2. *Amālīs* and *rakama* holders shall not request subjects to carry out work for private purposes. *Amālīs*, *jāgira* or *rakama* holders shall not enjoy generous hospitality from the subjects when they visit the villages, towns or land assigned to them, forcing them to do so. Also, the peasants and subjects shall not give generous hospitality to [such functionaries]. If a peasant comes to complain that [his landlord or a government functionary] has not paid [his wages] as agreed, or has requested services and made him work by force, but has not paid at all for this, and if such an allegation is proven, the person who agreed to the wages [but did not pay them] shall be fined an amount equal to the wages he agreed. The person who forces [peasants] to serve him shall be made to pay them a daily wage of 4 *ānā* per person and shall be fined an amount equal to that.

3. Except for forced labour for state affairs, which has been established and practiced [from times past], a state functionary, such as a *jāgira* holder, revenue collector, *ijārā* holder, contractor, a *caudharī*, *kānugoi*, *mukhīyā*, *rakama* holder or the like, shall not demand [forced labour such as] *jhārā*, *beṭhī*, *begārī* for his personal purposes or for other state officials—irrespective of whether they are low or high in rank—who are stationed from east to west, such as generals, colonels, *cautarīyās*, *kājīs*, *sardāras*, *bhāradāras*, [royal] gurus or priests. If [forced labour such as] *jhārā*, *beṭhī*, *begārī* is demanded from peasants or commoners unlawfully, and if someone comes to complain about it, [the official who demanded forced labour] shall be made to pay them wages at a rate of 4 *ānās* per day for 1 person and shall be fined an amount equal to [the wages] he has to pay.

4. If [an official] has to take people from the land or villages assigned to him somewhere as porters, he shall calculate the number of days he requires their service, give them food for the

#### 11. On Forced Labour

morning and evening, pay them a wage of 10 *paisās* per day and take them with him. If someone comes to complain that he has not received his wage, [the official] shall be made to give him [the wage] according to this rate and shall be fined an equal amount.

## 12. On the Payment of Salaries

1. If the rent collection certificates (*tirjāpurjā*), salaries, and rent are handed over to the military—of a *kampu*, *palṭana* or *kampanī*—and civil *jāgira* holders, the sequestration writ for the rent to be withheld, too, shall be handed over to the officers responsible (*pagarī* 169) for distributing the rent to military (*jaṅgī* 170) and civil servants. If first the rent collection certificates*,* rent and salaries are distributed, and once the distribution of the rent is completed the sequestration [writ] is handed over [to the officers], the clerks of the Daphadarakhānā or the like who are responsible for giving out the rent, shall submit the rent to be withheld. Whoever hands over the rent without passing on the sequestration [writ], such a person shall be made to pay damages equal to the distributed rent and shall be fined an amount equal to that. If the rent collection certificates*,* rent and salaries were previously received together with the sequestration [writ], [but] the rent was distributed without keeping aside the rent to be withheld, the officials who distribute the rent and the authorised *bhāradāras* and the officers and *huddās* of the *palṭana* or the like shall be made to pay the damages for the rent which should have been withheld and a fine equal to that. If the amount of the fine is not paid, they shall be imprisoned at the rate of 1 month for every 5 rupees.

2. When the clerks of the *kampu* or *daphadara* hand over the rent collection certificates or salaries [to the *jāgira* holders], they shall do so in the presence of a *kāptāna*, *lephṭena, insāyena*, *subedāra*, *jamādāra* or *huddā* official of the respective *palṭana.* If a *kaptāna*, *lephṭena, insāyena* and *subedāra* are not involved, then [the rent collection certificates or salaries] shall be handed over in the presence of [at least] one of the three officers (*pagarī*) (i.e. *kaptāna*, *lephṭena* and *insāyena*) along with a *huddā* and *jamādāra*. Whatever clerk hands the salaries or rent collection certificates over [to *jāgira* holders] without having such officers as witnesses shall be fined an amount equal to the value of the rent collection certificate or the salary.

3. While lending money to any official working at the respective *daphadara* of the *kampu*, *palṭana*, *kampanīs* or the like, or to a clerk, major or any other military personnel in accordance with a *pramāṅgī* or *daskhata*, the loan shall be advanced after preparing a loan agreement witnessed (lit. 'under the name of') by the *kaptāna*, *lephṭena, subedāra*, *jamādāra*, *huddā*, *khalāsī*, *pipā* or *lājimā* of the respective *palṭana*, if such personnel is available; if not, this shall be witnessed by the respective *koṭe ḍiṭṭhā* or any other official posted at a *koṭa*. [The loan] shall not be advanced

169 Lit. '(wearing) a turban'.

170 Om., *jaṅgī* (MA2).

without preparing a loan agreement. Also, while handing over the rent collection certificates or salaries [to such officials], it shall be carried out in the presence of and under the responsibility of such officers. If one hands over [the rent collection certificates or salaries] without following that procedure, the payment shall be considered as being made in violation of that order. The officials from the respective *daphadara* who handed over the rent collection certificates or salaries without following that procedure shall be fined an amount equal to the value [of the respective loan, rent collection or salary].

4. If the revenue collection certificates and salaries are handed over [to the military staff concerned to be distributed to the *jāgira* holders] from the *daphadara* of the *kampu*, and if also the [military staff concerned], i.e. the *kaptāna*, *lephṭena, insāyena*, *subedāra*, *jamādāra* and *huddā* distribute [the rent collection certificates or salaries to the *jāgira* holders], and if the [distributed] rent needs to be withheld because [the recipient] has committed a certain offence, the rent shall be withheld and collected. If a *jāgira* holder receives a rent collection certificate or a salary, and if he collects the rent [from the assigned land to him] and enjoys it, and if he afterwards commits a certain offence which [is punishable] by withholding his rent, and if it is ascertained upon inspection that the rent which is to be withheld is no longer available [because the *jāgira*  holder has already expended it], neither the clerks of the [respective] *daphadara* nor the officers, *jamādāra* and *huddā* of [the respective] *palṭana* [who witnessed the rent distribution], nor the tenants who [cultivated the land] shall be required to compensate [for the rent collected by such a *jāgira* holder].

#### **[The regulation concerning] the calculation of rent to be obtained by [a government employee] who is appointed after the first day of the month of Śrāvaṇa, but dies before the first of the month of Śrāvaṇa [of the next year]:**

5. [A government employee who is appointed from the first day of the month of Śrāvaṇa and] dies in the month of Vaiśākha shall be entitled to receive ⅓ of his emolument. If he dies in the month of Jyeṣṭha, he shall be entitled to receive half of his emolument, and if he dies in the month of Āṣāḍha, he shall be entitled to receive ⅔ of his emolument. If such an employee receives a monthly cash salary, he shall be entitled to receive it in accordance with his partnership agreement or contract.171

6. If a *kampu*, *palṭana* or *kampanī* is stationed at a remote frontier (*gauḍā*), and [the officer] who is to replace the [incumbent] officer [serving there] fails to reach there by the day of Śrīpañcamī, the former [officer] shall be entitled to collect the rent from the wheat [grown on his *jāgira* land]. The newly appointed [officer] is not permitted to argue that he was appointed before Śrīpañcamī.

171 This section seems to regulate how much of a deceased employee's salary is to be handed over to his heirs.

12. On the Payment of Salaries

7. If [a person] is appointed before Śrīpañcamī, but the emolument of [an officer] who will be dismissed from his post [only] after the Śrīpañcamī has been assigned to him, the [officer] who will be dismissed shall be entitled to receive his rent from the wheat [grown on the land assigned to him up to Śrīpañcamī].

8. If [an officer] is dismissed before Śrīpañcamī, but he has not yet handed over his accoutrements [to the government], he shall not be entitled to collect the rent of wheat [grown on the land assigned to him], even if he submits his accoutrements afterwards. [The officer] who was appointed before Śrīpañcamī and was granted the land assignment (*ṭhekinu*) shall be entitled to receive the said rent.

9. If an officer is not dismissed until the day of Śrīpañcamī, and he continues to put on his accoutrements, he shall be entitled to receive the rent of wheat [grown on the land assigned to him].

10. If someone who is appointed before the first day of the month of Śrāvaṇa is dismissed after the first day [of the month of Śrāvaṇa], he shall be entitled to receive the entire rent [of 1 year from his *jāgira* land].

11. If someone who received an appointment along with a *jāgira* assignment after the first day of the month of Śrāvaṇa is dismissed [from his post] before listening to the *vasanta-*recitation172 on the day of Śrīpañcamī, such an appointee shall not receive any rent from [his *jāgira* land].

172 Vasantaśrāvaṇa, the ritual recitation of the *Gītagovinda* on the day of Vasantapañcamī.

## 13. On the Appointment and Dismissal of Jāgira Holders

1. If a turbaned (*pagarī*) officer from a *kampu*, *palṭana* or *kampanī* is stripped of his accoutrements, including his horse with saddle and bridle, then the [newly appointed] turbaned officer who receives the emolument [of the dismissed officer] shall take his horse, saddle and bridle, implements and riding trousers (*custā* 173) prepared at the request of the venerable [prime] minister and commander-in-chief. There shall be an assessment considering at which price the items were received, to what extent they are damaged, and how much weight [the horse has lost], and the reduced amount shall be paid to the dismissed [officer]. If a *ḍhākre* is dismissed and if he has preserved his accoutrements in the same condition as they were when he received them, and none of the items are damaged nor has his horse lost any weight and is ready for use, he shall receive a price [for his items] at the same rate as that at which he purchased them.

2. If a dismissed [officer] has preserved his items, implements and horse in a condition even better than he had received them, and he has nourished the horse to be ready for use, then the turbaned officer from the same *palṭana* [who takes over his post] shall buy [the items from him] at an appreciated rate. If an officer who is promoted or transferred declares that he will not hand over [his accoutrements] on the grounds that he needs them for himself, then he shall not be compelled [to sell them]. If such an officer does not have [his accoutrements anymore], he shall have to search for replacements as he would search for his brother.174

173 Military trousers which are baggy from waist to knee and are tight from knee to ankle, also known as 'jodhpurs'.

174 The meaning of the last part of the sentence is not completely clear.

## 14. Recovering a Loan by Seizing Standing Crops

1. No one shall seize the standing crops of a *jāgira* holder with the object of recovering a long- or short-term non-governmental loan, except [for such loans made to allow payment of] the *darśanabheṭa* to the king or a government loan, loans taken from government officials, outstanding sums from government tax collection, fines or court victory fees due by him to the government—[the collection of which is taken] in [the form of] the *jāgira* holder's crops. A clerk (*kārindā*) who makes a *jāgira* holder pay his non-governmental debt by seizing a *jāgira* holders standing crops, even if [this *jāgira* holder] is obliged to [re]pay, shall be ordered to go find the person to whom he gave the paid amount and bring it back, and [so] return the *jāgira* holder's standing crops, and [an additional] 10 percent shall be collected [from that amount] as a court fee. The clerk shall pay damages equal to the amount in question. If he does not pay the fined amount, he shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be imprisoned at the rate of 1 month for every 5 rupees.

