History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c71.s1.370

v5.c71.s1.370

or any other non-brāhmaṇa, the expiation would be as one for an upapātaka Manu (XI 162-168=Matsyapurāṇa 227. 41-47) and Viṣṇu 52. 5-13 prescribe various penances such as kṛcchra for a year for the theft of corn or cooked food or wealth; cāndrāyaṇa for abducting men and women (slaves) or for appropriating a field or house and the water of wells and cisterns; sāntapana for thefts of objects of small value; pañcagavya for stealing eatables of various kinds or a vehicle or a bed or a seat or flowers or roots and fruits; fasting for three days and nights in the case of theft of grass, wood, trees, dry food, molasses, clothes, leather (or armour) and flesh, subsisting for twelve days on small grains of rice for stealing gems, pearls, coral, copper, silver, iron, bell-metal or stones, subsisting on milk alone for the theft of cotton, silk, wool, animals with cloven hoofs (cows &c.) or uncloven hoofs (horses &c), birds, perfumes, medicinal herbs or a rope (used for drawing water). It must be remembered as stated above (p. 74) that the thief had to restore to the owner the thing stolen and then undergo a penance (Manu XI.164 and Viṣṇu Dh S 52.14) and Medhātithi (on Manu XI. 164) adds that if he is unable to restore the thing (or its price) the penance is to be double. Besides, in certain cases of theft if corporal punishment or death was not inflicted by the king, the thief was fined eleven times the price of the thing stolen (Manu VIII. 321, 323, Viṣṇu Dh S. 5.82) ²³³