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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
[VOL. XXX ceremonies',' while Monier-Williams recognises the word näga-värika in his Sanskrit Dictionary and explains it as an elephant-driver or keeper' and 'the chief person in a court or assembly
16. Para-erishayāt=kāran-ābhyāgato vānijakah para-rëshë na grāhyaḥ. The word rēsha means 'injury'; but its significance in the present context is unknown. The meaning of the achära may be that a merchant belonging to another district or kingdom should not be accepted as a witnens in a criminal case involving persons of a locality where he happened to be present on account of some reason or other.
17. Avē dana kena vina utkrishti na grähyā. This seems to be related to No. 16 above ; but the meaning of utkrishti is unknown. Avedanaka may indicate 'a formal complaint in court' and utkrishți may be the same as Pali ukkutthi and Sanskrit utkrushți, utkrosa, meaning 'wailing'. A proper complaint, and not mere wailing, was acceptable to court.
18. Vākpārushya-dandapārushyayoh sākshitvē sāri na grāhyā. The sārikā bird could not be allowed to be a witness in cases of defamation and assault.
19. Phêriku-kaddhaka-nila-dumphakās-cha vishtim na kārayitavyā). The dumphaka of a nila-kuţi, liable to pay a certain tax, is also referred to in No. 48 below ; but who are actually exempted from forced labour (visht() in the present case cannot be determined. The words dhenku, kaddhaka and dumphaka are unknown. Dhërku may be compared with Hindi dhenki or dherkuli meaning a machine for extracting juice, while kaddhaka seems to be a Prakrit form of Sanskrit karshaka. Dumphaka may be the same as Sanskrit drimphaka meaning 'one who presses'. The nila-dumphaka possibly manufactured blue dye from the indigo plant. If dhënku is the same as Gujarati dhikvo, Hindi dhēkli, dhekul, in the sense of the contrivance (based on the principle of lever) for drawing water from a well, the drawers of water for the irrigation of fields may be the persons indicated by dhërku-kaddhaka
20. Prapäpüraka-gopālāh rāja-grahēna na grāhyük. Prapā-püraka is a person entrusted with prapā-pürana, i.e. 'filling the cisterns with water in a place for watering cattle or supplying water to travellers'. Such persons as well as the milkmen were not to be apprehended or recruited for free labour on the king's behalf.:
21. Grih-āpana-sthitānām mudrā-patraka-dūlakaih sāhasa-varijam-ähvānań na karaniyam. Persons engaged in work at home or at their shops should not be summoned to court by means of a seal-ring or a letter or by a messenger unless they were involved in a criminal case."
22. Parēn=ārth-abhiyuktānāṁ vāda-pratisamāsane yajña-sattra-vivāh-ādishu āhvānam na kārayēt. Persons engaged in such works as a sacrifice or a marriage ceremony should not be summoned to court to refute the charges brought against them. Artha may refer to an artha-müla or civil (and not a hithsā-mula or criminal) suit. Or, there may be reference here to two different sets of persons who should not be summoned, viz. (1) one engaged in yajña, eto.,' and (2) one already involved in another case. A word like niratānām seems to be understood after 'adishu.
23. Rin-ādän-ābhilekhita-vyavahärë a-käshtha-loha-baddhëna krita-pratibhuvēna(bhuva) guptirupāsya. In connection with a written complaint about the realisation of borrowed money, the debtor, when he was not under wooden or metal handcuffs because of security having been furnished for him by somebody, should enjoy the protection of the court. This seems to say that in the case
* N. G. Majumdar, Inscriptions of Bengal, Vol. III, pp. 8, 166.
Cf. Brihaspati Smriti, p. 26 : gavath pracháre göpäläb sasy-arambhe krishsoalan in the section on dhadna (summons) and in the list of the n-asēdhyad.
Cf. ibid., p. 24: mudram dadya tatha patram purushan vi visarjayel. Soo alao P. V. Kano, KHydyendariddhara, verse 88.
• Vide Katyayannsröddhara, verse 108. Cf. Brihaspati Smriti, p. 22: sattr-odväh-adyaló, etc., in the list of the an-daidhyah. Cf. Yajaavalkyu Smriti, N. 8. Press ed., p. 125: abhiyuktar cha wanyena.
