Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c10.122

c10.122

From outside literature Vatsa walking through fire, still singing, offers perhaps the oldest instance of an ordeal¹. Sītā too remains uninjured in fire², and indeed according to Nār. 1, 242, *strīṇām śilābhiyogeṣu* an ordeal is to be performed. In the Chāndogyopaniṣad 6, 6 the thief takes a red-hot axe as prescribed in the Smṛtis. The reference to the ordeals *viṣa, salila, tulā* and *agni* in the Mṛcch. 156 exactly agrees with the Smṛtis. Hiouen Thsang (7. cent.) mentions the same four ordeals; but their application markedly differs from the Smṛtis, particularly in the case of water and poison ordeals³. Suleiman (841) mentions the two ordeals of hot iron and boiling water⁴. Alberuni (11. cent.) describes the ordeals by poison, water, sacred libation, balance, hot gold-piece and hot iron in a manner greatly in agreement with the Smṛtis. Ibrahim Khan (1788), ostensibly according to ancient sources, mentions a variety of the plough-share ordeal in which a fiery pit has to be stepped over, and a variety of the poison ordeal with poisonous snakes⁵. In the most recent times in various parts of India and in Nepal the following ordeals used to take place: hot iron, hot oil, walking over glowing coal and various forms of water and poison ordeals, rice chewing, ordeal by lot etc.⁶ Ordeals are now prohibited in India.