Verse 8.36

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

अनृतं तु वदन् दण्ड्यः स्ववित्तस्यांशमष्टमम् ।
तस्यैव वा निधानस्य सङ्ख्ययाऽल्पीयसीं कलाम् ॥ ३६ ॥

anṛtaṃ tu vadan daṇḍyaḥ svavittasyāṃśamaṣṭamam |
tasyaiva vā nidhānasya saṅkhyayā'lpīyasīṃ kalām || 36 ||

But he who speaks falsely shall, be fined the eighth part of his property, or a smaller fraction, on calculation, of that same treasure-trove.—(36)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

But when the man, who has made the statement ‘this treasure was hoarded by me, or by my forefathers,’ fails to prove this,—then being a liar, he should be fined the eighth part of what his own property may be,—or a smaller fraction of that same treasure-trove, it is not necessary that he should he made to pay in the same metal, gold or otherwise, as that which has been found; he may pay in some other metal of equal value to the former; the exact amount of the fine being such as does not ruin the culprit, and yet teaches him a lesson.

The option is based either upon the peculiarity of the attendant circumstances of each case, or the qualities of the person concerned. That this is so is indicated by the fact that the latter punishment is lighter than the former one, which is excessive. Thus then, where the man is possessed of a large property, and the treasure concerned is small, there the fine shall not be in proportion to the latter; in this case the fine shall be in proportion to the man’s property; the former would be too little (to be a deterrent).—(36)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

The amount of the fine depends on the circumstances of the case and the virtues of the offender (Medhātithi),—or only on the virtues of the offender (Govindarāja, Kullūka and Rāghavānanda).

The first half of this verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 641);—and the whole verse in Vivādaratnākara (p. 642), which adds the following notes:—‘Alpīyasīm kalām’ implies that'the fine is to be imposed in such a manner that the entire treasure may not become absorbed,—this being meant for those cases where the exact extent of the entire-property is not known.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Agnipurāṇa (Rājadharma, 222.16).—(Same as Manu.)

Viṣṇu (3.64).—‘The man, who falsely claims property hidden by another as having been hidden by himself, shall he condemned to pay a fine equal in amount to the property falsely claimed by him.’

Yājñavalkya (2.35).—(See under 31.)

Nārada (Vivādaratnākara, p. 642).—‘If a man recovers his own lost property, he shall report it to the King; and if he makes good his claim, he shall take it; otherwise he would be suspected.’