Administrative System of the Marathas c25.s3.24

c25.s3.24

Another punishment which Manu recommends for "a woman who pollutes a damsel"²⁶ also deserves our notice, as a similar punishment has been prescribed by Vashishtha for the adulteress herself. "If a Shudra approaches a female of the Brahman caste," Vashishtha lays down, "the king shall cause the Shudra to be tied up in Virana grass and shall throw him into a fire. He shall cause the head of the Brahmani to be shaved and her body to be anointed with butter; placing her naked on a black donkey, he shall cause her to be conducted along the high road."²⁷ King Brahmadatta of Benares had inflicted this punishment on his unfaithful queen Soshumba, as we read in the Devavataravadana of Kshemendra's Bodhisattvavadanakalpalata. It was, however, not in general use when the Marathas established their sway in the Deccan.