Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2.c28.s3.t1.133

v2.c28.s3.t1.133

Trial by Ordeal.—The trial by sagun, literally ‘oath of purgation,’ or ordeal, still exists, and is occasionally had recourse to in Maru, as in other parts of Rajputana; and, if fallen into desuetude, it is not that these judgments of God (as they were styled in the days of European barbarism) are less relied on, but that society is so unhinged that even these appeals to chance find no subjects for practice, excepting by Zalim Singh; and he to the last carried on his antipathy to the Dakins (witches) of Haraoti, who were always submitted to the process by ‘water.’ Trial by ordeal is of very ancient date in India: it was by ‘fire’ that Rama proved the purity of Sita, after her abduction by Ravana, and in the same manner as practised by one of our Saxon kings, by making her walk over a red-hot ploughshare.⁴ Besides the two most common tests, by fire and water, there is a third, that of washing the hands in boiling oil. It should be stated, that, in all cases, not only the selection but the appeal to any of these ordeals is the voluntary act of the litigants, and chiefly after the Panchayats, or courts of arbitration, have failed. Where justice is denied, or bribery shuts the door, the sufferer will dare his adversary to the sagun, or submission to the judgment of God; and the solemnity of the appeal carries such weight, that it brings redress of itself, though cases do occur where the challenge is accepted, and the author has conversed with individuals who have witnessed the operation of each of the ordeals.¹