History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.952.2

v4.c63.952.2

and Vyāsa prescribe⁹⁶⁸ that if a brāhmaṇa is killed by a kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra, the king should sentence the offender to death in various ways and confiscate all his property, but if a man kills another of his own caste or of a lower caste then the king may punish the offender with some punishment appropriate to the crime and the strength of the offender. In IV. 11 Kauṭ. provides sentences of death in various ways for murder following ancient śāstras, but remarks that if murderers have not been guilty of cruelty they should simply be sentenced to death without torture or the like⁹⁶⁹. One special rule deserves notice. Gaut. 22. 12, Āp. Dh. S. I. 9. 24 6-9, Manu XI. 87, Vas. 20. 34, Yāj. III. 251 prescribe the same prāyaścitta for murdering a brāhmaṇa woman who is an *ātreyī* as for one who kills a brāhmaṇa male. The different meanings of ‘ātreyī’ given from ancient times are noted below⁹⁷⁰. Texts like Āp. I. 9. 24. 1-5, Gaut. XXII prescribe different prāyaścittas for murder depending upon the castes and sexes of the murderer and the murdered. These will be briefly dealt with under prāyaścitta later on. In certain cases acc. to Manu VIII. 291-292, Yāj. II. 298-299, Kauṭ. IV. 13, though death or injury to persons or loss of property results, no punishment was prescribed viz.