133 Know that eight trasarenus are equal in bulk to a liksha (the egg of a louse), three of those to one grain of black mustard, and three of the latter to a white mustard-seed.

134 Six grains of white mustard are one middle-sized barley-corn, and three barley-corns one krishnala (raktika, or gunja-berry); five krishnalas are one masha (bean), and sixteen of those one suvarna.

135 Four suvarnas are one pala, and ten palas one dharana; two krishnalas of silver, weighed together, must be considered one mashaka of silver.

136 Sixteen of those make a silver dharana, or purana; but know that a karsha of copper is a karshapana, or pana.

137 Know that ten dharanas of silver make one satamana; four suvarnas must be considered equal in weight to a nishka.

138 Two hundred and fifty panas are declared to be the first or lowest amercement, five hundred are considered as the mean or middlemost, but one thousand as the highest.

139 A debt being admitted as due, the defendant shall pay five in the hundred as a fine, if it be denied and proved, twice as much; that is the teaching of Manu.

143 But if a beneficial pledge, one from which profit accrues, has been given, the creditor shall receive no gain on the loan; nor can he, after keeping such a pledge for a very long time, give or sell it.

144 A pledge to be kept only must not be used by force; the creditor, so using it, shall give up whatever he has gained by it, or, if it has been spoilt by use, he shall satisfy the owner by paying its original price; else he commits a theft of the pledge.

145 Neither a pledge nor a deposit can be lost by lapse of time; they are both recoverable, though they have remained long with the bailee.

146 Things used with friendly assent, a cow, a camel, a riding-horse, and a beast made over for breaking in, are never lost to the owner.

147 But in general whatever chattel an owner sees enjoyed by others during ten years, while, though present, he says nothing, that chattel he shall not recover.

148 If the owner is neither an idiot nor a minor and if his chattel is enjoyed by another before his eyes, it is lost to him by law; the adverse possessor shall retain that property.

149 A pledge, a boundary, the property of infants, an open deposit, a sealed deposit, women, the property of the king and the wealth of a learned scholar are not lost in consequence of adverse enjoyment.

150 The fool who uses a pledge without the permission of the owner shall compensate the owner for such use.

156 He who has made a contract to carry goods by a wheeled carriage for money and has agreed to a certain place or time, shall not reap that reward, if he does not keep to the place and the time stipulated.

157 Whatever rate men fix, who are expert in sea-voyages and able to calculate the profit according to the place, the time, and the objects carried, that has legal force in such cases with respect to the payment to be made.

158 The man who becomes a surety in this world for the appearance of a debtor, and produces him not, shall pay the debt out of his own property.

159 But money due by a surety, or idly promised, or lost at play, or due for spirituous liquor, or what remains unpaid of a fine and a tax or duty, the son of the party owing it shall not be obliged to pay.

160 This just mentioned rule shall apply to the case of a surety for appearance only; if a surety for payment should die, the judge may compel even his heirs to discharge the debt.

161 On what account then is it that after the death of a surety other than for payment, whose affairs are fully known, the creditor may in some cases afterwards demand the debt of the heirs?

162 If the surety had received money from him for whom he stood bail and had money enough to pay, then the heir of him who received it, shall pay the debt out of his property; that is the settled rule.

163 A contract made by a person intoxicated, or insane, or grievously disordered by disease and so forth, or wholly dependent, by an infant or very aged man, or by an unauthorised party is invalid.

164 That agreement which has been made contrary to the law or to the settled usage of the virtuous, can have no legal force, though it be established by proofs.

165 A fraudulent mortgage or sale, a fraudulent gift or acceptance, and any transaction where he detects fraud, the judge shall declare null and void.

166 If the debtor be dead and the money borrowed was expended for the family, it must be paid by the relatives out of their own estate even if they are divided.

167 Should even a person wholly dependent make a contract for the behoof of the family, the master of the house, whether living in his own country or abroad, shall not rescind it.

168 What is given by force, what is enjoyed by force, also what has been caused to be written by force, and all other transactions done by force, Manu has declared void.

169 Three suffer for the sake of others, witnesses, a surety, and judges; but four enrich themselves through others, a scholar, a broker, a merchant, and a king.

170 No king, however indigent, shall take anything that ought not to be taken, nor shall he, however wealthy, decline taking that which he ought to take, be it ever so small.

