Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c8.70

c8.70

High antiquity of the law of debt. The high antiquity of the law of debt is suggested also by its vigorous emphasis on religious motives; unpaid debts pursue the debtor even into his future birth, so that he is reborn as a slave in the house of his creditor in order to pay off the debt by his labour and the religious merit of his sacrifices and penances is transferred entirely to his creditor (Nār. 1,7-9).