History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.208.2

v4.c63.208.2

divides documents into śāsana and cīraka. The first is the same as rājakīya (described in Yāj. I. 318-320) and cīraka is practically the same as jānapada writing. On Yāj. II. 89 the Mit. remarks that a royal deed must be written in correct and elegant language but a document executed by ordinary people is not required to be in correct Sanskrit, but may be written in the local dialect of the parties. Yāj. II. 89 states that a document written by the executant himself in his own hand is authoritative except when it is brought about by force or fraud. Yāj. II. 84-87 prescribe that a document of debt or the like should be written down by mutual agreement, that the creditor's name should be placed first, that it should mention the year, month, half month, *tithi* (day), the names, caste, gotras, the Vedic School, the names of the fathers of the parties, that when the writing is finished the debtor should write at the end that the deed is approved by N. N. (the executant) son of so and so, that an even number (i. e. not less than two) should attest the document, stating their father's names and that they attest as witnesses and the scribe should write at the end that he wrote the document at the request of both parties. If the debtor or any witness cannot write, his signature should be made by another in the presence of all witnesses (Nār. q. by Mit. on Yāj. II. 87 and by Vy. Nir. p. 87 without name). Rājakiya documents are of three kinds (acc. to Bṛ. quoted in V. P. p. 141, V.