History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.680

v4.c63.680

*Nikṣepa* (deposit). The words *nikṣepa*, *upanidhi* and *nyāsa* are sometimes said to be synonyms (as done by Amara)⁷⁶⁶, though several ancient works define them separately. According to Yāj. II. 65 *upanidhi* is the deposit of an article enclosed in a box or the like made with another without telling him of the contents of the box. Yāj. II. 67 holds nyāsa and nikṣepa to be different from upanidhi. Nārada⁷⁶⁷ as quoted in the Mit. on Yāj. II. 65 defines upanidhi as the deposit of an article in a sealed receptacle without counting it in the presence of the person to whom it is entrusted and without telling him what the receptacle contains, while a nikṣepa is a deposit entrusted to a man after counting the articles in his presence. Manu VIII. 149 (=Vas. 16. 18), Kauṭ. III. 12 hold nikṣepa and upanidhi to be distinct. A verse quoted by Kṣīrasvāmin on Amara defines nyāsa as an open deposit and nikṣepa as the delivery of some goods to an artist or craftsman for being worked up or manufactured. Nār. (V. 1 and 5) defines nikṣepa as the deposit of one's articles with another through confidence, while upanidhi is defined in the same way as Yāj. II. 65. Viśvarūpa⁷⁶⁸ defines nyāsa as an open deposit for safe custody and nikṣepa as delivery of one's article to another for handing over to a third. Kāt. (592) makes⁷⁶⁹ *upanidhi* a generic term for all bailments such as a sold article remaining in the hands of the vendor, a deposit, a pledge, bailment to one for delivery to another, loan of article for temporary use, goods handed over for sale to an agent. The Mit. on Yāj. II. 67 defines nyāsa as handing over to some member in the house an article in the absence of the head of the house for delivery to the head of the house and nikṣepa as a deposit in the presence of the depositee himself. The V. P. p. 280 briefly distinguishes the three as noted below.⁷⁷⁰