171 In consequence of his taking what ought not to be taken, or of his refusing what ought to be received, a king will be accused of weakness and perish in this world and after death.

172 By taking his due, by preventing confusion of duties among the classes, and by protecting the weak, the power of the king grows, and he prospers in this world and after death.

173 Let the prince, therefore, not heeding his own likings and dislikings, behave with strict impartiality, as one who will himself be judged, suppressing his anger and controlling himself.

174 But that evil-minded king who in his folly decides causes unjustly, his enemies soon subjugate.

175 If, subduing love and hatred, he decides the causes according to the law, the hearts of his subjects turn towards him as the rivers run towards the ocean.

176 The debtor who complains to the king that his creditor recovers the debt independently of the court, shall be compelled by the king to pay as a fine one quarter of the sum and to his creditor the money due.

177 Even by personal labour shall the debtor make good what he owes to his creditor, if he be of the same standing or of a lower one; but a debtor of a higher standing shall pay it gradually when he earns something.

178 According to these rules let the king equitably decide between men, who dispute with each other the matters, which are proved by witnesses and other evidence.

179 A sensible man should make a deposit only with a person of good family, of good conduct, well acquainted with the law, veracious, having many relatives, wealthy, and honourable.

180 In whatever manner a person shall deposit anything in the hands of another, in the same manner ought the same thing to be received back by the owner; as the delivery was, so must be the re-delivery.

181 He who restores not his deposit to the depositor at his request, may be tried by the judge in the depositor's absence.

182 On failure of witnesses let the judge actually deposit gold with that defendant under some pretext or other through spies of suitable age and appearance, and afterwards demand it back.

183 If the defendant restores it in the manner and shape in which it was bailed, there is nothing of that description in his hands, for which others accuse him.

184 But if he restores not that gold, as he ought, to those spies, then he shall be compelled by force to restore both deposits; that is a settled rule of law.

185 An open or a sealed deposit must never be returned to a near relative of the depositor during the latter's lifetime; for if the recipient dies without delivering them, they are lost, but if he does not die, they are not lost.

186 But a depositary who of his own accord returns them to a near relative of a deceased depositor, must not be harassed about them by the king or by the depositor's relatives.

187 And in doubtful cases he should try to obtain that object by friendly means, without having recourse to artifice, or having inquired into the depositary's conduct, he should settle the matter with gentle means.

188 Such is the rule for obtaining back all those open deposits; in the case of a sealed deposit the depositary shall incur no censure, unless he has taken out something.

189 A deposit which has been stolen by thieves or washed away by water or burned by fire, the bailee shall not make good, unless he took part of it for himself.

190 Him who appropriates a deposit and him who asks for it without having made it, the judge shall try by all sorts of means, and by the oaths prescribed by the sacred law.

191 He who does not return a deposit and he who demands what he never bailed shall both be punished like thieves, or be compelled to pay a fine equal to the value of the object retained or claimed.

192 The king should compel him who does not restore an open deposit, and in like manner him who retains a sealed deposit, to pay a fine equal to its value.

193 That man who by false pretences may possess himself of another's property, shall be publicly punished by various modes of corporal or capital chastisement, together with his accomplices.

194 If a deposit of a particular description or quantity is bailed by anybody in the presence of a number of witnesses, it must be known to be of that particular description and quantity; the depositary who makes a false statement regarding it is liable to a fine.

195 But if anything is delivered or received privately, it must be privately returned; as the bailment was, so should be the re-delivery.

196 Thus let the king decide causes concerning a deposit and a friendly loan for use without showing undue rigour to the depositary.

197 If anybody sells the property of another man, without being the owner and without the assent of the owner, the judge shall not admit him who is a thief, though he may not consider himself as a thief, as a witness in any case.

198 If the offender is a kinsman of the owner, he shall be fined six hundred panas; if he is not a kinsman, nor has any excuse, he shall be guilty of theft.

199 A gift or sale, made by anybody else but the owner, must be considered as null and void, according to the rule in judicial proceedings.

200 Where possession is evident, but no title is perceived, there the title shall be a proof of ownership, not possession; such is the settled rule.

201 He who obtains a chattel in the market before a number of witnesses, acquires that chattel with a clear legal title by purchase.

