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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
INTRODUCTION
xiii
If a person, after working out a term of banishment, comes back to his residential territory and again commits crimes, he should then be imprisoned for life.
Murder
The chapter on Murder is very brief and covers only ten pages of the printed book. One noticeable feature in the treatment of the subject is that the Killing of lower animals" is included within the heading “Murder."
Murders are generally committed in secrecy and so murderers cannot, as a rule, be caught red-handed. So the Hindu system has set down several processes of reasoning by which murders can be traced to their origin and accounted for. The processos are: (1) If the perpetrator of a murder is not known, the
friends, sons, and relations of the deceased are to be interrogated by police officers as to the "fact”
who were at enmity with him. (2) Questions should also be directed towards the
"facts” where the deceased last went, and with whom, and with what intent, whether the acquisi
tion of woman, article or livelihood. (3) Information should then be culled from the residents
of the place where the deceased was murdered. (4) This process of interrogatories is to be carried on by
the officers of the king with skilful persuasion of
the neighbouring subjects... When the culprit has been traced out by the above pro
cesses, he should be duly punished.
Punishment for Murder If members of the three lower castes kill a Brahmin, death and forfeiture of property should be their punishment. If similar persons kill a Kşatriya, a Vaisya or a Sūdra, a thousand, a hundred or ten cows should be the respective punishments. A bull is also to be realised from the murderer for killing a Vaisya or a Sūdra.
The punishment for killing a menstruating woman is the same as that for killing a Ksatriya. The punishment for
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