Verse 8.222 [Rescission of Sale]

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

क्रीत्वा विक्रीय वा किं चिद् यस्यैहानुशयो भवेत् ।
सोऽन्तर्दशाहात् तद् द्रव्यं दद्याच्चैवाददीत वा ॥ २२२ ॥

krītvā vikrīya vā kiṃ cid yasyaihānuśayo bhavet |
so'ntardaśāhāt tad dravyaṃ dadyāccaivādadīta vā || 222 ||

If, after having bought or sold anything, one should repent of it, he may return or take back that thing within ten days.—(222)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

In the case of goods whereof buying and soiling are constantly going on, which do not deteriorate, either in quantity or in quality or in price—such, for instance, as vessels of copper, tin and other metals,—whose value remains constant,—if it has not been brought into use, it can be returned or taken hack within ten days.

When such things as fruits and flowers, which cannot last long, have been bought at fairs and such gatherings, the ‘repentance’ should be at the same moment, or on the same day, or the next.

After that, if the purchaser repents—‘this thing I have bought is of no use to me,’—then he should return it within ten days. Similarly, if the repentance is on the part of the seller—‘I have not done well in selling the thing,’—then the buyer should be made to return it to him.

The period here allowed is for the case of persons inhabiting the same place. In the case of parties belonging to different places, the returning must be done at the very time of the purchase.

Some people hold that the rule here laid down pertains to such goods as cattle, land and the like, and not to clothes and such articles.

In another Smṛti, a different rule has been laid down in regard to the buying and selling. Xārada says as follows:—‘Having bought a merchandise for a certain price, if one thinks that he has not done well in buying it, he should return it, unharmed, to the seller, on the same day; if he return it on the second day, the buyer should suffer the third part of the price paid; on the third day, he loses the double of the third part, and on the fourth day the thing must remain with the buyer’—(Nārada 9. 2-3).

Anything that is laid out for sale is called ‘merchandise,’ by selling which the seller gets a price, with which he buys something else, and thus makes a living for himself. Such an article is spread out in the market by the trader. Now from the use of this particular term in the text of Nārada, it is clear that something very special is meant; for, otherwise, the text quoted would mean the same thing as the foregoing text—‘Having bought a thing at a certain price, etc.’ (Nārada 9.1).

Now the question arises—What is this something special that is meant?

Our answer is as follows:—The rule laid down by Nārada is meant to be applicable to the case where the article, even after being bought, still continues to remain ‘merchandise,’ in the sense that it is laid out for sale by the tradesman who bought it from a fellow-trader only for selling it on his own account—i.e., in cases of mutual transactions among tradesmen themselves; while the rule propounded by Manu is meant to apply to all other cases. Such is the explanation given by some people.

Now, what is the right view on this point?

In each individual case, one should act according to the nature of the article concerned, or according to local usage. Thus it is that we And such practices as the trying of the pace of a horse, the applying of the goad to the elephant, the discussion of the nature of sales effected and so on.

In the text of Nārada quoted above, the term ‘unharmed’ means not spoilt or destroyed. In the case of ‘deposits’ in the shape of cloths and such things, the depositor receives the value of only that part of it which has been spoilt, and the remnant he takes back all right. While in the case of ‘sales’ even the slightest harm makes the buyer liable to pay the whole price.—(222)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

“According to Medhātithi, Govindarāja and Kullūka, the rule refers to things which are not easily spoilt, such as land, copper etc., not to flowers, fruit and the like;—according to Nārāyaṇa, to grain and seeds.”—Buhler.

This verse is quoted in Mitākṣarā (2.177), which adds that this refers to such things as get spoilt by use,—e.g., houses beds, seats etc;—and not to seeds, metals, beasts of burden, gems, slave-girls, milking animals and slaves, for whom Yājñavalkya prescribes a period of 10, 1, 5, 7, 30, 3 and 15 days respectively. It goes on to add that the provision here made is applicable to only those cases where the commodity was purchased without proper examination; in cases where it has been duly tested and examined before purchase, the transaction cannot be rescinded.—The verse is quoted again on 2.254.

It is quoted in Aparārka (p. 831);—in Vivādaratnākara (p. 190), which adds the following notes:—‘Anuśayaḥ,’ desire to withdraw, or, as some people hold, repentance;—‘dadyāt’, should return,—i.e. the buyer to the seller;—‘ādodīta,’ should take back, i.e., t he seller from the buyer;—this refers to such things as are likely to be spoilt by use, such as houses, fields, conveyances and so forth,—as also seeds; but not metals, beasts of burden and such other tilings.

