Administrative System of the Marathas c25.s3.28

c25.s3.28

We have read of slavery as a punishment for adultery. Let us now enquire into the rights of slaves and the law of manumission. According to Manu, "a slave cannot have any property, the wealth he earns belongs to his master."²⁸ In Maratha days a slave could not only earn on his own account but he could inherit property; in fact slaves were often permitted to purchase their liberty.²⁹ But the Maratha practice, though contrary to the codes of Manu, had the authoritative support of Chanakya who says, "A slave shall be entitled to enjoy not only whatever he has earned without prejudice to his master's work, but also the inheritance he has received from his father."³⁰ Marriage of a female slave under the Maratha law was equivalent to her manumission, and Kautilya lays down almost the same principle when he writes, "When a child is begotten on a female slave by her master, both the child and its mother shall at once be recognised as free."³¹ The Marathas only went a step further, they liberated their female slaves, whether these were married at their own instance or otherwise, with free men or fellow slaves.