Verse 8.295

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

स चेत् तु पथि संरुद्धः पशुभिर्वा रथेन वा ।
प्रमापयेत् प्राणभृतस्तत्र दण्डोऽविचारितः ॥ २९५ ॥

sa cet tu pathi saṃruddhaḥ paśubhirvā rathena vā |
pramāpayet prāṇabhṛtastatra daṇḍo'vicāritaḥ || 295 ||

But if he happens to be stopped on the road and causes the death of a living being, either through animals or through the cart,—in such a case there is no doubt regarding punishment.—(295)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

Penalty for causing hurt has been described; the text proceeds to lay down details regarding it.

If ‘he’—the driver—‘happens to be stopped’—his movement obstructed—‘on the road’— by some dense mass coming in front of him; while thus placed behind that mass, either on account of carelessness, or by reason of being untrained, he continues to urge forward the animals yoked to his cart, and then suddenly pulls them up,—another cart happens to be close hy,—then, by the sudden stoppage of the speed of his cart, he happens to cause the death of men or other living beings,—either through the ‘animals’—horses or others—yoked to the other cart,—or ‘through the cart’ itself, or through some parts of it;—in such a case ‘there is no doubt regarding the punishment,’ punishment is certain.

Or, when the fast-running horses, on being suddenly pulled up, at the sight of some obstacle in front, turn off sideways and kill the men that may be there on one side, or behind the cart,—then in such a case ‘there is no doubt regarding punishment,’—i.e. there is no punishment at all; and this for the simple reason that there is no fault of the driver in this case.

Or, the words may he construed to mean that—when the cart is ‘on the road’—i.e., standing on the road;—or ‘stopped’—i.e., pulled up—then in such a case the punishment is ‘vicāritaḥ’ (this being the reading in place of ‘avicāritaḥ’), i.e., specially prescribed.—(295)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Vivādaratnākara (p. 282), which explains the meaning to be that in a case where being inefficiently driven by the driver, the chariot happens to be obstructed on the road by another chariot or by an animal, and thereby causes hurt to a living being, the punishment is to be inflicted on the driver, ‘avicāritaḥ,’ most surely.

It is quoted in ‘Bālambhaṭṭī’ on 2.300.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 8.295-298)

Kātyāyana (Vivādaratnākara, p. 284).—‘If any animal happen to be killed, the man should be made to pay a fine according to the character of the animal killed, and the value of the animal to its owner.’

Viṣṇu (5.50-54).—‘He who kills domestic animals shall pay a fine of 100 kārṣāpaṇaṣ;—he shall make good their value to the owner; be who kills wild animals shall pay 500 kārṣāpaṇas; a killer of birds or fish, ten kārṣāpaṇas; a killer of insects, one kārṣāpaṇa.’