Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c11.s5.19

c11.s5.19

Documentary evidence was preferred ; otherwise at least four witnesses must be forthcoming. There were several kinds of oaths and ordeals. The oath itself was a kind of ordeal. Then there were the ordeals by poison, water, idols, balance, gold and hot iron, each higher than the foregoing. In the ordeal by balance, a man, after the first weighing, calls upon spiritual beings to witness to his veracity, writes down what he speaks on a piece of paper and fastens the paper to his head. When placed in the scale again, he ought to weigh more than on the first occasion to prove his innocence. (Alberūnī, India, tr. Sachau, II, pp. 158—160). Here, in spite of minor difference, Alberūnī is in substantial agreement with Śukra.