to his face. (2). By insinuation and suggestion. (3). Reviling his mother, sister, or such other improper language. For the first two, if the abuse be from one of inferior towards one of a superior caste the fine is twelve-and-a-half dáms; to an equal, half that sum; towards an inferior, one-fourth. For the third kind, the fine is twenty-five dáms, if between equals, or if a Bráhman reviles a Kshatriya; but fifty, if the abuse is from a Kshatriya to a Bráhman. If a Vaiśya reviles a Bráhman he is fined seventy-five dáms, but in the opposite case the fine is twelve-and-a-half. If a ´Súdra thus offends against a Bráhman, he is fined one hundred dáms,* a Bráhman reviling a ´Súdra pays six-and-a-quarter. A Vaiśya reviling a Kshatriya pays fifty, and the fine in the opposite case is twelve-and-a-half; and the same proportion between a Vaiśya and a ´Súdra. If one of the gods be reviled, or the king, or a Bráhman who has read the four Vedas, the fine is 540 dáms. If the abuse be directed against the people of a quarter, half of the above; and one-fourth if against the inhabitants of the city.

12. Assault. This is of four kinds: (1). Throwing earth, clay or filth upon any one. (2). Putting him in bodily fear by threatening him with the fist, a stick, or other weapon. (3). Striking with the hands or feet and the like. (4). Wounding with any weapon.

The first kind. In the first case, the fine is five dáms, but if filth is thrown, ten, provided the parties are equals; but twice as much if it be an inferior against a superior, and only half in the opposite case.

The second kind. Threatening with the hand, &c., five dáms, and (with stick or other weapon) between equals, eleven; between superiors and inferiors, as above.

The third kind. If the blow cause a swelling or pain in the limb, 270 dáms. If by an inferior against a superior, the hand or foot, or other offending member shall be cut off, or a suitable fine inflicted. In the instance of a Kshatriya against a Bráhman, the fine is 540 dáms; a Vaiśya against a Bráhman, 1,080; a ´Súdra against a Bráhman, 2,160; a Vaiśya against a Kshatriya or a ´Súdra against a Vaiśya 540; a ´Súdra against a Kshatriya, 1,080; a Bráhman against a Kshatriya, 135; or against a Vaiśya, 67½, or against a ´Súdra, 33¾; a Kshatriya against a Vaiśya, 135; against a ´Súdra 67½.

The fourth kind. Between those of like caste if the skin be abraded, fifty dáms, and if the flesh is cut, twenty tolahs of gold, and if a bone be broken, the offender is banished. If an inferior against a higher caste, the fine is doubled, and in the opposite case, it shall be a-half. If treat­ment is necessary, the offender shall pay the expenses of medicine and daily ‘keep’ till the injured man be restored to health.

In the case of a sheep, autelope* and the like, if there be hurt, the fine is eight dáms; if it be rendered useless, the value must be paid to the owner, with a fine of 125 dáms; and twice as much, if it be killed. For a horse, camel, or ox, the fine is also double. When damage is done to valuable plants, the value must be paid to the owner and a fine of ten dáms, but eight dáms if they be of small value.*

13. Theft. If any one steal above one hundred tolahs of gold or silver or any valuables up to this amount, or more than 66⅔ mans of corn, or the child or the wife of any person of distinction, he shall be liable to the punishment of death. If the amount be less than one hundred and more than fifty tolahs, he shall suffer the loss of his hand. If fifty or less, he shall pay eleven times the amount as a fine. The same applies to corn. In all cases the equivalent of the amount stolen shall be made good to the owner, and if the thief is unable to pay, he shall work out the amount in menial service. In other cases of theft, corporal punishment, imprisonment or fine, is at the discretion of the judge.

14. Violence with bloodshed. If a man of inferior caste kill a man of a higher caste, the penalty is death. If a Bráhman slay a Bráhman, his entire estate shall be confiscated, his head shaved, his forehead branded and he shall be banished from the kingdom. If a Bráhman slay a Kshatriya, he shall pay a fine of 1,000 cows and a bull; if he slay a Vaiśya, 100 cows and a bull, or if a ´Súdra, 10 cows and a bull. The same rule applies to Kshatriyas and Vaiśyas. If a ´Súdra slay a ´Súdra, he shall be fined 500 cows and a bull. If the murderer be not found, the people of the city, village, or quarter in which the murder was committed shall produce some of his family or pay in default any fine that the king may inflict.

