History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.850

v4.c63.850

Yāj. II. 166 provides that a portion of land should be set apart at the discretion of the villagers or that of the king as pasture for cows. Manu VIII. 237, Yāj. II. 167 prescribe that on all sides round a village, a *kharvaṭa* and a town an uncultivated space for pastures (between it and the fields) shall be kept respectively of 100, 200, 400 *dhanus*⁸⁹¹ in extent. Kāt. (666) prescribes that the owner of a field (which is near a forest) should construct a high paling before the crops have grown; for animals (or deer) when they have once tasted the sweet⁸⁹² (crops) can be warded off with difficulty. Manu VIII. 239 = (Matsya 227. 25), Nār. XIV. 41 prescribe that a hedge should be constructed for a field that is near a public way so high that a camel cannot look inside over it or a horse or cattle cannot jump over or so thick that a dog or boar should not be able to thrust its head inside it through holes. Manu VIII. 238 (= Matsyapurāṇa 227. 26), Yāj. II. 162, Nār. XIV. 40 provide that if a field situated near a village or a pasture or near a public road is not protected by a hedge and cattle straying into it cause loss, the herdsman is not to be held guilty. It is provided by Āp. Dh. S. II. 11. 28. 5, Manu VIII. 240, Nār. XIV. 28, Kāt. 664-665 that if cattle enter into fields,⁸⁹³ parks or pastures that are situated near a village or a public road and are enclosed by a hedge, they may be seized or beaten off, the herdsman is to be fined (a hundred paṇas). Yāj. II. 159-161, Manu VIII. 241, Nār. XIV. 28-29, Kāt. 667 and others lay down that where cattle enter fields (not near a village or road) and cause loss, the herdsman is to be fined or whipped, the owner of the cattle is to make good the loss and pay the fine prescribed and the fines vary e. g. Yāj. II. 159 prescribes fines of 2, 4 and 8 māṣas respectively when a goat or a cow or a she-buffalo strays and causes loss of crops, while Kāt. (667) prescribes only ½ paṇa in the case of cows and sheep and ¼ in the case of she-buffaloes. Vide Gaut. XII. 19-22 and Kauṭ. III. 10 also. Those who purposely set cattle to eat or destroy crops were to be punished as thieves (Nār. XIV. 34).