2. If [a military officer such as] a *subedāra*, *jamādāra* or *huddā* recovers a loan from a *jāgira* holder, low-ranking soldier (*sipāhī*) or the like [arbitrarily, at a time] of his own choosing, he shall be fined equal to the amount in question. If [the loan] is advanced, with the consent of the *jāgira* holder, *sipāhī* or the like, [as recoverable at a time of the creditor's] own choosing, and with the creditor having placed a *pagarī* or *huddā* [as a witness], no fine shall be imposed.

3. When *bhāradāras* or *daphtarīs—*who are [re]stationed every year at different offices and given authority over *kampus*, *palṭanas*, *kampanīs* or *pagarīs* of *palṭanas* or *jamādāras* or *huddās,* lend to *jāgira* holders, they have hitherto recovered [their loans] by taking pure [coins] for impure [coins], and half again as much in the case of pure [coins]. From now on, when lending, [the lender] shall recover the amount at a rate of 11 rupees per 100 of the same type of rupee as lent. If the *jāgira* holder is unable to pay back [the loan], so that it needs to be deducted from his *jāgira*, the price [of the land] shall be determined based on its location and with the consent of the *jāgira* holder. Any *bhāradāra* who, in violation of this regulation, recovers [a loan] without justification at a higher rate of interest or at a higher [assessment of land] value, the amount collected in excess shall be taken from him, and he shall be fined equal to the amount in question. If he does not pay the fined amount, he shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be imprisoned at the rate of 1 month for every 5 rupees.

### 15. On Creditors and Debtors

1. A loan deed witnessed by the creditor's father, sons or brothers shall be considered forged. If a loan deed, an *ijārā* [contract] or a surety deed is witnessed and signed [both] by the one who has accepted [it, be it] a [lease of] land or deed of consent (*kabuliyata*)—[that is,] the debtor—and by his father or a son who is past the age of 16, the creditor shall be allowed to recover [the debt] from both the father and son. If [the son] witnesses and signs the deed [but] later on declares that he will not pay the creditor back and will not take his share of the paternal property, he shall not be allowed to do so. If the name of the son is not written on the land deed (*paṭṭā*), loan deed or deed of consent, and if he declares that he will not take his share of his father's property or repay the loan, such [a son] shall not be taken into custody.

2. If a person is about to die and someone comes to seize property, saying 'His gold, silver, cash and kind, jewels, household articles, house, land, male and female slaves, quadrupeds or the like [has been transferred] to me in writing', and if, when the deed and the parties involved (*pātra*) are considered, it becomes apparent that there are witnesses and scribes, and that [the names of] the witnesses are even written [in the deed], then irrespective of whether or not the creditors are present when the debtor is about to die, [the loan] shall be repaid in accordance with the arrangement between the parties to the deed. [The creditors] shall receive satisfaction. Ten and 20 percent of the recovered property shall be taken as a court fee [from creditors and the debtor respectively].

3. If a debtor until the time of his death does not tell anyone that he has taken such and such a loan from such and such a person, and if no household family member, villager, neighbour or respected person knows that he has taken such and such a loan from such and such a person, and if also the creditor says nothing [about the loan] for as long as the debtor is still living, brothers, sons or wife of the deceased [debtor] shall not be obliged to pay anything [to the creditor], regardless of whether [the loan] amounts to thousands [of rupees] or a blade of grass. They shall not be made to pay. If [the creditor says that] it was only an oral [agreement] and seizes [claimed property] with [such] inappropriate words, he shall be fined 10 percent of his total claim. If it is determined that he has come to seize [property], having forged a loan deed, he shall be fined an amount equal to that claimed in the deed.

4. If [someone's] father, mother or elder brother takes a loan or engages in [some other] transaction, and the father, mother or elder brother dies before having received the loan deed,

#### 15. On Creditors and Debtors

then if there are witnesses [or other] evidence of the transaction, a deed shall be issued, with [any] household members who know [about the transaction] and an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* office as witnesses. Such a deed duly issued to someone [in age] from a 16-year-old to a breastfed child shall be deemed valid. [Creditors] shall be allowed to collect the amount.

5. In the case of transactions between or accounting relating to a debtor and creditor, whether with or without a loan deed, if the debtor and creditor sit together, calculate [the outstanding sum] and clear [the debt], and end by tearing up the deed, and if one party is a minor who has not crossed the age of 16 and who, upon reaching the age of maturity, lodges a complaint that he is not satisfied [with the settlement], the calculation shall be done again so that he is satisfied. If both parties are past the age of 16, [that is,] have reached the age of maturity, and if one of the parties lodges a complaint, the calculation shall be done again if the complaint is made within 6 months after the settlement of accounts. If the party comes to complain after 6 months, he will not receive [a hearing]; the earlier settlement of accounts and the tearing up of the deed remain valid.

6. If the five times venerable king (*śrī 5 sarkāra*) or anyone else draws up a loan deed, or simply gives a loan, which the debtor himself accepts, the latter shall be made to repay the loan if he has [sufficient] wealth [in the form contractually agreed]. If the debtor does not have [such] wealth, he shall be made to repay the debt with his house, land, household articles, quadrupeds or the like. If he does not have any of these, a document shall be prepared containing details of the transaction (*rasta kistako behorā*). Ten percent of the recovered loan shall be collected from the creditor, and 20 percent from the debtor. A creditor shall not be allowed to have a debtor imprisoned for wealth given as a loan. An *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* shall not imprison [such a debtor].

7. If the receiver of *kuśabirtā* land granted by the five times venerable king or other kings is unable to maintain it and mortgages it to around 2–3 people or clears [a debt] with it, and if those who have taken such land dispute [ownership of] the land, the [mortgage] shall be held valid for the person who is recognised [as rightful holder of the land] under the 9-month deadline175 regulation, irrespective of whether the land has been granted by the government or received by some other person.

8. If, except for *kuśabirtā*, the owner of [a category of] *birtā—*[such as] *bekha*, *marauṭa*, *phikadāra*, *chāpa*, *jiunī* or *mānācāmala* land*—*granted by the five times venerable king or any other king mortgages it to around 2–3 people or clears [a debt] with it, and if those who have taken such land dispute [ownership of it], then in the case where the dispute is between persons the [mortgage] shall be held valid for that person who is recognised [as rightful holder of the land] under the 9-month deadline regulation. If the government takes [the land] as collateral or for [debt] clearance, even if it takes [the land] after others, the taking [of the land] by the government shall

175 See § 5.51. This section deals with the sale or mortgaging of property to more than one person at a time. In general, the mortgage contracted first is the one that is valid. However, if the second mortgagee takes over the property and the first one fails to file a complaint within 9 months, the second mortgagee is entitled to retain control over it.

be held valid in the case where a written [deed] has been received for a usufructuary mortgage (*bhoga*), non-usufructuary mortgage (*dṛṣṭi*) or the clearance of a debt if there is no dispute. Even if a prior [creditor] is entitled to receive [land] according to the 9-month deadline regulation, he is not entitled to receive land that has been obtained from the government as a *bakasabirtā* or the like. If there is a dispute, then even if the debtor declares that he will not give his land to another creditor, but signs it over to the government [in order to clear] a debt, the government must not take [the land]. The [land] shall be given to the person who, according to the 9-month deadline regulation, is recognised [as its rightful owner].

9. If someone among a woman's paternal relatives spends, sells or consumes jewellery, household utensils or the like given to their daughter, sister or granddaughter by [her husband's] house, even if such a [woman] runs off with another man and dies, her paternal relatives shall not be allowed to spend or consume it. Such property shall be that of the lawful inheritors on her ritually married husband's side [of the family]. If it is ascertained that her paternal relatives have spent and consumed [such property], the amount in question shall be reimbursed, and they shall be fined half of the amount in question. A loan deed without security shall be drawn up for any person who buys such jewellery, and 10 percent [government fee] shall be collected from the one who receives back [such] jewellery.176

10.177 If someone among a woman's paternal relatives spends, sells or consumes jewellery, household utensils or the like given to their daughter, sister or granddaughter from [her husband's] side of the family, and if [such items] have been spent or sold after consulting with her, they shall be recovered from the paternal relatives, with 10 percent [of their value] taken [as a government fee]. No fine shall be imposed. If the articles—the jewellery or the like—are no longer in the possession of her paternal relatives, their value shall be assessed and reimbursed in cash. Anyone who buys such articles from her paternal relatives shall receive no [punishment]. If [the items] have been taken and spent without consulting their daughter or by force, her paternal relatives shall make compensation for the jewellery, with 10 and 20 percent [government fee] being collected respectively from the one who receives back [the item] and [from her paternal relatives]. [The latter] shall be fined half of the amount in question. A loan deed without security shall be drawn up for the buyer.

11. [This section is] cancelled.

MA2 17.11. If a case is filed at an *adālata* or *amāla* office concerning a dispute about trade and transaction or creditor and debtor, and, if while settling the dispute, the case is decided to the satisfaction of both creditor and debtor [with the judgment] and a loan deed is drawn, 10 and 20 percent fees shall be collected [by the *adālata* or *amāla*] for the drawing up of the loan deed in its presence.

177 This section has been wrongly placed at the end of the Article, after § 15.

176 What is meant is that the buyer of the property of the woman has to return it to her rightful heirs and in case the unlawful sellers are not able to return the purchase amount have to issue a loan deed for that amount. The heirs to whom the property is restored have to pay a court fee of 10 percent of its value.

#### 15. On Creditors and Debtors

12. If, in judicial cases involving a fiscal transaction, financial accounting, arrears or the like with the government, or a transaction between subjects, someone who, unable to pay in cash an amount owed, declares that he will give land of his [instead], and if an *aḍḍā*, *adālata*, *amāla* or *śrestā* office are needed in order to arrange the transfer [of land], the transaction shall be carried out in such a way that 6 rupees per 100 for land in the hill region, 4 rupees per 100 for land in Nepāla and 6 rupees per 100 for land in Madhesa shall be imposed as a [government land] tax in whatever type of rupee178 [the debtor] is obliged to pay in. If the transaction is carried out to the satisfaction of both giver and recipient [of the land], it shall be valid irrespective of the [land] value [agreed upon].

