Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jataka Stories c5.t3.90

c5.t3.90

We do not know as to how the agreements among partners, if any, were drawn up.⁶ But there is at least room for inferring that there were some elementary principles for the partners to abide by as the legendary story in the *Kūṭavāṇija Jātaka*,⁷ already referred to, shows. It is related that two merchants called respectively the "Wise" and the "Wisest" entered into partnership and took 500 waggons of merchandise from Benares to the country-side, where they disposed off their wares, returning afterwards with the proceeds to the city. When the time for dividing came, the Wisest said, "I must have a double share." "Why so?" asked the Wise. "Because while you are only wise, I am the wisest. And Wise ought to have only one share to the Wisest's two." "But we both had an equal interest in the stock-in-trade and in the oxen and waggons. Why should you have two shares?" "Because I am Wisest." And so they talked away till they fell to quarrelling, until at last they made an equal division. This may be taken to show⁸ that, while it was recognised as a general principle that profits should be proportionate to the share one contributes to the stock-in-trade, the idea of awarding special share for greater skill in business was not altogether unknown.