15. Adultery. Commerce between a woman and a man other than her husband, is of three kinds: (1). When they converse and jest together in private. (2). When a present is sent to the house of the other. (3). When they meet and criminal intercourse ensues. In the second case, a fine may be inflicted at the discretion of the king. The third is of two kinds, viz., with a maiden and one who is not a maiden. The former may be dishonoured <Greek>. The latter may be women who are guarded, or such as gad abroad.* In each of these four cases it may occur with the woman's consent or otherwise, and of these eight, the criminality may take place between two of a like caste. In the latter instance if it be a girl and she consent in all these offences, and no force is offered on one side or resistance on the other,* the man shall be compelled to marry her whether he will or no. In the case of pollution and the like, he must pay a fine of 200 dáms. If he violate her without her consent, he shall be put to death, but the woman is not liable to punishment. If he forcibly pollute her, he must suffer the loss of his fingers, and pay a fine of 600 dáms. If the offender be a Bráhman, he shall be banished, but no other penalty is exacted.* If the man be of higher caste, he shall be made to take her in marriage, even if he be unwilling, in which case an additional fine is imposed. If she be not a maiden, and both be of like caste, and she be guarded,* and give her con­sent, the man is fined 270 dáms, but if without her consent, the fine shall be 540 dáms. If she be one used to gad abroad and consents, the fine is 250 dáms; if forced, 500. If the man be of higher caste, the fine in all cases shall be 250 dáms; if of inferior caste, death is the penalty in every instance, and the ears and nose of the woman shall be cut off.

16. Altercation between man and wife. If after marriage a man dis­covers any natural defect in his wife, he may put her away without remedy on her part, but the woman's father shall be fined. If a man offer one daughter in marriage and substitute another in her place, he shall be compelled to give both. When a man has journeyed on a pilgrimage to holy shrines and is absent beyond the term agreed upon, the wife shall wait at home for eight years whatever her position in life may be.* If he has gone abroad for the sake of knowledge or fame or wealth, she shall wait six years: if he journeys to seek another wife, three years. At the expiration of these periods, she is at liberty to leave her husband's house to obtain a livelihood. The husband on his return from abroad, if he wishes to put her away on account of her departure, is not permitted to do so. If the wife does not observe the condition of these periods, the husband is at liberty to put her away. If the husband fall sick and the wife does not minister to him, he may not, on his recovery, for this cause divorce her, but he may refuse intercourse with her for three months and deprive her of all that she possesses,* after which period he shall be reconciled to her. With Bráh­mans, divorce does not take place but a husband may avoid the sight and presence of his wife: her maintenance must nevertheless be continued. The wife may not take another husband. If he be guilty of great crimes or have any contagious disease; the wife is at liberty to separate from him. If a Bráhman have a wife of each of the four castes, he shall assign them their respective social functions. In religious ceremonies, and personal attendance such as anointing with oil and adorning* him and simi!ar duties, he must employ only his own caste.

17. Inheritance. While a son lives, no other relation or kinsman shares the estate except the wife who is equal to the son. If there be neither son nor wife, the unmarried daughter inherits. If there be also no daughter, the mother is the heir.

If there be no mother, the father takes possession.

If there be no father alive, his brother shall be heir.

In default of a brother, the brother's son inherits.

In default of a brother's son, the estate is divided amongst the surviving kindred.

If he leave no relations, the teacher inherits, or in default of the teacher, his fellow pupils.*

In the absence of all these the estate lapses to the Crown.

18. Gambling. Whosoever plays with false dice shall be banished. If he refuse to pay his stake, it shall be taken from him, and of his win­nings, the king shall receive one-tenth,* and one-twentieth shall be taken for dues.*

To each of these eighteen titles there are many illustrations, and con­flicting opinions are recorded. I content myself with this short exposition.