202 If the original seller be not producible, the buyer being exculpated by a public sale, must be dismissed by the king without punishment, but the former owner who lost the chattel shall receive it back from the buyer.

203 One commodity mixed with another must not be sold as pure, nor a bad one as good, nor less than the proper quantity or weight, nor anything that is not at hand or that is concealed.

205 He who gives a damsel in marriage, having first openly declared her blemishes, whether she be insane, or afflicted with leprosy, or have lost her virginity, is not liable to punishment.

206 If an officiating leader of a sacrifice, chosen to perform the rite, abandons his work, a share only of the fee in proportion to the work done shall be given to him by those who work with him.

207 But he who abandons his work after the sacrificial fees have been given, shall obtain his full share and cause to be performed what remains by another.

208 But if specific fees are ordained for the several parts of a rite, shall he who performs the part receive them, or shall they all share them?

209 The Adhvaryu priest shall take the chariot, and the Brahman at the kindling of the fires a horse, the Hotri priest shall also take a horse, and the Udgatri the cart used when the provision for the offering is purchased.

210 The four chief priests among all the sixteen, who are entitled to one half, shall receive a moiety of the fee, the next four one half of that, the set entitled to a third share, one third, and those entitled to a fourth a quarter.

211 By the application of these principles the allotment of shares must be made among those men who here below perform their work conjointly.

212 Should money be given or promised for a pious purpose by one man to another who asks for it, the gift shall be void, if the money is afterwards not used in the manner stated.

213 But if the recipient through pride or greed tries to enforce the fulfilment of the promise, he shall be compelled by the king to pay one suvarna as an expiation for his theft.

214 Thus the lawful subtraction of a gift has been fully explained; I will next propound the law for the non-payment of wages.

215 A hired servant or workman who, without being ill, out of pride fails to perform his work according to the agreement, shall be fined eight krishnalas and no wages shall be paid to him.

216 But if he is really ill, and after recovery performs his work according to the original agreement, he shall receive his wages even after the lapse of a very long time.

217 But if he, whether sick or well, does not perform or cause to be performed by others his work according to his agreement, the wages for that work shall not be given to him, even if it be only slightly incomplete.

218 Thus the law for the non-payment of wages has been completely stated; I will next explain the law concerning men who break an agreement.

219 If a man belonging to a corporation inhabiting a village or a district, after swearing to an agreement, breaks it through avarice, the king shall banish him from his realm,

220 And having imprisoned such a breaker of an agreement, he shall compel him to pay six nishkas, each of four suvarnas, and one satamana of silver.

221 A righteous king shall apply this law of fines in villages and communities to those who break an agreement.

222 If anybody in this world, after buying or selling anything, repent of his bargain, he may return or take back that chattel within ten days.

223 But after the lapse of ten days he may neither give nor cause it to be given back; both he who takes it back and he who gives it back, except by consent, shall be fined by the king six hundred panas.

224 But the king himself shall impose a fine of ninety-six panas on him who gives a blemished damsel to a suitor without informing him of the blemish.

225 But that man who, out of malice, says of a maiden, "She is not a maiden," shall be fined one hundred panas, if he cannot prove her blemish.

227 The nuptial vows are a certain proof that a maiden has been made a lawful wife; but the learned should know that the marriage is complete when the covenant has been fully made.

228 If anybody in this world repent of any completed transaction, the king shall keep him on the road of rectitude in accordance with the rules given above.

229 I will fully declare in accordance with the true law the rules concerning the disputes arising from the transgressions of owners of cattle and of herdsmen.

230 During the day the responsibility for the safety of the cattle rests on the herdsman, during the night on the owner, provided they are in his house; if it be otherwise, the herdsman will be responsible for them also during the night.

231 A hired herdsman who is paid with milk, may milk with the consent of the owner the best cow out of ten; such shall be his hire if no other wages are paid.

232 The herdsman alone shall make good the loss of a beast strayed, destroyed by worms, killed by dogs or by falling into a pit, if he did not duly exert himself to prevent it.

233 But for an animal stolen by thieves, though he raised an alarm, the herdsman shall not pay, provided he gives notice to his master at the proper place and time.

234 If cattle die, let him carry to his master their ears, skin, tails, bladders, tendons, and the yellow concrete bile, and let him point out their particular marks.

