Verse 9.287

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

समैर्हि विषमं यस्तु चरेद् वै मूल्यतोऽपि वा ।
समाप्नुयाद् दमं पूर्वं नरो मध्यममेव वा ॥ २८७ ॥

samairhi viṣamaṃ yastu cared vai mūlyato'pi vā |
samāpnuyād damaṃ pūrvaṃ naro madhyamameva vā || 287 ||

The man who treats equals as unequals in value should receive the punishment of the first or the middlemost amercement.—(287)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

In regard to certain substances it has been declared that in exchanges they shall be treated as equivalent:—e.g., Sesamum and paddy have been declared to be equal; if in regard to such articles, some one treats them as unequal—i.e., having advanced sesamum, he receives in payment a larger quantity of paddy;—or even when there is no exchange, in the act of buying and selling, if one buys sesamum at a price higher than that given for paddy;—or in a case when one man has an upper garment for sale, and another an under-clothing, and the latter stands in need of the latter,—though the two are of equal value, yet knowing the greater need of the man with the upper garment, the latter offers to him the under-clothing, but not in equal exchange, but for a higher price,—such a man is said to ‘treat equals as unequals’ in value.

The punishments prescribed are for both the buyer and the seller; since both are parties to the act of ‘treating equals as unequals.’

The term ‘vā’, in this case is superfluous, serving only to fill up the metre.

The two alternative fines—the ‘first’ and the ‘middlemost’—are laid down, as to be determined by the value of the commodities concerned.—(287)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 825), which adds the following explanations:—That man suffers the ‘first amercement’ who deals with honest, customers—who pay the right price—dishonestly, giving them cheaper articles; and the ‘middle amercement’ is the penalty for the man who, selling the right commodity, receives a higher or lower price.

It is quoted in Vivādaratnākara (p. 296), which adds the following explanation:—The man, who, receiving the same price from a number of purchasers, sells to them articles of varying, qualities, suffers the ‘first amercement’; and the man who sells commodities of the same quality to a number of persons, but charges them varying prices, suffers the ‘middle amercement It goes on to quote Halāyudha as explaining (with Medhātithi) the verse to mean that the man who deals dishonestly; ‘viṣamam’—i.e. in exchanging things with a man, he, taking advantage of the needs of the other party, gives less of his own commodity and receives more of that of the other man,—when in reality both commodities are recognised to be of equal value,—or when the vendor, taking advantage of the needs of the customer, sells to him a cheaper article at a higher price,—he should suffer either the ‘first’ or the ‘middle’ amercement, according to the value of the commodity concerned. It is quoted in Vivādacintāmaṇi (Calcutta, p. 80), which explains ‘samaiḥ’ as ‘ordinary’, and adds the explanation—‘one who replaces a valuable article by an ordinary one, should fined 250 Paṇas if the other party is put to a loss of the seventh part of his outlay, and 500 Paṇas if the loss is the fifth part or more’.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 9.286-287)

See Comparative notes for Verse 9.286.