Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c10.28

c10.28

On law, civil and criminal, the Agni Purāṇa follows the Smṛtis. There are four sources of law—the scriptures, custom, the practice of the righteous and royal edicts. The Dharmaśāstra takes precedence over the Arthaśāstra. These include local custom and rules of good conscience. On every topic it dilates in minute detail. It declares that treason on the part of feudatories or governors should be punished by amputation of the hands and by impalement.³ State functionaries who prove corrupt or unworthy should be banished. Like Kauṭalya, the Agni Purāṇa seeks to legislate on labour. It would fine an employer who dismissed a labourer before the expiry of the stipulated term. It would punish a labourer who refused to serve on receipt of adequate wages. The king's command, the decision of the community and amicable settlement by parties may end disputes. In the royal court, assessors and ordeals are admitted. So we have the involved statement that a tribunal should consist of the eight limbs of a law-suit—the king, the judge, the jurors, the scriptures, the astrologer, the clerk, gold, fire, and water.¹ Witnesses should belong to the same caste or social order as the party by which they have been cited.² The Agni Purâṇa counsels that enemies of the public good should be publicly executed while all other sentences should be carried out privately.³