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ECONOMIC, POLITICAL & RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS
467
Justice and Law :-King was the judiciary head. He decided the suits, seated on Dharmāsana (105,100) i.e. the seat of justice. He used to consult learned Panditas whenever a suit came before him in the court (41.62.77;105.100). The suit instituted in the court was called Vyavahāra (41.62; 105.102).
Police and Jail :-The policemen are referred to as Dandapāsikas (82.48) and the Jail as Cārageha (3.11; 8.74). Jail equipment just as chains (sarkala 53.119, 142) and iron fetters (niyala=nigada 8.74) are also mentioned.
Toll and Tax :-Under the reign of Rāma and Lakşmaņa, as said in the PCV, their subjects were happy and they were not required to pay any toll or tax to the state (Karabharahio-80.17).
Crime and Punishment :-There are allusions to robbers and dacoits (gāmagaradesaghāya 14.15). Smugglers and thieves are referred to (takkara 2.7 & cora 14.15). Burglaries were committed even into the royal palaces (5.85; 33.72). The cases of adultery are evidenced among the common people (46.64; 82.47), the person of high position (39.42) and the royal class also (82.37). Murders were committed (5.89; 103.4) generally in the cases of adultery (39.42, 46;82.37; 82.49).
Guilty persons were punished. Thus a purohita who swindled the valuables of a Vanik is said to have been expelled from the state (divvāsio 5 34). Kautilya recommends expulsion for a Brahmin also who commits theft (IV. 8.33-38). In another similar case capital punishment was inflicted upon a Brahmin (sūlae nirovio 34.46). But he was granted pardon on the intervention of a Vanik who perhaps might have paid a heavy penalty in cash (34.47). Manu (8.337) recommends severe punishment for a Brahmin thief but grants him immunity from amputation of limbs and capital punishment. Further it is mentioned in the PCV that tho whole village was burnt to ashes by a king on account of the guilt of a single villageman who had comınitted theft (5.208).
Adultery committed in the royal house was punished severely. A Brahmin who was caught dallying with a queen was given the punishment of amputation of his limbs (ațțhanganiggaha 88.12). Kautilya lays down that such a criminal should be burnt to death (4.11.17). If the criminal happened to be a Brahmin he should be given life-long imprisonment (tamaḥ praveśyet 4.11.18). Manu (8.383-385) says that a Brahmin who commits adultery should not be awarded the punishment af death, he may be fined.
Śramanas and Tapasas were not immune from the punishment. A Śramana who was falsely charged with entry into the harem was
