The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c17.136

c17.136

Bāṇa implies that justice was administered by Mīmāṃsakas.² It is, however, from Yuan Chwang that one obtains a clear idea of the administration of justice in the 7th century A.D. in the north of India. His account which relates primarily to the North-west, differs markedly in many details from that of the theoreticians Nārada and Bṛhaspati but in principles it confirms them in a most striking manner. Yuan Chwang came to the conclusion that criminals or rebels were few and serious trouble was only occasional. “When the laws are broken or the power of the ruler violated, then the matter is clearly sifted . . . .” Torture was not used to elicit confession. “In the investigation of criminal cases there is no use of rod or staff to obtain proofs.” But there were a few ordeals which were resorted to when the accused persisted in denying the charge. In the water ordeal, “the accused is placed in a sack connected with a stone vessel and thrown into deep water . . . . If the man sinks and the stone floats, he is guilty; but if the man floats and the stone sinks, then he is pronounced innocent.” In the ordeal by fire, “they heat a plate of iron and make the accused sit on it, and again place his feet on it, and apply it to the palms of his hands; moreover, he is made to pass his tongue over it; if no scars result, he is innocent; if there are scars, his guilt is proved. In case of weak and timid persons who cannot endure such ordeal, they take a flower bud and cast it towards the fire; if it opens, he is innocent; if the flower is burnt he is guilty.” In the ordeal by weight, a man and a stone were placed evenly in a balance. “Then they judge according to lightness or weight.” If the accused were innocent, he would weigh down the stone which would rise in the balance. If he were guilty, the man would rise and the stone fall.¹ Lastly, “the poison ordeal requires that the right hind leg of a ram be cut off, and according to the portion assigned to the accused to eat, poisons are put into the leg, and if the man is innocent he survives, and if not the poison takes effect.”² It will be observed that while the water and particularly, the fire ordeals are serious enough, the others are almost frivolous. Perhaps the theory was that divine opinion and judgment