History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c71.s1.257.1

v5.c71.s1.257.1

Parāśara VIII. 29 states that the king also should not ignore the pariṣad and should not by himself prescribe penance. Paithīnasi quoted by the Daṇḍaviveka (p. 76) provides¹⁷⁰ for both prāyaścitta and punishment and from the tenor of the verse it appears that both were to be enforced by the king. The position is tolerably clear as to medieval times. One feels great hesitation in stating definitely the relation of punishment to penances and the king's position as to both in ancient times. Āp. Dh. S. I. 9. 24. 1-4 provide¹⁷¹ that one who kills a kṣatriya or a vaiśya or a śūdra shall respectively give one thousand cows, a hundred cows and ten cows for the purpose of removing the enmity and that in each of these cases one bull was to be given in addition for the purpose of expiation. Āpastamba does not expressly state to whom the cows were to be given. The commentator Haradatta explains that they were to be given to brāhmaṇas. Manu XI. 127, 129, 130, and Yāj III. 266-267 have similar provisions but in the chapter on penances. On the other hand, Baud. Dh. S. I. 10 23. expressly states that the cows are to be given to the king. As both the words ‘vairaniryātanārtham’ and ‘prāyaścittārthaḥ’ are employed by Āp. it may be said that the cows were to be made over to the king even according to Āpastamba.