History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.813.4

v4.c63.813.4

but if he returns it on the 2nd or 3rd day after the purchase (including the day of purchase) he will have to lose respectively one-thirtieth or one-fifteenth of the price and after the third day he cannot return the thing at all (Nār. XII. 3). But Yāj. II. 177 and Nār. XII. 5-6 lay down the following periods for examination of things purchased, viz. one, three, five, seven, ten days, half a month and one month respectively in the case of iron (and clothes), milch cattle, beasts of burden, jewels (precious stones, pearls and corals), all sorts of grain, a male slave and a female slave. It must be supposed that these verses contain exceptions to the general rule in Manu VIII. 222 cited above. Kaut. (III. 15) allows only one night, three nights, five nights and seven nights for repentance to traders, husbandmen, cowherds, the mixed castes and higher castes and provides that where the articles sold are perishable a very short time only may be allowed. The above rules apply only when the purchaser made no examination at the time of purchase. Nār.⁸⁶⁷ XII. 4 and Bṛ. (S. B. E. vol. 33 p. 350 verse 3) recommend that a purchaser should himself closely examine an article before buying it and also show it to others in order to find out its defects and good qualities and provide that when he has approved of an article after close examination he cannot return it to the vendor.