13. If a loan was transacted between a creditor and debtor through a loan deed and more than 10 years have passed without the debtor paying any interest, [the latter] shall be made to pay only double the principal; [the creditor] shall not be permitted to collect more. If the debtor has paid more than the [total agreed] interest to the creditor from the day when the loan was taken to [the day] when the interest is due, up to 10 percent interest on the [principal] amount recorded in the deed shall be deducted [from the amount of interest the debtor paid] and whatever amount is ascertained to be in excess shall be deducted from the principal. If the amount given is less than the [total agreed] interest, it shall be deducted only from the [total amount of] interest; it shall not be deducted from the principal. If of the interest and the principal owed to the creditor some amount has been paid and some remains due, and 10 years have passed without [the debtor] being able to repay, only double the remaining part of the principal shall be recovered; [the creditor] shall not get double the principal. If 10 years have passed [on a loan] of grain, [a maximum of] triple the principal shall be recovered; [the creditor] shall not get more.

14. No loan deed shall be executed that charges interest on interest that remains due when a debtor is not able to pay. If anyone takes [compound] interest after executing a loan deed179 or merely has [such] a document executed, whatever amount is ascertained to be compound interest either taken [on the basis of] or written into a loan deed he has had executed shall be deducted from what the debtor is required to repay, and the creditor shall be fined an amount equal to the compound interest he took. If [the creditor] does not pay the fine, he shall be imprisoned in accordance with the *Ain*.

15. If a property transaction occurs without a deed being executed,180 only a record of it being made in a *khātā*, *bahī* or *syāhā* account books, the *bahī*, *khātā*, *syāhā* [or any other] documentation of both parties to the transaction shall be examined, the offerings and repayments of both principal and interest calculated, and a decision made as to [who is] to give and receive [what].

178 According to M. C. Regmi (1982: 73–75), several rupee units which varied in value reciprocally were used in different parts of the country during the 19th century, including the *mohora* rupee, *paisā* rupee, *gorakhapurī* rupee and various other categories of Indian rupees.

179 *matasuka*, read *tamasuka* (MA2).

180 *tamasuka leṣīyāko*, read *tamasuka nalekhiyāko* (MA2).

## 16. On the Repayment of Debts

1. If an amount owed a creditor needs to be recovered through an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* office in the following 7 cases: arrears due to the government, arrears from a revenue collection monopoly (*rakama*), arrears from a *jāgira* holder's standing crops, arrears [resulting] from expending the share of standing crops due a landlord, restitution for burning down another's house, restitution for thievery, then the share [of property of the offender's] brothers and sons who live unseparated in the same house, the paternal property being as yet unpartitioned, shall not be set aside. Restitution shall be made from the entire property of all [unseparated brothers and sons of the offender].

2. If a son declares that he will neither take his share of the paternal property nor repay a debt incurred on it, and thus rejects [both inheritance and liability], the creditor shall take whatever of the father's assets there are [that fall under his claim]. The creditor of a father shall not seize hold of a son who says that he will not lay claim to any of his father's assets. An *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* shall distribute whatever property there is proportionally [to creditors] and issue acquittances. 10 percent of the amount recovered shall be taken [as a government fee].

3. If a son takes a loan without the consent of his mother and father, the creditor shall recover [the debt] from the son's acquisitions and earnings. The creditor shall recover [the debt] from the mother's and father's wealth and property only if the parents willingly pay. If mother and father do not [want to] pay, the creditors shall not be allowed to recover [the debt from their property] as long as they are alive.

4. If a son living [in a joint family whose property is still unpartitioned] causes mischief and commits an offence, the father shall pay [the compensation or fine]. If the father declares, 'I will not pay; imprison [him]', [the son] shall be imprisoned 1 month for every 5 rupees. Even if [the son] commits a crime calling for the confiscation of an entire property, only the son's share of property shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be confiscated.

5. If someone does business by taking a quantity [of goods] on loan from a creditor and providing a written promise to give him a specified share of the profit, [the creditor] shall be permitted to recover the principal and the profit in accordance with the document that states that [the debtor] will pay the specified profit. An *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* shall make [him] pay. If it is not profit that is promised, but rather interest, [the creditor] shall not be allowed to receive more than 10 percent of the [original] cash value [of the goods].

#### 16. On the Repayment of Debts

6. If someone takes a loan in cash from a creditor with a written promise to pay a specified number of *murīs* of grain per 100 [rupees], and if there is a quarrel between the creditor and debtor at the time of repayment and they come to complain before an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla*, then even though there is a written promise, [the debtor] shall be made to pay interest at the rate of 10 rupees per 100. [The creditor] shall be permitted to receive neither grain in accordance with the deed of consent (*kabuliyata*), nor a monetary sum based on the sale value.

## 17. Repayment of Debt from Dowries

1. If [the livelihood of] a husband, his family and his male and female slaves is being maintained with [the help of] his wife's dowry, the husband's creditors shall not be permitted to take such a dowry, nor shall the government be permitted to confiscate it for a crime committed by her husband.

2. If a husband and a wife of his who possesses a dowry have been living [together], but there is no [other family member, such as] her mother-in-law, father-in-law, brothers-in-law, or co-wives [within the household], nor any other concubine being kept outside [the household], and if [the husband] incurs debt while supporting his wife, or supporting sons of hers or other members on her side of the family, the wife's dowry shall help to repay the debt. If the wife has family members on her husband's side, such as her mother-in-law, father-in-law, brothers-in-law or co-wives living in the same house [with her], it shall not be permitted to have the debt repaid [to any extent] from her dowry. The wife's dowry shall not go towards [making reparation for] mistakes made by her husband, be it that he commits a heinous crime (*rājakhata*), incurs debt while standing surety, or has unpaid loans [taken to repay] remaining [losses] while gambling. Whatever [part of] a dowry [is drawn on in any such cases] shall be restored to her.

3. If a husband gives to his wife a *jiunī* or *jeṭhāka* [share of his property, neither of] which should have been given [to her], it shall be used to repay a creditor. If one co-wife among others comes to complain that such and such a co-wife has received a *jiunī* or *jeṭhāka* share [in property] but she has received nothing, [the share] shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be divided among all co-wives. [A husband's] giving a *jiunī, jeṭhāka* or *pevā* [share of his property] to only one wife among 2–3 wives shall not be valid. The *kacaharī* office shall take 10 percent as [a court fee] from any case decided by an *adālata* or *amāla* office.

4. If someone incurs debt and later [transfers property of his] to his wife in writing as a *jiunī* or *jeṭhāka* share*,* such property given to her in writing without [first] repaying the debt shall not be valid. He shall [first] repay the debt. [The debtor] shall be made to repay [his loan] to the creditor.

5. If someone's wife is considering giving a significant [portion of her share of property as a] gift to her daughter, son-in-law or the like, and sets about doing so without [first] repaying a debt to a creditor, [she should know that the gift] shall be valid only if she has cleared her debt with the creditor before giving away a share of her property. A gift made without repaying the debt shall be considered invalid.

## 18. Creditors and Debtors

1. If a moneylender, landlord, *amālī*, *rakama* holder or *jimmāvāla* personally seizes real or movable property that he is to receive from the household of a borrower, tenant or subject, and if, after taking it, it turns out that he took less property than the total [amount] due him, then, if while taking it he has named the *pañca* [as witnesses] to assess its value, he shall be allowed to take later whatever [amount] is [still] outstanding according to the [revised] calculation. If neither the debtor, tenant nor subject gives [the property] on his own nor does [the creditor] name a third party from the village [as witness], and if [the creditor] personally seizes [the property] by force, then once he has personally seized it from the household of the debtor, tenant or subject, he shall not be allowed to take possession [of any further property] under the pretext of still having something left to collect, even if what he has collected is less than the total [amount owed].

2. If a borrower, tenant or subject does not clear an instalment on a [monetary] debt or [one in] standing crops which a moneylender, landlord, *amālī*, *rakama* holder or *jimmāvāla* is entitled to by an agreed deadline, and if [the creditor] personally seizes property from the borrower's or tenant's household, collecting [only] up to the total [amount] which he is entitled to after the price has been determined by the *pañca* and the latter have been named as witnesses, the moneylender, landlord [and so forth] shall not be held accountable. If the tenant, subject or borrower wishes to get back his property, he shall be allowed to do so if he comes to pay the amount within 35 days. He shall not be allowed to get it back after 35 days have passed.

3. If a moneylender, landlord, *amālī*, *rakama* holder or *jimmāvāla* personally seizes property from the household of a borrower, tenant or subject, while [simultaneously] collecting up to 10 percent interest beyond the total [amount] which he is entitled to, he shall not be held accountable. If [the debtor] comes to complain, then whatever has been collected beyond [the figure recorded in] the accounting shall be returned. If [the creditor] has personally seized more than the total [amount owed] plus 10 percent interest, the amount in question for the property collected in excess shall be reimbursed to the borrower, tenant or subject together with the interest. Ten percent (*dasauda*) and 20 percent (*bisauda*) of the amount in question shall be collected from that moneylender [and the like]. No [payment] shall be required of the borrower, tenant or subject.

4. If, in the case of a dispute over a transaction between a tenant and landlord, the tenant stops paying the amount [due], [the landlord] shall be compensated with property from [the tenant's] house. If the amount [recovered] through the seizure of property from [the tenant's] house is not sufficient, and if the landlord says, 'Imprison him. I will deduct 5 rupees [from what he owes] for every month of his prison term', [the tenant] shall be imprisoned after obtaining a written renouncement from the landlord [of the sum owed]. After the prison term is over, [the tenant] shall be set free. Once the landlord has sent [the tenant] to prison, he shall not be allowed to catch hold of him again, claiming that he has to take [an owed sum].

5. If a creditor in a matter involving a loan deed, land or the like takes a widowed or married wife and confines her in his home, an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* office shall collect 10 percent [of the debt] from the confined indebted woman and tear up the deed. The creditor shall forfeit the amount in question. If such a female debtor does not pay the amount [she owes] and if a bailiff has to be called upon, [the creditor] shall be allowed to collect the amount owed him by sending a female bailiff to the debtor's home and taking her into custody; he shall collect it [in this way]. If she comes to complain that she will not pay the amount, an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* shall investigate and she shall be made to pay what is ascertained to be lawfully owed. If it is ascertained that the amount is not owed, the creditor shall be beaten. If she has to pay some amount (*dhana*) but is unable to do so, a loan deed [specifying] the details and the deadline for the payment shall be prepared and she shall be let go.

