Verse 8.69

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

अनुभावी तु यः कश्चित् कुर्यात् साक्ष्यं विवादिनाम् ।
अन्तर्वेश्मन्यरण्ये वा शरीरस्यापि चात्यये ॥ ६९ ॥

anubhāvī tu yaḥ kaścit kuryāt sākṣyaṃ vivādinām |
antarveśmanyaraṇye vā śarīrasyāpi cātyaye || 69 ||

In the case of anything done in the interior of a house, or in a forest, or in the case of injury to the body,—any person who may be cognisant of the facts may give evidence on behalf of the parties to the suit.—(69)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘In the interior of a house,’—any sudden act that may be committed, in the shape of defamation or assault or incest or theft or other crimes;—in the forest—if any of the said crimes are committed;—or when the body is hurt by robbers or by other similar persons, and property is robbed;—or when some one has stood security for a debt, but there are no witnesses to it; or even though there were any, they could not wait till the time of the trial;—or when the debt is repaid in private;—in all such cases, any person ‘who may be cognisant of the facts’— who may have witnessed the transaction in question,—there being no restriction as to caste, or of similarity of standing and the like.

The phrase ‘in the interior of a house’ stands lor a secluded place in general; so that uninhabited temples and such places also become included. The mention of the ‘forest’ also indicates the same thing.

Others have explained the clause ‘śarīrasyāpi vātyaye’ to mean ‘when the entire structure of the case is going to fall through, any man can be cited as a witness’; i.e., when a case having been instituted is going to fall through, and there is no chance Of its being re-instituted, then there should be no restriction as to the caste, or sex, or age, or rank or relationship and the like. This is what is further explained in the following verse.—(69)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 671), which adds that ‘anubhāvi’ means an eye-witness, one who has actually seen the occurrence;—in Smṛtitattva (II, p. 214);—in Smṛticandrikā (Vyavahāra, p. 181), which explains’ ‘anubhāvi’ as ‘one conversant with the facts of the case’;—in Kṛtyakalpataru (3a), which explains ‘anubhāvi’ as ‘one who has had anubhāva, experience’;—and in ‘Vīramitrodaya (Vyavahāra, 51a), which has the same explanation of ‘anubhāvi.’

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Vaśiṣṭha (16.29).—‘Men of any caste may give evidence regarding men of any caste.’

Yājñavalkya (2.69).—(See under 68.)