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Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c9.s37: 26. Crime and Punishment

Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c9.s37

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26. Crime and Punishment

c9.s37.1

Theft was of rare occurrence, and in Chandragupta's camp of 400,000 men, the thefts reported on any day did not exceed 200 drachmae (about Rs. 100)³. Love of finery and ornament was indulged in by those who could afford it. They had their bodies massaged by means of smooth rollers of ebony; they wore robes worked in gold, ornaments set with precious stones, and flowered garments of the finest muslin. They married a number of wives, some for children and others for pleasure⁴. The code of punishments was severe, and threatened mutilation for bearing false witness, and death for causing the loss of the hand or eye of the artisan. In other cases of bodily injury, the offender not only paid the penalty according to *lex talionis* but had his hand cut off as well. Indians were peculiarly distinguished among the nations as lovers of dance and song; they reared no costly monuments for the commemoration of the dead, but celebrated their virtues in song⁵.

c9.s37.2

³ One sentence of strabo is usually translated: 'Their houses and property are for the most part unguarded'. But Breloer questions the correctness of the text and holds that the last word should properly read 'guarded', implying a contrast between the stronger closed part of a house and its more open portions—a plan of house building imposed by the climate and prevailing even now. KS, ii, p. 9.

c9.s37.3

⁴ Purchase of wives from their parents in exchange for a yoke of oxen is mentioned in this context as a universal rule; but this is surely due to some misunderstanding on the part of Megasthenes or Strabo. The prescription is known to Indian law-books and applies only to the *ārsha* form of marriage.

c9.s37.4

⁵ Arrian, *Anabasis*, vi, 3. (*Invasion*, p. 136). *Indika*, X (p. 204)=Meg. Frag. XXVI (pp. 67-8).

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