6. If a creditor comes to complain that a debtor has not repaid an amount [taken as a loan], a debtor who has [sufficient] wealth shall repay [the loan] in the same form as he took it. If he does not have the cash, he shall pay from whatever he can raise from his land, *jāgira*, valuables, household articles, quadrupeds, male and female slaves or the like. If the debtor has no such things, the creditor shall set out a repayment plan. If the creditor does not set out a [repayment] plan, [the loan] shall be proportionally shared [among the coparceners of the debtor's family], even if the latter took out the loan on his own. If [the debtor] takes out a loan on his own and the creditor declares that he will set out a repayment plan, [the loan] shall not be proportionally shared [among the debtor's coparceners], even if the latter come to insist that it be so shared.

7. If someone gives a formal or informal loan to someone else's male or female slave, he shall not be permitted to confine this male or female slave and [thereby] to obstruct their owner's work. [The creditor] shall collect [his loan] whenever the male or female slave repays the amount. If [the creditor] confines [the male or female slave] and [thereby] obstructs the owner's work, he shall compensate the owner for the value of their labour with 4 *ānās* for as many days as he has obstructed the work. The male or female slave shall be handed over to their owner. [The creditor] shall be fined equal to the amount compensated for the value of their labour.

8. If a master takes and consumes the wealth of a male or female slave, and the male or female slave comes to complain, [the master] shall not be allowed to have used force [to obtain and then] to have consumed the wealth of the male or female slave. The amount consumed by the master together with interest, fixed at 10 percent, shall be collected from the master and reimbursed to his male or female slave. If a male or female slave dies without leaving a son, an

#### 18. Creditors and Debtors

*adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* shall not receive such property for which there is no son as heir. The master shall receive it.

9. If there is a dispute between a creditor and debtor concerning a loan with or without a loan deed or [concerning] a transaction recorded in a ledger (*bahīpatra*), and if interest was paid for 16 years or more, but later the payment of interest has stopped, such a transaction shall be deemed valid. [The debtor] shall be made to repay the creditor according to the account. If he has not been paying interest for 16 years or more, and if the transaction is from the time of his father or forefathers, and if the creditor takes the loan deed or ledger and comes to lay hold of him, and if witnesses who know about the transaction are still alive, and if [the creditor's claim] is proved when they are brought [before a judicial body] and made to give a statement, [the debtor] shall again be made to repay [the debt]. If [the creditor] has not received interest for 16 years or more, and if also sons and grandsons [of the debtor] have not heard about the transaction, and there is no witness from the time when the transaction occurred, and if the creditor refers to witnesses who are either already dead or have fled [from having to testify], such a creditor shall be deemed deceitful. [The debtor] need not repay the amount. 10 percent of whatever amount was seized shall be collected from such a deceitful creditor. If he does not pay the amount, he shall be imprisoned in accordance with the *Ain*. From the accused debtor shall be collected 2½ rupees as *salāmī*, and he shall be set free after a certificate of exoneration (*jitāpatra*) is issued. If he is accused of [defaulting on] less than 5 rupees, the certificate of exoneration shall be issued for 2 *ānās*.

10. If there is a dispute over a transaction between foreigners (*deśī*), 10 and 20 percent of whatever amount is decided as owed shall be collected [from the aggrieved party and the guilty party, respectively]. Neither a fine nor a winning fee (*jitāuri*) shall be collected.

11. If a [loan] transaction is recorded in the creditor's account book, and if both parties to the transaction are still alive, [any] dispute shall be decided after the documents of both have been inspected. If those who concluded the transaction die and if [someone] comes to seize [property], saying to [the debtor's] sons, 'I have to collect such and such [an amount]', and if there are witnesses who know about the account book relating to both (i.e. the creditor and debtor) and about the transaction, [the debtor's sons] shall be made to repay whatever is deemed proper. If there is neither an account book nor people who know about the transaction, the [self-proclaimed] creditor shall be deemed deceitful, and [the debtor's sons] need not pay anything. Such a creditor shall be fined at the rate of 2½ rupees per 100.

12. If, without the knowledge of the husband, or of a son past the age of 16, someone lends an amount to the wife or concubine of the man who according to the *Ain* has the right to kill a paramour of his wife, having drawn up a loan deed [secured by collateral in the form of] cash or kind, [including] jewellery, quadrupeds or male or female slaves, or if he buys [any such items from her], such a creditor shall not be repaid from the earnings of her husband or son. The credit shall be repaid from that wife's dowry and personal property. Whatever sales are made or loans taken by that wife shall not be valid. If the dowry or private property does not suffice for the loan repayment, such a wife shall not be imprisoned.

13.

14. If someone's wife, daughter-in-law or daughter sells [property] or recovers [a debt], such a transaction shall be valid if the master of the house has issued a written statement 181 that he consents to the transaction made by her.

15. If a debtor who does not pay back a loan given by a moneylender or the like is to be confined, [the creditor] shall put him neither into a drainage, latrine, fetters, stocks nor leather straps. Nor shall he tie him up. He may recover his wealth by putting him into his service for however long it takes, providing him with food and water, and locking him up or confining him in a room or on the ground floor. He shall not be held accountable [for doing this].

16. In the case of a loan given to another person, if [the creditor]—once the accounts are cleared, the loan is recovered and the loan deed or written papers are torn up—makes a forged loan deed or written papers regarding the same matter and lays hold of the debtor or the debtor's son, family, or an brother, claiming that a certain amount is outstanding, or makes the debtor write another deed and [goes on] dunning him for the money, then [the creditor] shall be fined equal to the total amount seized. The debtor shall be set free after 1 rupee per 100 is collected and a certificate of exoneration is issued.

17. If someone has many creditors, and if one of these creditors lays hold of the debtor and confines him, and if under such circumstances another creditor or someone else lays hold of that debtor and takes him away, and if it is ascertained that the debtor died in the house of the creditor who last laid hold of him and took him away, he who forcibly laid hold of and took away [the debtor] after he had already been confined by someone else shall be fined heavily. The creditor who last laid hold of and took away [the debtor] shall not be obliged to repay money that should have been repaid by the deceased debtor.

18. If someone has many creditors, and one [of them] lays hold and confines [the debtor], and if another creditor removes him from the place where he is being confined and confines him again, and if it is ascertained that [the debtor] fled from that place without having paid his debt, the creditor from whose house he fled shall be fined heavily. Such a creditor shall not be obliged to repay the amount owed to the other creditor. If it is ascertained that he laid hold of and took

181 *ṣat*, read *lekhata* (MA2).

#### 18. Creditors and Debtors

away [the debtor] from the place where he had been already confined by someone else, collected all his [loans] and let [the debtor] run away, he who let [the debtor] run away shall be obliged to repay the entire [amount owed] to the creditor who had first confined [him]. Ten and 20 percent shall be collected [as court fees].

19. If someone has many creditors and one [of them] takes away and confines [the debtor], being the first to do so, and if [the debtor] flees from that place, is given permission [to leave], or is found to have departed and to be roaming about for no apparent reason, and if another creditor lays hold of him and takes him away, and if, while the second [creditor] is holding him, neither any person [from the side] of the creditor who previously held him nor any bailiff is present, he who previously held [the debtor] shall not be allowed to claim that he had [first] laid hold of him [and is therefore entitled to be the first to collect his loan]. He who is the last one to hold [the debtor] shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be allowed to collect his property [from the debtor first].

20. If someone has many creditors and if one of these creditors lays hold of and confines [the debtor], and if someone else forcibly removes [the debtor] from the place the [other] has confined him in and takes him away, and if that debtor dies or flees, and if the [first creditor] comes to complain [to authorities] within 7 days after the [second creditor] took [the debtor] away, the case shall be settled in accordance with the *Ain*. If it is ascertained that he did not come to complain when the debtor confined by him was laid hold of and taken away by the other [creditor], but rather came to complain more than 7 days after he became aware of the [debtor's] death or escape, his complaint shall not be heard.

21. [This section is] cancelled.

MA2 20.21. If someone advances or takes a loan, having accepted or given something as a usufructuary or non-usufructuary mortgage, or having drawn a loan deed without security, and if the creditor, during the repayment of the loan by the debtor, [falsely] demands more than [what was advanced] in total, stating 'I have to collect this much [credit from him], and if the debtor [counter]argues and decreases [whatever has been claimed by the creditor], stating 'I have to pay you this much [only]. I am not required to pay more than this', and if the creditor brings the loan deed, witnesses and other evidence to the *kacaharī* office and satisfies [the jury members], the debtor shall be forced to repay only the principal sum, if the creditor has been enjoying the land he accepted as mortgage. If he has not been enjoying the mortgage, the debtor shall be forced to pay both the principal sum and interest. If the creditor fails to prove [the amount he claimed in excess] through the loan agreement, witnesses and other evidence, the debtor shall be made to pay the principal sum and interests as the debtor himself stated.

## 19. Taking Collateral

1. If a creditor, advancing money or the like as a loan, in doing so writes a person or land [into the agreement] as collateral, and if the debtor is unable to pay the interest, the interest of some years remaining due, [so that] the debtor gives [the collateral] as a usufruct to the creditor in written form for the total [amount] including the [remaining] interest from earlier, declaring, 'I could not pay the interest. Make use of the person [or land] written [into the agreement]', then if that [debtor later] comes to redeem [the collateral], [the creditor] shall collect the total amount according to the written document and release the land or person.

2. If a creditor, advancing money as a loan, in doing so writes a person, land or the like [into the agreement] as collateral, and if the creditor, in the case where the debtor is unable to pay the interest, seizes the collateral and makes use of it without having [the debtor] convey a usufruct in writing, and if later the debtor comes to pay the amount in question, [the creditor] shall release the land or person after collecting the amount in question according to the written document. He shall not be allowed to collect the interest [that accumulates] after he starts making use of the collateral, declaring that it remains outstanding from the time before he started making such use.

