Verse 8.146

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

सम्प्रीत्या भुज्यमानानि न नश्यन्ति कदा चन ।
धेनुरुष्ट्रो वहन्नश्वो यश्च दम्यः प्रयुज्यते ॥ १४६ ॥

samprītyā bhujyamānāni na naśyanti kadā cana |
dhenuruṣṭro vahannaśvo yaśca damyaḥ prayujyate || 146 ||

Things used through favour are never forfeited; such as a milch cow, a camel, an ox or the animal that is made over for breaking in.—(146)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Favour’—friendliness. When such things as the ‘Cow’ and the rest are being used solely through the favour of the owner, they do not become ‘forfeited.’ ‘Forfeiture’ means the passing of the ownership of the former owner and the coming in of that of the person using them. And such ‘forfeiture’ does not take place in the case of the cow and other things being used through favour.

“As a matter of fact, in the case of all deposits, there is no forfeiture by mere using,—as is going to be declared under 149 below—wbat is the special feature there in the case of the cow and other things (that they should be separately specified)?”

Our answer is as follows:—The denial (in 149) of forfeiture in regard to deposits is in view of its possibility in accordance with the general law of forfeiture laid down in verse 147, which would be applicable to those cases also when the thing has been used for ten years without its losing its former shape.—So far as the cow and other animals are concerned, they cannot he articles of ‘deposit’; and hence people might be led to think that these do not come within the said prohibition (in 149). (Hence the necessity of emphasising the non-forfeiture of these separately.)

The name ‘milch cow’ is based upon the cow giving milk; this condition can last at best for one year; after which, becoming fit for the bull, she would cease to be ‘milch’ if she became pregnant; and after this, there might be an idea that she belongs to this person (who is keeping her) and not to Devadatta (to whom she really belonged); because what had been given by the latter for the use of the former was the cow calved for the ñrst time; and Devadatta allowed the man to use her and still continued to see her being used, in a form which is not the same as that of the animal that had been given in ‘deposit’; and hence the ‘deposit’ is that which is to ho used, and the use is not of that thing; under the circumstances, what sort of a ‘deposit’ would it be? And as the prohibition (under 149) pertains to ‘deposits,’ and the cow in question has ceased to be a ‘deposit’,—it was necessary to make a separate effort for precluding her forfeiture.

As regards the camel and other animals mentioned, after they have been used for ten years, they become entirely changed in shape. So that- these also would cease to be ‘deposits’ (in the true sense of the term).

‘Vahan,’ (‘ox’) has been taken by some as a participial adjective (meaning ‘riding’) qualifying the word ‘horse,’; they hold that what is here laid down does not apply to the ox. Others again take it as standing for the donkey, the mule and other beasts of burden.

‘For breaking in’—ox and other animals—‘made over’—given for that purpose. Others hold that the present verse serves the purpose of implying the optional character of the prohibition. In the case of ‘deposits’ other than those enumerated here, there is sometimes ‘forfeiture.’ for instance, when clothes are used through favour and become worn out, there is ‘forfeiture.’ for when a new clothing has been handed over for use, and it becomes worn out by use, there can be no opportunity for the former owner to say—‘Let me have my clothing,—if it has become worn out, let me have its price and thereby redeem the deposit.’—(146)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Smṛticandrikā (Vyavahāra p. 157).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Bṛhaspati (9.11).—‘A house, field, commodity or other property held by a person other than the owner, is not lost to the owner by mere adverse possession, if the possessor stands to him in the relation of a friend, relative or kinsman.’