History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c43.160

v3.c43.160

A gift once completed by acceptance is irrevocable. Yāj. II. 176 prescribes 'what is promised should be given and what has been donated should not be taken back'. Nārada²⁰⁶¹ (Dattā-pradānika, verse 8) declares that the price of goods (delivered), wages, what is paid for pleasure (derived from dancers &c.), a gift made through affection, a gift made through gratitude (for favours received), money paid for a bride (to her kinsmen) and gifts for religious and spiritual purposes—these are given irrevocably. But a gift though promised was not complete and irrevocable in all cases. Gaut. V. 21 declares that a gift, though promised, need not be completed if the donee to whom it is promised is a person guilty of irreligious or improper conduct (such as visiting prostitutes). Manu VIII. 212 is similar in import. Kātyāyana states²⁰⁶² that if a man of his own free will promises a gift to a brāhmaṇa, but does not carry out that promise, he becomes a debtor (to that brāhmaṇa) in this world and the next. This means that a gift promised to a brāhmaṇa, though not completed by acceptance and delivery, could not be revoked and could be enforced in a court as a debt and the promisor fined for breach.