It is quoted in Smṛtitattva (p. 515), which adds that what is stated here refers to things other than those enumerated by Yājñavalkya (2.177);—in Vyavahāra-Bālambhaṭṭī (p. 947);—in Vivādacintāmaṇi (p. 88);—and in Kṛtyakalpataru (108b).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 8.222-223)

Yājñavalkya (2.177).—‘Grains should be tested within ten days of purchase; metals within a day; beasts of burden within five days: gems, within seven days; female slaves, within a month; milch cattle, within three days; male slaves, within a fortnight, [and the sale may be rescinded within these specified periods].’

Arthaśāstra (p. 91).—‘Having sold a commodity, if the vendor fails to hand it over he should be fined 12 Paṇas; except when there is some defect in the commodity itself, or when some sudden calamity befalls him, or when the price agreed upon is excessively low, by reason of the vendor being in a distressed state of mind. Merchants may he granted one night for reconsidering their purchase; cultivators, three nights; cattle-tenders, five nights; persons of the mixed and higher castes, seven nights, in the case of the selling of the means of their livelihood. In the case of commodities liable to damage by lapse of time, rescission of sale may he permitted only to such an extent as may not spoil the commodities concerned. After having made a purchase, if the buyer refuses to accept the article, he should be fined 12 Paṇas, except when there are defects in the commodity itself, or when some sudden calamity has befallen him, or when the price agreed upon is excessively high, paid by him on account of the distressed state of his mind. Rescission by the buyer also should be permitted in the same manner as in the case of the vendor.’

Nārada (8.4-9).—‘If a man sells property for a certain price, and does not hand it over to the purchaser, he shall have to pay its produce, if it is immovable, and the profits arising on it, if it is movable property. If there has been a fall in the market-value of the article in question in the interval, the purchaser shall receive the article itself, and together with it the difference (in point of value). This rule applies to those who are inhabitants of the same place; but to those who travel abroad, the profits arising from dealing in foreign countries shall be made over as well. If the article sold should have been injured, or destroyed by fire, or carried off, the loss shall be charged to the seller, because he did not deliver it immediately after the sale. When a man shows one thing which is faultless but delivers another thing which has a blemish, ho shall be compelled to pay twice its value to the purchaser, and an equal amount as fine to the King. So when a man sells something to one person, and afterwards delivers it to another person, he shall be compelled to pay twice its value to the purchaser and a fine to the King. When a purchaser does not accept an article purchased by himself, which is delivered to him by the vendor, the vendor commits no wrong in selling it to another person.’

Nārada (9.2-6, 16).—‘When a purchaser, after having purchased an article for a certain price, thinks he has made a foolish bargain, he may return it to the vendor on the same day, in an undamaged condition. When the purchaser returns it on the second day, he shall lose a thirtieth part of the price. He shall lose twice as much on the third day. After that time, the purchaser must keep it. The purchaser shall examine an article before purchasing it, in order to find out its good and bad qualities; that which has been approved by him after close examination, cannot be returned to the vendor. Milch cattle may be examined for three days; beasts of burden, for five days; and in the ease of precious stones, pearls and coral, the period of examination may extend over seven days. Bipeds shall be examined within a fortnight; a female within twice that time; all sorts of grain, within ten days; iron and clothes within a single day...... A merchant who is acquainted with the qualities of the merchandise he deals in must not annul a purchase after having once made it; he ought to know all about the profit and loss on merchandise and its origin.’

Bṛhaspati (18.3-6).—‘The examiner shall examine the article himself and show it to others; when, after examining and approving it, he has accepted it, he is not at liberty to return it. The foolish man who sells an article, though acquainted with its defects, shall have to pay twice its value to the purchaser and a fine of the same amount to the King. What has been sold by one intoxicated or insane, or at a very low price, or under the impulse of fear, or by one not his own master, or by an idiot, shall be relinquished by the purchaser; or it may be recovered from him by forcible means. Within a certain period, if a defect should be discovered anywhere in the commodity purchased, it shall he returned to the vendor and the purchaser shall recover the price.’

Kātyāyana (Vivādaratnākara, p. 191).—‘If a man, after having purchased an article, refuses to take it,—or if after taking it, does not return it undamaged,—he shall recover the price paid for it, after paying the tenth part of it to the vendor. This shall he done within ten days of the transaction; after that there can he no rescission of the sale.’

Do. (Do., p. 197).—‘If a man, after having purchased a milch cattle or such things,—but before actual delivery—returns it undamaged, within time, he should pay to the vendor the tenth part of the price. If he repents it after he has taken delivery, he should pay the sixth part of the price.’

Vyāsa (Vivādaratnākara, p. 198).—‘Grasses, wood, bricks, threads, grains, wines, liquids, clothes, baser metals and gold, shall he examined at the time of the transaction only.’