The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c6.94
The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c6.94
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c6.94
The subject of justice is equally obscure. Nowhere does the king appear as definitely exercising civil or criminal jurisdiction. The expression Śatadâya² seems to mean one whose wergild was a hundred cows. It is probable that the system of wergild which is imbedded in the later Dharma Sûtras prevailed in Vedic society. For the rest justice might have been an affair of the family, the clan, and, lastly, the tribal assembly.