Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s19.79

v1.c3.s19.79

The use of witnesses as evidence is uncertain (see Jñātṛ), and the ordeal is not recorded as deciding any civil matter except the dispute between Vatsa and his rival as to the true Brahminical descent of the former, which was settled by his walking unharmed through the flame of a fire.³⁰ But it is probable on analogy that the ordeal may have been used for the purpose of deciding disputes. Whether the oath was so used cannot be certainly shown. It appears, however, that a Brahmin was preferred in legal matters to a non-Brahmin.³¹