[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Polity, law and society](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity) › [History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India)](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930) › v4.c63.271 # History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.271 History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.271 - **Language:** English ### [v4.c63.271](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v4.c63.271) But Yāj. II. 72, Viṣṇu Dh. S. VIII. 9, Nār. IV. 192 state that one man alone may be a witness in a cause if he is endowed with the regular performance of his religious duties (is possessed of the qualities stated in Viṣṇu Dh. S. VIII. 8) and is accepted as a witness by both sides. Vide Manu VIII. 77 also. Bṛ. (S. B. E. vol. 33 p. 301 v. 18) allows a single witness to furnish valid proof if he is a dūtaka⁴⁸⁶ (messenger), an accountant, one who has accidentally witnessed the transaction or if he is the king or the chief justice. Vyāsa says⁴⁸⁷ that even a single person may be enough in a cause, especially in heinous offences called \*sāhasa\*, if he be one whose actions are pure, who knows the \*dharma\* and whose truthfulness has been well attested before. Kauṭ. (III. 11) says that a single witness (whether a man or a woman) may be enough in cases where the transaction in question was effected in secret (except the king and one performing austerities).⁴⁸⁸ Kāt. (353-355 q. by V. M. pp. 319-320, Sm. C. II. 76, V. P. pp. 112-113) states that even a single person may be allowed to depose as a witness if he was taken in confidence at the time of making a deposit; so also a messenger sent by a litigant for borrowing an article (such as an ornament) or the manufacturer of an article may alone be sufficient to prove the identity of the article or when a matter has been decided by the king or chief judge, the scribe, the chief justice or any one of the sabhyas may alone prove the plea of \*res judicata\* or the point as to what was said by the plaintiff or the defendant in a suit⁴⁸⁹. Vide Bṛ. (S. B. E. 33 p. 300 verses 13-14). - [Previous: v4.c63.270](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v4.c63.270) - [Next: v4.c63.272](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v4.c63.272) - [Up: v4.c63](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v4.c63) ## Cites (7) - [Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.artha.kautilya.3.11) — Kauṭilya, Sanskrit - [Vaiṣṇava Dharmaśāstra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.visnu.8.9) — Viṣṇu, Sanskrit - [Mānava Dharmaśāstra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.manu.8.77) — Manu & Bhṛgu, Sanskrit - [Yājñavalkyasmṛti](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.yajnavalkya.2.72) — Yājñavalkya, Sanskrit - [Kātyāyanasmṛti](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.uddhrta.katyayana.353) — Kātyāyana (smṛtikāra), Sanskrit - [Bṛhaspatismṛti](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.uddhrta.brhaspati) — Bṛhaspati, Sanskrit - [Nāradasmṛti](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.narada) — Nārada, Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v4.c63.271](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v4.c63.271) · Pramāṇa