History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.743

v4.c63.743

The above shows that in the times of the ancient sūtras, secular partnerships had not attained sufficient importance and even in the times of the Manusmṛti almost the same was the case. While Manu extends the rule about the distribution of fees at a sacrifice ⁸¹⁴ to secular joint undertakings, Yāj. (II. 265) extends the general rules about the partnerships of traders to sacrificial priests, husbandmen, craftsmen (like carpenters, dancers &c.). That shows that complicated sacrifices requiring a large number of priests had become rare in Yājñavalkya's days and partnerships of traders and artisans had assumed great importance.