3. If in the case of a transaction involving a commodity or the like someone borrows the item with an agreed deadline [for its return], irrespective of whether a deal was reached as to the amount charged or not, and if he [returns it and] pays the amount charged by the agreed deadline, the creditor shall not receive any interest on the commodity lent out. If [the debtor] is not able to return it by the deadline, [the creditor], after the deadline has passed, shall be allowed to collect it along with an interest of 10 percent from the day the deadline passed. [The debtor] shall return [the item] along with an interest of 10 percent according to the deal reached, if a deal was reached, or, if no deal was reached, according to a suitable charge as determined by the *pañca* or the *kacaharī* office. The *kacaharī* shall collect [as court fee] 10 and 20 percent of [the amount charged for] the returned item.

4. If in a business transaction before the 15th of the bright fortnight of Kārttika in the year [VS] 1908 the government, a *kampu*, the regular army (*jaṅgī*), civil servants, foreigners, nobles, common subjects or the like entered into a loan agreement on the basis of [concrete] figures, with or without a written agreement and upon the mutual consent between creditor and debtor, then whatever the rate of interest offered and accepted during negotiations—that same figure

#### 19. Taking Collateral

shall be valid for transactions that have already been concluded. If an interest rate of more than 10 percent is written into the agreement but the transaction has not yet taken place, [the debtor] shall pay [only] an interest rate of 10 percent. In cases where more [than 10 percent] interest is written into an agreement before this date, no fine shall be imposed. If after the 1st of the dark fortnight of Mārga in the year [VS] [190]8 somebody comes to complain that [his creditor] has been taking more than 10 percent interest and also the ghee fee (*ghiukhānī*)182, then even though [an interest of] more than 10 percent is written into the agreement between the creditor and debtor, the transaction shall be carried out with [an interest] rate of 10 percent. If an interest rate of more than 10 percent is written into the agreement and if [the creditor] takes the ghee fee as a perquisite, the amount taken [as such a fee] shall be deducted from the principal sum. [The creditor] shall be fined by whatever [amount] is ascertained as having exceeded an interest [rate] of 10 percent. If he does not pay the fined amount, he shall be imprisoned at the rate of 1 month for every 5 rupees. When interest is being paid, it shall be paid in whatever type of rupee [the loan] was taken out in. If the loan agreement is older than 10 years and the creditor has not received any interest, [the debtor] shall be made to pay double [the principal]. If [the creditor] cannot recover [his loan] from the debtor in the same form he took it, and if [the debtor] declares that he will pay the loan from what he possesses—house, land or movables—the creditor shall take it after [its value] has been appraised by the *pañca*. If an *adālata*, *amāla* or *ṭhānā* office is needed to make [the debtor] pay, 10 percent shall be collected from the creditor and 20 percent from the debtor [as a court fee], and the outstanding sum shall be paid—[respectively] received and given.

5. [This section is] cancelled.

MA2 21.5 [From now onwards when the Tahabīla [or any other office of] the government does the [final] accounting of a written loan transaction between a creditor and debtor among the [kingdom's] subjects, no compound interest shall be [allowed to be] taken. [A maximum] interest of 10 percent shall be taken. The [final] accounting shall be done and the transaction concluded by returning any excess in the amount that exists as such after deducting up to [10 percent] interest on the money that has repaid the loan. If the [loan period] exceeds 10 years, [maximum] interest of double [the principal] for cash and triple for grain shall be paid. [The creditor] shall not be allowed to take more.]

6. When lending money, one shall lend to persons belonging to one's own country. No one shall lend money to and take interest [on it] from persons from Mugalāna, except for those of one's own country [who live there]. If a debtor [from a foreign realm] commits fraud, [the creditor] shall not be allowed to recover the loan by lodging a complaint at an *adālata* of his own government.

182 Lit. '[something given] for eating ghee'. According to NBŚ (s.v. *ghiu*-*khānī*) this was a payment to a creditor, supplementary to the repayment of the principal and interest, in order to supply him with ghee.

7. The people of this country shall not take [ownership of] any land of Mugalāna from the 12th of the dark fortnight of Śrāvaṇa in the year [VS] 1911 onward.183 Nor shall anyone deposit any amount with the Company [Government] for interest. No *jāgira*, *rakama* or so forth shall be given to anyone who deposits an amount with the Company [Government] for interest or who takes [ownership of] land in Mugalāna. If a *jāgira* has been assigned to such a person, he shall be dismissed [from it]. Disputes having to do with Mugalāna shall not be heard here.

8. If someone takes a person or land as either non-usufructuary (*dṛṣṭi*) or usufructuary collateral from an individual, and if [that creditor] out of need gives it out to another person as collateral at the same value for which he accepted it, and if the one who initially gave his land as collateral comes to pay off the amount in question [to redeem his pledge], the second one to take the collateral shall be obliged to accept the amount in question [for the pledge]. He shall not be allowed to say, 'I will accept the amount in question [only] on my date.'

#### **The regulation in the case where a creditor for the sum he is to recover seizes unmortgaged land belonging to the debtor and the interest he takes [by exploiting that land] either falls short of or exceeds [what he is entitled to collect as interest]:**

9. If, in the case of a transaction between a debtor and creditor, the creditor has been using land [belonging to the debtor] which has not been written into the loan agreement as usufructuary or non-usufructuary, and if [the creditor] receives his interest [on his loan] at the rate of 10 percent or less than 10 percent from the yield of that land, later on, once he has [finished] using the land, he shall not be allowed to take [it back] from the debtor, declaring that the interest [payment received up till then] is not sufficient. If [the creditor] receives interest at a rate of more than 10 percent, whatever he receives in excess shall be deducted from the principal sum, and [the debtor] shall pay whatever is left of the principal. Once a creditor [finishes] using [a debtor's] land when the latter fails to pay interest, [the debtor] shall not be allowed to argue that he has not written [the land] into the loan agreement.

183 This date is four months after the promulgation of the *Ain*. A transition period is thus given before the new law comes into force.

1. If in a written loan agreement someone assigns *birtā* land of his to a creditor as nonusufructuary or usufructuary collateral and the government seizes it, or else land written into a loan agreement as collateral falls to the government because one of them, either the creditor or debtor, has all his property confiscated, the creditor shall not be allowed to collect [the loan] by laying hold of the debtor's offspring. If the land is released or [other] land is received in exchange [for it], the creditor shall [be allowed to] recover [his loan] from this land. If anyone comes to file a case in such a matter, he shall be fined 20 rupees and let go.

2. If someone takes a loan from a creditor and signs over *birtā* land of his own as a [usufructuary] mortgage, [the creditor] shall collect the interest from revenue from the land, and revenue in excess of [the interest] shall be deducted from the principal sum. If [a debtor] writes land of his [as security into the mortgage] and gives up his own right to use it (*māsnu*), declaring that as long as the amount owed the creditor is not recovered from the revenue from the land, [he, the debtor,] shall not redeem [the mortgage] by paying the amount in question [on his own], and that the creditor shall make use of the land for as long as the amount in question is not paid off from the standing crops [on it]. As long as the amount in question is not paid off from the revenue of that land, the debtor shall not be allowed to redeem [the mortgage] by paying off the sum [on his own]. Once the amount owed the creditor is completely paid off, the loan agreement shall be torn up.

3. If a creditor takes the usufruct of a person or land and recovers the amount owed [him] by conveying the land to someone else, he shall be allowed to do so [if], when recovering the amount in question, [he does so] in accordance with the loan agreement. If the creditor conveys the collateral, by taking a higher amount than what [has been noted down] in the loan agreement, he shall be made compensate the amount in question he collected to the first mortgagor and shall be fined equal to the damages [to the debtor].

4. If a transaction involves the usufructuary mortgage of land, first investigate [the land] and [only then] accept [the terms relating to] it. Once a creditor uses the land, he shall not be allowed to harass or coerce the debtor over the amount owed, claiming that the land is deficient or less [than promised].

5. If a house, paddy land, or any other [type of] land, a male or female slave, or a male or female bondservant is put up as collateral in a secured transaction, then whatever arrangements

regarding a month and day due date are made under *baḍhakarāra* terms as part of the transaction, on that day the debtor shall pay off the debt and redeem [the pledge]. The transaction shall be made (i.e. formulated) accordingly. [The pledge] shall not be allowed to be redeemed before the due date is reached. Neither the creditor nor the debtor shall exert any pressure [to breach the contract] before the due date is reached. A debtor who comes to pay off the amount owed before the due date has arrived or a creditor who exerts pressure [on the debtor] before the due date has arrived shall be fined at the rate of 20 rupees per 100. If the fined amount is not paid, [the defaulter] shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be imprisoned at the rate of 1 month for every 5 rupees [of the fined amount].

6. If someone puts up land, a house, paddy land, quadrupeds, a male or female slave, household articles, gold [and silver] or jewellery as collateral in a written deed in the presence of witnesses, and if his consanguineal male family members who have a rightful claim [to the pledge], or else consanguineal male family members who are entitled to inherit his property in the absence of male issue declare that they will redeem [the pledge] by paying off the [loan] sum in accordance with what is in writing, such rightful heirs shall be allowed to redeem it by paying off the amount owed only if the creditor or the creditor's offspring give [consent that shall be valid] for as long as they live. [The debtor's heirs] shall not be allowed to redeem [the pledge] if [the creditor or his offspring] do not give [such consent].

If neither the creditor nor offspring of his have survived, those who are entitled to inherit [the debtor's] property in the absence of male issue shall be allowed to redeem the pledge by paying off the owed amount, given by a third party (*desi*). Let [such rightful heirs] redeem it. If someone after 16 years comes to file a case, stating that such and such a consanguineal family member—of the same or a previous generation—pledged such and such a thing and that they are entitled to redeem it, it shall be returned [to them] if [their claim] is confirmed through an investigation of the deed (*patra*) and parties involved (*pātra*). If [the creditor or offspring of his] have been receiving interest, [the pledge] shall be returned [to the rightful heirs of the debtor], even if there is neither a deed nor a witness. If [the creditor or the offspring] have been receiving no interest and there is neither a deed nor a witness to confirm [the claim], [the claim] shall be dismissed. [The claimants] shall be told that they will not be receive [the pledge] back and be fined at the rate of 10 rupees per 100 of the total claimed amount. If they do not pay the fined amount, they shall be imprisoned 1 month for every 5 rupees [fined].

7. If a loan is transacted by pledging commodities, the transaction shall be made by recording the price and weight of the commodity in the loan agreement. If the debtor comes to redeem the commodity by paying off the amount owed, and if the creditor returns the commodity in its original condition, [the debtor] shall pay the creditor the principal along with [the maximum] 10 percent interest [on it], in line with the accounting. If the creditor is not able to return the pledged commodity [in its original condition] or uses it as a means of payment, the creditor shall not be allowed to take interest. If a surplus for the debtor turns up in the accounting, the surplus amount including interest shall be calculated starting from the date of the agreement and shall

be reimbursed to the debtor. The *kacaharī* office shall collect 10 and 20 percent [as court fees] from the reimbursed amount.

