Verse 8.158 [Sureties (pratibhū)]

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

यो यस्य प्रतिभूस्तिष्ठेद् दर्शनायैह मानवः ।
अदर्शयन् स तं तस्य प्रयच्छेत् स्वधनाद् ऋणम् ॥ १५८ ॥

yo yasya pratibhūstiṣṭhed darśanāyaiha mānavaḥ |
adarśayan sa taṃ tasya prayacchet svadhanād ṛṇam || 158 ||

When a man stands surety for the appearance of a person, if he does not produce him, he shall pay his debt out of his own property.—(158)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

In the case of Loan-transactions there are two kinds of security—a Surety and a Pledge. The present verse deals with the case where the security is in the form of a surety.

There are three kinds of Surety—(1) for appearance, (2) for guarantee and (3) for payment. The present text refers to the surety for appearance.

‘If a man stands surety for the appearance of a person—saying ‘I shall produce him at such and such a place’—if he fails to do so, he shall pay the debt out of his own property.

The term ‘debt’ stands for all objects of dispute. The meaning therefore is that in suits relating to any object, the surety should have to make good that object. In the case of defamation, assault, adultery and other offences, if the surety has given the undertaking that ‘if I do not produce the accused I shall pay such and such a sum,’ then he shall have to pay that sum; but in the event of there being no such undertaking, he should he made to pay only the fine that the king imposes upon the accused...... (?)—(158)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Vyavahāra, p. 185).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Viṣṇu (6.41).—‘Sureties are ordained for appearance, for honesty and for payment; the first two kinds of surety must pay the debt on failure of their engagements; as for the last, their sons also may be made to pay.’

Yājñavalkya (2.53).—‘Surety has been ordained for appearance, for honesty and for payment; the first two should he made to repay the debt on the failure of their engagements; as for the last, his sons also may be made to pay.’

Śukranīti (4.5.244-248).—‘Having noticed that the defendant brought up by the Bailiff has other engagements, the King should take a suitable surety for his appearance. “I shall pay what is not paid by this man,—I shall present him before you,—I shall make him deliver a pledge,—You have no fear from him;—I shall do what he fails to do;—such and such are his occupations;—he does not swear falsely.”’

Nārada (1.118-119).—‘For appearance, for payment, and for honesty; these are the three different purposes for which three sorts of sureties have been ordained by the sages. If the debtors fail to discharge the debt, or if they prove dishonest, the surety for payment and for honesty must pay the debt; and so must the surety for appearance, if he fails to produce the debtor.’

Bṛhaspati (11.39-42).—‘For appearance, for honesty, for payment, and for delivering the assets of the debtor—it is for these four different purposes that sureties have been ordained by the sages in the legal system. The first of these says, “I shall produce the man”; the second says, “He is a respectable person”; the third says, “I shall pay the debt”; the fourth says, “I shall deliver his assets.” If the debtors fail in their engagements, the first two sureties must pay the sum lent at the appointed time; both the last two sureties, and in default of them, their sons, are liable for the debt, when the debtors break their promise. The creditor should allow time for the surety to search for the debtor who has absconded,—a fortnight, a month, or a month and a half, according to the distance of the place where the man may he supposed to he hiding.’

Kātyāyana (Parāśaramādhava-Vyavahāra, p. 186).—‘For the searching of the absconding debtor, the surety should be given time, extending up to a month and a half; if he produces him by that time, he should he absolved from responsibility. If, even on the lapse of the time, he is unable to produce him, he should be made to pay the debt.’