235 But if goats or sheep are surrounded by wolves and the herdsman does not hasten to their assistance, he shall be responsible for any animal which a wolf may attack and kill.

236 But if they, kept in proper order, graze together in the forest, and a wolf, suddenly jumping on one of them, kills it, the herdsman shall bear in that case no responsibility.

237 On all sides of a village a space, one hundred dhanus or three throws of a staff in breadth, shall be reserved for pasture, and thrice that space round a town.

238 If the cattle do damage to unfenced crops on that common, the king shall in that case not punish the herdsmen.

239 The owner of the field shall make there a hedge over which a camel cannot look, and stop every gap through which a dog or a boar can thrust his head.

240 If cattle do mischief in an enclosed field near a highway or near a village, the herdsman shall be fined one hundred panas; but cattle unattended by a herdsman, the watchman in the field shall drive away.

241 For damage in other fields each head of cattle shall pay a fine of one pana and a quarter, and in all cases the value of the crop destroyed shall be made good to the owner of the field; that is the settled rule.

242 But Manu has declared that no fine shall be paid for damage done by a cow within ten days after her calving, or by bulls, whether they are attended by a herdsman or not.

243 If the crops are destroyed by the husbandman's own fault, the fine shall amount to ten times as much as the king's share; but the fine shall be only half that amount if the fault lay with the servants and the farmer had no knowledge of it.

244 To these rules a righteous king shall keep in all cases of transgressions by masters, their cattle, and herdsmen.

245 If a dispute has arisen between two villages concerning a boundary, the king shall settle the limits in the month of Jyaishtha, when the landmarks are most distinctly visible.

246 Let him mark the boundaries by trees, for example Nyagrodhas, Asvatthas, Kimsukas, cotton-trees, Salas, Palmyra palms, and trees with milky juice,

247 By clustering shrubs, bamboos of different kinds, Samis, creepers and raised mounds, reeds, thickets of Kubjaka; thus the boundary will not be forgotten.

248 Tanks, wells, cisterns, and fountains should be built where boundaries meet, as well as places of worship,

249 And as he will see that through men's ignorance of the boundaries trespasses constantly occur in the world, let him cause to be made other hidden marks for boundaries,

250 Stones, bones, cow's hair, chaff, ashes, potsherds, dry cowdung, bricks, cinders, pebbles, and sand,

251 And whatever other things of a similar kind the earth does not corrode even after a long time, those he should cause to be buried where one boundary joins the other.

252 By these signs, by long continued possession, and by constantly flowing streams of water the king shall ascertain the boundary of the land of two disputing parties.

253 If there be a doubt even on inspection of the marks, the settlement of a dispute regarding boundaries shall depend on witnesses.

254 The witnesses, giving evidence regarding a boundary, shall be examined concerning the landmarks in the presence of the crowd of the villagers and also of the two litigants.

255 As they, being questioned, unanimously decide, even so he shall record the boundary in writing, together with their names.

256 Let them, being sworn by God, each calling down on himself the loss of the reward of his meritorious deeds if he lies, settle the boundary in accordance with the truth.

257 If they determine the boundary in the manner stated, they are guiltless, being veracious witnesses; but if they determine it unjustly, they shall be compelled to pay a fine of two hundred panas.

258 On failure of witnesses from the two villages, men of the four neighbouring villages, who are pure, shall make as witnesses a decision concerning the boundary in the presence of the king.

259 On failure of neighbours who are original inhabitants of the country and can be witnesses with respect to the boundary, the king may hear the evidence even of the following inhabitants of the forest,

260 Namely hunters, fowlers, herdsmen, fishermen, root-diggers, snake-catchers, gleaners, and other foresters.

261 As they, being examined, declare the marks for the meeting of the boundaries to be, even so the king shall justly cause them to be fixed between the two villages.

262 The decision concerning the boundary-marks of fields, wells, tanks, of gardens and houses depends upon the evidence of the neighbours.

263 Should the neighbours give false evidence, when men dispute about a boundary-mark, the king shall make each of them pay the middlemost amercement as a fine.

264 He who by intimidation possesses himself of a house, a tank, a garden, or a field, shall be fined five hundred panas; if he trespassed through ignorance, the fine shall be two hundred panas.