8. If someone puts up a house, paddy land, human chattel or [any other type of] land as collateral, and if he goes to redeem it and the creditor declares, 'I will let you redeem [the collateral] if the amount [brought to pay off the loan] is from your income or [income from your] household. [If so,] take it. I will not let you redeem it if the amount you brought is from somebody else', then if [the debtor] comes to complain [to authorities] that [the creditor] does not accept [repayment of] the amount [owed], the creditor shall be [told that he is] obliged to accept [the repayment] once [the debtor] has raised the amount in question and given it [to him], no matter where he has brought it from. If the debtor comes to complain that the creditor is wrangling and refuses to accept [repayment of] the amount [owed], [the creditor] shall be fined 10 rupees per 100 and the matter shall be settled by having [the creditor] pay [the fine] and [the debtor] pay off [his debt]. The document in which the details [of the agreement] are written down shall be torn up. An *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* office shall collect 10 and 20 percent of the [repaid] amount in question [as a fee]. If [the debtor] has given word in writing that he will redeem [the collateral] by producing the [owed] amount from his own [resources], not from someone else's, he shall be allowed to redeem [the collateral] by paying the amount in question, even if he has produced it from someone else's. The creditor shall not be fined 10 rupees. Only 10 and 20 percent from the repaid amount in question shall be collected [as a fee].

9. If a creditor accepts a paddy field under a usufructuary mortgage and if on the land so used flooding or a landslide occurs, he shall not be allowed to collect the amount [owed] from the debtor. If that land turns into an alluvial paddy field (*bagara*), it shall become the creditor's.

10. If under a usufructuary loan agreement someone takes a loan from a creditor and signs over [real property]—such as land [of any type], a house or paddy land—[or such moveable property] in cash or kind as male or female slaves, quadrupeds, gold, silver, household articles or jewellery, [specifying] the due date [for repayment], placing witnesses and stating, 'I will redeem my things by paying the principal sum and accrued interest on such and such a date. If I am unable to repay the amount by the due date, the creditor shall take possession of the land or [other] things signed over [as usufructuary collateral] for the amount in question', the debtor shall not be allowed to redeem [the collateral] once the due date has passed. The creditor shall be allowed to take possession of it. Once the due date has passed, the creditor shall be allowed to sell and use the land or the [moveable] cash or kind [property]—the jewellery, quadrupeds, male or female slaves and so forth—which were signed over.

11. If someone exchanges [with someone else] such chattel as male or female slaves, land, quadrupeds or jewellery, either with witnesses present or by mutual consent, then once they have completed the exchange by mutual consent and have made use of [the chattel] neither party shall be allowed to return [what he has taken] but refuse to accept back [what he has given] on the grounds that it [has become] deficient or unusable. The previously completed exchange shall be valid.

He who later comes to contest [the matter] shall be fined 10 percent of the [assessed] amount in question. If he does not pay the fined amount, he shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be imprisoned.

12. When one engages in a transaction involving such things as male or female slaves, quadrupeds and land, if the commodities or quadrupeds are handed over to the [buyer] on the day when the price is settled or earnest money is paid, and if a loan agreement is drawn up, the buyer's [claim to] the commodity shall be valid. [The buyer] shall pay the principal sum and interest according to the written deed. If [the buyer] pays earnest money but the commodity remains at the seller's house, and if he who has paid the earnest money does not pay the [whole purchase] price and take the commodity within 1 month, he shall not be allowed to take it later on. The owner of the commodity shall be allowed to use the commodity. He who contests the matter after 1 month, arguing that he has paid earnest money shall be fined 5 rupees per 100 of the [purchase] amount. If he does not pay the fined amount, he shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be imprisoned.

13. If one of the brothers who are living together without partitioning the property sells a male or female slave, a house or paddy land without consulting the other brothers, but in doing so sells only his own share, leaving the shares of his other [brothers] untouched, the transaction shall be valid. It shall be valid even if he sells the other brothers' shares, [if done] to support his family. If he sells [the property] to meet personal expenses and without leaving the other brother's share untouched, it shall not be valid; the [purchase] amount shall be returned to the buyer and the male or female slave, house or paddy land with adjacent paddy land shall be returned [to the seller's joint family].

14. If someone receives paddy and unirrigated slope land (*pākho*) under a written usufructuary or non-usufructuary loan agreement, and advances the [agreed] amount as a loan, and if later on the paddy land is seized by the government and only the unirrigated slope land remains, or else the unirrigated slope land is seized by the government and the paddy land remains, and if the debtor comes to say, 'I will deduct proportionally [from the loan] the amount for the land which was seized and will repay the amount only for as much land as remains. Release the [former] land [from the agreement]', the creditor shall not be allowed to say that he will release the land only if the total [credit] amount in question is repaid. He shall receive the amount under a proportional reckoning and release the [seized] land [from the agreement].

> MA2 22.14a. If someone receives a paddy field and an unirrigated slope (*pākho*) under a written usufructuary or non-usufructuary loan agreement, and advances the [agreed] amount as a loan, and if later on the paddy field is seized by the government and only the unirrigated slope remains, the debtor shall not be allowed to argue that he will deduct proportionally [from the loan] the amount for the paddy field which was seized and will repay the amount only for the unirrigated slope that remains and release it [from the agreement]. He shall be allowed to redeem his unirrigated slope only after he repays the total amount of his debt. He shall not be allowed to redeem it by proportionally repaying the sum only for the unirrigated slope.

## 21. On Proportional Division [in Cases of Insolvency]

1. If the proportional division of someone's [property] has to be arranged, then once the proportional division of [the value of] the debtor's land has got underway—[land] accepted [by the creditor] under a non-usufructuary or usufructuary mortgage, irrespective of whether the government or commoners [gave the loan]—then the amount lent under the mortgage shall be put aside for the creditor, and if the value of the land as determined by the *pañca* exceeds [the sum owed], the total surplus shall be divided proportionally [amongst all creditors]. Ten and 20 percent shall be collected from the recovered amount [as a court fee].

2. If, in the case of a transaction a creditor has made in person, he does not [at first] receive anything from the debtor, and [so] declares that he will recover [the loan] once the debtor starts earning—having neither confined nor put pressure on [the debtor]—and if such a profligate debtor comes and asks [the creditor] to undertake a proportional division, a proportional division shall not take place just because [the debtor] comes [to ask for it], having not been put under any pressure by the creditor [to do so]. One shall not allow it to be done.

3. If someone says, 'Many creditors hanging over [me]. Make a proportional division', and if his creditors agree to do so, the *Harivaṃśa*184 shall be put on the debtor's head, he shall be taken to [a shrine of] Kāla Bhairava or [the shrine of] the local deity or else to a river in order to take [the following] oath: 'This much is whatever I have. Apart from this, I have neither hidden nor buried any other thing.' He shall be made to write [the oath] down, all the creditors shall be assembled and whatever has been determined as being the totality [of the debtor's property] shall be divided proportionally [amongst the creditors].

4. If someone has many creditors whom his father had taken upon [himself], and if his property is not sufficient [to clear his debts], then if in such a [case] a creditor takes some of [the debtor's] possessions, seizing and retaining any property of his except for mortgaged nonusufructuary or usufructuary [land] or [other] collateral recorded in the deed, and if some [other creditors] do not get anything and come to complain, the possessions seized and retained shall be returned, [an accounting] of his entire property shall be made and it shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be proportionally divided amongst all the creditors.

184 For a description on this oath, see the Introduction, p. 74.

5. If a debtor who, having been forced to divide [his property] proportionally [among his creditors] in court cases involving the government or in transactions with commoners, hides cash, kind, human chattel, land or the like, and if someone else later on finds [the hidden property] and brings it [to the concerned authority], then that person who found and brought it shall receive as much [of it] as needed to cover his loan. It shall be given to him. If there is any surplus, it shall be divided among the other creditors at a proportional rate. If the debtor who hides his wealth in order to cheat the government or to ruin his creditor, he shall be fined the value of the hidden [wealth]. If he cannot pay [the fine], he shall be imprisoned 1 month for every 5 rupees [fined] until it is paid off.

6. If someone has a large amount of debt and dies without having paid it off, or if he goes to another region or a foreign land and there is wealth or possessions [of his left behind], and if his creditors or the like declare that they will make a proportional division [of his property] and take it, no creditor or the like including the government shall be allowed to make a proportional division [of his property] and take it in the absence of any person who has an [outstanding] loan or arrears [owed by him], or of any [other] rightful claimant to his property. If the person in arrears or in debt dies and there is no [absent] rightful claimant to his property, and if [his debt] is verified, all creditors or the like are allowed to make a proportional division [of his property] and take it. If a usufructuary or non-usufructuary [loan agreement] has been drawn up, whatever sum is in excess of its assessed value, along with any other wealth or possessions, but not the usufructuary or non-usufructuary [pledge itself], shall be proportionally divided and taken. Any [remaining] excess after paying off the creditors shall come into the possession of the government.

7. If a creditor comes to complain, saying, 'I am entitled to recover so and so much [debt] from such and such a person', and if he takes hold of the debtor [and brings him before the authorities], and the debtor says that he is not able to pay the debt, and if [thereupon] the creditor says that he will take half [the amount owed] from the [debtor's] property and give a deadline for [repayment of] the other half, then the *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* office shall seize the debtor's property and disburse half of his wealth to the creditor. A loan agreement [specifying] a deadline for whatever is ascertained as remaining due to the creditor shall be drawn up.

8. If a creditor comes to complain, saying, 'I am entitled to recover so and so much [debt] from such and such a person', and if he takes hold of the debtor and brings him in, and the debtor says that he is not able to pay the debt, and if—the debtor's property being little and the debt [owed] to the creditor much—the creditor declares that he will recover [whatever he can] from whatever property the debtor possesses, the *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* shall seize the debtor's entire property and give it to the creditor. Once the creditor takes the debtor's entire property, irrespective of however much he was entitled to recover, he shall not be allowed to take hold of the debtor again. The loan agreement shall be torn up. Ten and 20 percent shall be collected [as a fee] from the creditor. The debtor is not required to pay [any fee].

