History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.395
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.395
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Yāj. II. 98 states that the ordeal of balance should be given to women, a minor (under 16), a very old person (above eighty years), the blind, the cripple, brāhmaṇas and the diseased; the fire ordeal (i. e. heated ploughshare and heated māṣa) to kṣatriyas, water ordeal to vaiśyas, poison to śūdras. Nār. IV. 335 assigns ordeals to the different varṇas similarly. Nār. IV. 256 prescribes that ordeals should not be undergone by those who are observing a vow, who are much distressed or who are performing austerities, and by women. Pitāmaha quoted by Mit. (on Yāj. II. 98) adds minors and old persons to these. The Sm. C. II. p. 103 explains this as referring to the ordeals of fire, poison and water only. Another Smṛti (q. by Mit. on Yāj. II. 98) prescribes that the ordeals of balance and kośamay be offered to women, minors and the others mentioned above. There is in all these rules a spirit of tolerance, kindness and concern for the weaknesses of mankind. Kāt. (423) holds⁵⁷⁸ that persons of the higher castes who are cowherds, traders, artisans, bards, domestic servants and usurers should be given ordeals as if they were śūdras. Kāt. (422) allows all ordeals to members of all castes, except that brāhmaṇas are not to undergo the poison ordeal. Kāt.
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(424-426) prescribes that the ordeal of fire should not be offered to blacksmiths or those who are leprous nor of water to those who ply boats or who suffer from difficulty in breathing or cough, nor poison to those who are experts in incantations and *yogic* practices or who suffer from (excess of) bile or phlegm, nor *kośa* to those who are drunkards, to persons fond of women, to gamblers and to those who are atheists. Viṣṇu Dh. S. IX. 25, 29 and Nār. IV. 255, 332 contain similar provisions. Kāt. (427-430) further provides that no ordeal should be allowed to be performed personally by the following persons, viz. those charged with the murder of their father, mother, a brāhmaṇa, their teacher, a minor, a woman and the king; those guilty of the (five) grave sins; particularly those that are atheists; those who wear (or subsist by) peculiar sect marks; great rogues; those who are experts in incantations and *yoga* practices; those who are the progeny of unions of persons of different varṇas; those who repeatedly engage in sin; in the case of these the king should offer ordeals to good men appointed by them on their behalf and if such good men are not willing then they should appoint their own relatives. Śaṅkha-Likhita also refer to the appointment of friends or relatives as representatives (Aparārka p. 842)⁵⁷⁹. Kāt. (433)⁵⁸⁰ lays down the following rather remarkable provision, viz.
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when untouchables, men of lowest castes, slaves, *mlecchas* and those born of mixed unions in the reverse order of the castes are guilty of crimes, the determination of their guilt (by the above mentioned ordeals) should not be made by the king; he should indicate such ordeals as are in vogue among them. The Sm. C. and Par. M. say that this applies only when they cannot secure relatives or other persons appointed by them to undergo the usual ordeals on their behalf. The Vyavahāratattva (p. 579) explains that the ordeals referred to among mlecchas and others are the snake in the jar and the like. This seems to have consisted in taking out a ring or coin with the hand from a jar in which a snake was placed; if there was no snake-bite or no effect even if the snake bit, the person was declared innocent. Vide note 580. Yāj. II. 97 and Nār. IV. 268, 320 prescribe that all ordeals are to be administered by the chief justice in the morning at sunrise or in the forenoon in the presence of the king, the sabhyas and brāhmaṇas. The Mit. adds that a Sunday is the proper day according to the usage of respectable people (*śiṣṭas*). Pitāmaha specially provides that the water ordeal should be administered in the noon and poison in the last watch of the night (Mit. on Yāj. II. 97). Certain seasons and months were either appropriate or inappropriate to certain ordeals e. g. Nār. IV.
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254 states that the fire ordeal should be given in the rainy season, balance in the winter (*śiśira*), water in summer, poison when the season is cool. Nār. IV. 259 prohibits water ordeal in the cold season, fire in summer, poison in the rainy season and balance while the wind blows violently. The Mit. (on Yāj. II. 97) and Par. M. III. 162 quote Pitāmaha to the effect that the months of Caitra, Vaiśākha and Mārgaśīrṣa are common to all ordeals, *kośa* and balance may be administered in all months.