#### 21. On Proportional Division [in Cases of Insolvency]

9. If a creditor comes to complain, saying, 'I am entitled to recover so and so much [debt] from such and such a person' and if he takes hold of the debtor and brings him in, and the debtor says that he is not able to pay the debt, and if it turns out, before any compensation is arranged from whatever [the debtor] possesses, that there are other creditors, and if the creditors come to state [their claims] or the debtor himself states that he has other amounts owed, and if some of the creditors declare that they will give a deadline [to the debtor for repayment], while other creditors declare that they will recover [whatever they can] from whatever [the debtor] possesses, the *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* shall seize the debtor's property and give it to the creditors who declared that they would recover [their debt] according to a proportional division [of the debtor's property], and [then] the loan agreement shall be torn up. The creditors who declared that they would give a deadline [to the debtor] shall have official documents drawn up spelling out the debtor's responsibilities and containing the following detail: 'Whenever he earns and is able to repay, then I will recover [my loan].'

## 22. On a Father's Division of Property among Sons

1. If someone has only one wife and has many sons with her, and if [the sons] split off from their father and mother, they shall receive their [paternal] share only if it pleases their father to partition [the property] and give [it to them]. If the father declares, 'I will not give the [paternal] share as long as I am alive', the sons shall not force their father [to do so]. It shall be up to the father. If [the father] has sons from several wives, and if he favours [the sons] from one of his wives and derides those of another, and if a derided son declares, 'I shall split off [from the family]', he shall be allowed to do so. [The father] shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, give the son his [paternal] share. If an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* office arranges the partition, 10 percent of the share [received by the son] shall be collected.

2. Whether a mother declares, 'I shall divide the property given me by my husband (*gharako dhana*) and my dowry among all my sons' or, 'I shall give it to nobody as long as I am alive', [the decision] is the mother's. The sons shall not force [the matter]. When a mother's property is partitioned after her death, all sons shall receive their share from her share of her husband's property. With regard to her dowry, all the sons shall be entitled to a share of it if the mother herself wrote down the following statement: 'Divide and enjoy it.' If that was not written down, the son who stays with his mother and takes proper care of her shall be entitled to it.

3. If [someone's] father dies while his natural mother is [still] living, and the son quarrels [with her] over his [paternal] share, the son shall not be allowed to claim his [paternal] share as long as his mother is [still] living. [Only] after their mother's death shall sons be entitled to it. If [the natural mother] and the father, too, have died, and a stepmother is [still] living, and the sons quarrel [with her] over the [paternal] share, the [paternal] property shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be partitioned among the stepmother and the sons.

4. If the sons declare, 'We will not take the parental share and split off [from the household now, but] will take the [parental] share [only] after the death of our father and mother', the father and mother must not forcibly split up [the household], declaring, 'Take your [parental] share and split off [from the household].' Even if [the parents] come to complain at an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla*, the [parental] property shall not be partitioned.

5. If someone has sons from around 2–3 wives and if the father, in accordance with the *Ain*, divides the property among them by placing the required family members and village notables as

#### 22. On a Father's Division of Property among Sons

witnesses, and if the father himself lives together with one of the wives and her sons, having taken his own share, the property necessary for his subsistence (*jiunī*), then it is not within the power of the [other] wives and sons who have taken their share and live separately to claim the father's share of the property necessary for his subsistence. A son who stays with his father, irrespective of whether he is legitimate or illegitimate, shall be entitled to receive everything that his father owns, irrespective of whether it has increased or decreased.

6. If someone divides the property among his sons and neither a guru, a house priest (*purohita*) nor any family member is placed [as witness], and if he keeps a larger share of the houses, paddy fields and [moveable] property [than sanctioned] under the *Ain*, and gives some sons only a small share and makes them live separately, while keeping some sons with him from the beginning, or else if he lives separately for some days or years after making his sons move away and later on [re]joins [the household] of some sons, then after the death of the father and mother the houses, paddy fields and [moveable] property kept by the father and mother and the share of property earlier given to the sons by the father and mother shall be revalued. The property shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be divided among the sons who are living together and those who were made to move away after the partition, inasmuch as previously the father and mother did not divide the property accurately in accordance with the *Ain*. The *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* shall collect 10 percent of the [re]distributed shares.

7. If a husband or father divides the property among his wives and sons who are from a caste conformable to his own and from whose hands cooked rice is acceptable, and if he, out of favouritism, gives a bigger share to some wives and sons and a lesser share to other wives and sons, and if the sons whose caste status is conformable to his own and have received their shares are in the one case many, and in the other case few, and if there is a dispute among the half brothers after the property has been divided among them and [some] come to complain at an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla*, then if it is ascertained that earlier the property was divided out of favouritism, the property shall be [re]divided among the sons and wives in accordance with the *Ain*.

8. Once common property—*birtās*, houses, paddy fields, male or female slaves, quadrupeds, debtors' [obligations] and the like—are divided among brothers, irrespective of whether [the division is carried out] in the presence of witnesses or [in the form of] a written deed, and all are satisfied, then if, after they have taken their shares and split off [from the household], there is a dispute among the brothers, [with such] arguments as: 'My share was impacted by a flood, landslide or an act of God' or 'My share is small or of bad quality', they shall not be allowed to divide the property again once the property has been divided, [the respective shares] have been chosen and [claims on others' shares] have been abandoned. The earlier partition of property is valid. A person who comes to complain regarding such a matter shall be fined 5 rupees per 100 of the total amount claimed. If he does not pay the [fined] amount, he shall be imprisoned in accordance with the *Ain*.

9. If, when property is being divided among a father [and his] sons, classificatory brothers, wives, grandsons or the sons or wives of his brothers, the property is divided with his own guru, house priest, classificatory brothers or bosom friend being placed [as witnesses], and if those who receive a share are satisfied and accept the deed of partition by signing or stamping it, the partition becomes valid. It shall not be rescinded through litigation.

10. If, when property is being divided among a father and his sons, classificatory brothers, wives, grandsons or the sons or wives of his brothers, the property is divided with his own guru, house priest, classificatory brothers or a bosom friend being placed [as witnesses], and if someone who receives a share has signed or stamped the deed of partition [but] neither accepts the deed of partition nor takes his share of property because he is not satisfied with some matter, this deed of partition does not become valid. If [the other family members] say, 'Excluding what has been spent for the maintenance of our livelihood, we have this much wealth and possessions from our father and forefathers after totalling gains and losses; we have not hidden or concealed [anything]', both parties shall be made to undergo an ordeal (*dharma bhakāunu*), and whatever [the amount of] property ascertained is shall be divided in accordance with the *Ain*. Any debt accrued or wealth earned after separation from the household is that of each individual [heir].

11. If, when property is being divided up, someone undergoes an ordeal after saying, 'Our wealth and possessions are this much; we have neither hidden nor concealed [anything]', but later on it is ascertained that he has hidden or concealed wealth or possessions, then he who hid it and underwent an ordeal shall not be entitled to that wealth or those possessions. The other heirs shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, divide the [hidden] property and enjoy it.

## 23. On Partition of Property

**The regulation applicable to the distribution of parental property, marriage expenses and repayment of debts among the following [categories of] wives, and the offspring born to them, who belong to any of the Four Varṇas and Thirty-six castes: ritually married wives, virgin girls or widows brought into [the household], women brought into [the household] after adultery has been committed [with them], virgin girls of lower caste status than that [of the head of the household] who were brought into [the household] after a ritual marriage, women brought in by [a head of a household] who is her third sexual partner, common women brought into a household by [a head of it] who is their fourth or higher number sexual partner, or virgin girls, common women, female bondservants, virgin female slaves and enslaved common women kept as wives:**

#### *Particulars*

1. [All] the following categories of wives, their sons and [the head of the household] himself shall have an equal share in the joint property: a woman brought into [the household] through ritual marriage (irrespective of whether or not cooked rice is accepted from her hands); her offspring; and a virgin girl, a widow or [a woman] with whom [the head of the household] has committed adultery, [all of whom] have been brought into [the household] with a caste status comparable [with that of its head] and from [all of] whom fellow commensals accept cooked rice.

2. If [someone] has brought a virgin girl [into the household] from a Sacred Threadwearing caste lower than his own; or else a widow or [a woman] with whom he has committed adultery, [either of whom] was brought into [the household] from a caste comparable [with his], but from whom he himself and his fellow commensals do not accept cooked rice, then each such wife and [each such] offspring born to them, irrespective of their number, shall be given ¼ of the share [of the joint property] that proper (*sadya*, i.e. ritually married) wives and their sons, irrespective of their number, receive.

3. If someone from a Sacred Thread-wearing caste brings [into the household] a virgin girl or widow from a caste whose members do not wear the Sacred Thread, or else a woman with whom he has committed adultery, and if he himself, his fellow commensals and his family members do not accept cooked rice from them, each such wife and her sons, irrespective of their number, shall be given ⅕ of the share [of the joint property] that the wives from whom cooked rice is acceptable and their sons, irrespective of their number, receive.

4. The wife of someone who brings her [into the household and thereby becomes] her third sexual partner—she and her sons, irrespective of their number, shall each be given ⅛ of the share [of the joint property] that proper wives from whom rice is acceptable and their sons receive.

5. Virgin female slaves or virgin female bondservants kept as wives, and the sons born to them, shall each be given ⅙ of the share [of the joint property] that proper wives and their sons, irrespective of their number, each receive.

6. If someone releases a maid or female slave of his house who has [earlier] had illicit sexual intercourse with only one person from servitude and keeps her as a wife, she and her offspring shall each be given ⅟10 of the share [of the joint property] that proper wives and their sons each receive.

7. If someone takes a slave-common woman or a bondservant-common woman as wife when travelling on the outside but neither brings her into his own household nor looks for a room to keep her [nearby], such a common woman [who has become] a wife and sons born to her shall each be given 2½ rupees for every 100 rupees that proper wives and their sons, irrespective of their number, each receive.

8. If an Upādhyāya Brahmin ritually marries a daughter of someone belonging to any of the [lower] Sacred Thread-wearing castes, such as a Rajapūta or Jaisī, and takes her away [to his house, such a wife and her sons shall receive a share [of the joint property] equal to that of proper wives from whose hands rice is acceptable and their sons, inasmuch as [she has undergone] a ritual marriage. There shall be no obligation to accept cooked rice from her.

9. If someone belonging to a Rajapūta caste ritually marries a daughter of someone belonging to a Rajapūta caste whose status is inferior to his or to any other Sacred Thread-wearing Kṣatriya caste and takes her away [to his house], such a wife and her sons shall receive a share [of the joint property] equal to that of proper wives from whose hands rice is acceptable and their sons, inasmuch as [she has undergone] a ritual marriage. There shall be no obligation to accept cooked rice from her.

10. If someone belonging to a Jaisī caste ritually marries a daughter of someone belonging to a Jaisī caste whose status is inferior to his or to a Rajapūta or Sacred Thread-wearing Kṣatriya caste and takes her away [to his house], such a wife and her sons shall receive a share [of the joint property] equal to that of proper wives from whose hands rice is acceptable and their sons, inasmuch as [she has undergone] ritual marriage. There shall be no obligation to accept cooked rice from her.

#### 23. On Partition of Property

11. If someone belonging to a Sacred Thread-wearing Kṣatriya caste ritually marries a daughter of someone belonging to any other Sacred Thread-wearing Kṣatriya caste whose status is inferior to his and takes her away [to his house], such a wife and their sons shall receive a share [of the joint property] equal to that of proper wives from whose hands rice is acceptable and their sons, inasmuch as [she has undergone] a ritual marriage. There shall be no obligation to accept cooked rice from her.

12. If previous [to the enactment of the *Ain*] someone signed over [a share of his property] for [respectively] old-age subsistence (*jiunī*) or as the eldest wife's share (*jeṭhāka*) [to a woman whom] he has either been keeping as his wife or whom he has ritually married, from now onwards neither will receive that old-age subsistence or share. They will receive [only] their share [of the joint property] according to the *Ain*.

13. After marriage expenses for sons and daughters are set aside in a proper and just manner, as determined with due consideration by family members and the *pañca* on the basis of caste and wealth, whatever remains shall be divided in accordance with the *Ain*.

14. In repaying a loan incurred by a father or [earlier] progenitor, wives and sons shall repay the loan according to their respective shares of the joint property.

15. If someone has an unmarried daughter living in her parental house (*janmaghara*), and if her brothers are about to separate [from the joint household], marriage expenses shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be given to an unmarried daughter, assuming that she is below the age of 35, and the partition [of the joint property] shall be carried out among the brothers. If the daughter has crossed the age of 35, is unmarried and is living in her parental house, she will receive a share [of the joint property] equal to that of her brothers. In addition, after she dies, the elder and younger brothers of her parental house shall perform her death rituals, and her property, for lack of a son as heir, will revert to her parental household. If she marries after she has crossed the age of 35, she shall be permitted to take her share and go [to her husband's house]. If she runs off with a man, she shall not be permitted to go with her share.

16.  Sons who have already taken their share from their father and mother and live separately will not receive [anything more]. If they come to complain at an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* office, a decision shall be made in accordance with the present [section of the] *Ain*, and 10 percent of any share recovered shall be collected [as a fee].

17. If brothers live together in a joint household and eat cooked rice together in the same kitchen, the wealth earned and the debt incurred by all brothers will, according to the *Ain*, be equally shared.

18. If there are several sons from one mother, among whom some are living together with their father and mother [in a joint household] and some are living separately without having taken their share [of the joint property], and if after the death of their father and mother [any of them] come to contest their share, all sons will have a stake in whatever debt or wealth remains after the death rites for their father and mother have been performed, and the partition shall be carried out in accordance with the *Ain*. The *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* office shall collect 10 percent [as a fee] from the property divided [among them].

19. If a man has many ritually married wives, co-wives, common women kept [as wives], [but if] his wives and their sons lead lives separated [from the paternal household], and if he has not himself divided [the joint property] and has not apportioned shares and if his sons remain satisfied and do not demand their [individual] shares, and if this father who had been living with one of the wives and her sons dies, then whatever debts and wealth amassed [jointly] by all the brothers, their father and progenitors that remains after the father's death rites have been performed shall be divided among all sons and wives. Whatever wealth is earned and debt incurred by each brother once they stopped eating together and [began] living separately belongs to them individually. If [any of them] come to complain at an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla*, 10 or 20 percent shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be collected [as a fee] and the [property] shall be [re]partitioned.

20. When many brothers are in one household and have not separated [from the joint family], and under such circumstances one of the brothers takes a woman from an inferior caste from whose hands cooked rice is unacceptable, and if sons and daughters are born to them and at some point that brother dies and it falls to the elder and younger paternal uncles [of those children] and the family members to give a share [of the joint property] and marriage expenses to these sons and daughters, such sons and daughters will receive only the share and marriage expenses that is in accordance with the *Ain*, inasmuch as they eat cooked rice together in the same kitchen and live in the same household without the joint property having been partitioned. They will not get all of the share [that would have gone to] their father [after partition of the property would he be still alive]. Their elder and younger paternal uncles and their cousins will receive whatever remains [of their father's share] after giving them the share that is in accordance with the *Ain*. If such a father separates [from the joint household], taking his share and living separately, and if [only then] he dies, his sons, irrespective of [the women] they are the sons of—be it a maid, slave or common woman—shall be entitled to enjoy the entire property of the father who has begotten them, related as they are by a drop of semen.

21. If among brothers who live together in a joint household one dies, and if his sons and wives quarrel over their share and come to complain, and if some [brothers] have many wives and sons and others have few, then when the property is divided, the sons [of the deceased], regardless of whether they are many or few brothers, shall divide and enjoy their respective paternal shares, not those of their uncles. As long as the widows remain faithful to their [late] husband, they shall be permitted to enjoy the share their husband would have received. If [the deceased brother] had a number of co-wives, these shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, enjoy the share of their [late] husband.

#### 23. On Partition of Property

22. If a person goes to a foreign country to do a pilgrimage [to fulfil] a vow or the like, and if he puts on a robe and becomes a fakir, while maintaining his caste status, and if upon his return to his home country he declares, 'I'll [go back to] living the life of a householder', he shall be permitted to [re]claim his property, such as houses, paddy fields, [other] land and so forth. If he comes to complain, [saying,] 'My brother, who has been enjoying the property [of mine] I had no son to pass on to, does not return it', an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* shall have it returned to him.

23. If someone shaves off [his top-knot] and performs the *vijayāhoma*, and thereby becomes one of the following castes [of ascetics]—[namely] Daśanāmī Jogī, Jaṃgama, Sebaḍā, Kanaphaṭṭā or the like—and [so] gives up his share [of the household] property, he shall not get any [of that] property if later on he comes to claim some of it.

24. If someone of his own will and volition joins a caste whose status is lower than his own, including an Untouchable caste from whose members water is unacceptable, and if he previously took his share [of the joint property] from his father, mother and brothers and has been living separately, and if he has [other] wives and children of a caste comparable to his own from whom he can accept cooked rice, he shall be permitted to take his property with him, even though he is joining a lower caste. If the joint property has not been divided, and if he has wives and children of a caste comparable to his own from whom he can accept cooked rice, he shall receive only what is given by his father, mother, brothers, wives and sons of their own volition after he has deliberately joined a caste lower than his own. He shall not be permitted to dispute his share, saying, 'I have not received my share.' Even if he comes to complain at an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* office, such a case shall not be heard and no [additional] share [of the joint property] shall be given to him.

25. If a common woman who is kept as a wife for more than 3 years by someone dies in his house, the man in whose house such a common woman kept as a wife dies shall be permitted to enjoy her property. The same man must arrange for the performance of her death rites. If the man goes to the common woman's house, and lives and dies there, the property he has brought [with him] to the common woman's house becomes her property.

26. If an Upādhyāya Brahmin, Jaisī, Rajapūta, Kṣatriya or someone from any other Sacred Thread-wearing caste ritually marries a woman, or a girl or a widow is brought [as a wife into the household] by him, or [a woman] with whom he has committed adultery, and if his fellow commensals accept rice from her, and if she has committed sexual intercourse (*poila jānu*) with another man before or after she is married with her [present husband], and if she has children by the husband (lit. 'from his semen') whom she married before this matter of her sexual intercourse with another man becomes known, such sons will receive the Sacred Thread in the case where she has had illicit sexual intercourse with a man belonging to a Sacred Thread-wearing caste. Cooked rice is unacceptable [from them]. The share [of the joint property] the sons receive will be 5 percent [of the normal] rate. They will receive the Sacred Thread even if [the woman] has had illicit sexual intercourse with a man belonging to an Alcohol-drinking caste. Cooked rice is unacceptable [from their hands]. The share [of the joint property] they receive will be 2½ percent [of the normal] rate. The father with whose semen the sons were conceived shall marry them off to someone of a comparable caste. If [the woman] has had illicit sexual intercourse with a man from a Water-unacceptable or Untouchable caste, the offspring will belong to the caste of the man with whom she has had illicit sexual intercourse. As long as they are under the care of their father, they shall receive their keep. They will not receive shares [of the joint property]. The father need not marry such offspring off, inasmuch as they belong to their mother's caste.

27. If someone belonging to an Upādhyāya Brahmin, Jaisī, Rajapūta, Kṣatriya or any other Sacred Thread-wearing caste brings into his household as a wife a woman from whom cooked rice is not acceptable or who has earlier had 3 sexual partners or else is a common woman, and if she also [later] procures someone else to have illicit sexual intercourse with her, and if before this matter becomes known she has children by the man who brought her into the household, then in the case where she has had illicit sexual intercourse with a man belonging to a Sacred Thread-wearing caste, cooked rice from such offspring is unacceptable, but they will receive the Sacred Thread; the share [of the joint property] they receive will be 2½ percent [of the normal] rate. They will receive the Sacred Thread even if she has had illicit sexual intercourse with a man belonging to an Alcohol-drinking caste, but cooked rice is unacceptable [from them]; their share [of the joint property] will be 1¼ percent [of the normal] rate. The father of such sons and daughters must marry them off to persons of a comparable caste. If [the woman] has had illicit sexual intercourse with a man from any Water-unacceptable caste, the offspring will belong to the caste of the man with whom she has had illicit sexual intercourse. The father need not marry such offspring off, inasmuch as they belong to their mother's caste. He need not give them a share [of the joint property] either.

28. If someone keeps a common woman as a wife outside of his household, such a common woman will receive the wealth and possessions which her husband has personally given to her. The husband shall not be permitted to take [any of it] back. If somebody brings her into his household and keeps her [as a wife], promising: 'I will keep you for so and so many years and months, and will give you such and such things [in return]', she shall be permitted to leave with whatever is given under the promise if she stays for the promised period. If she goes somewhere else before the promised period is over—if [in particular] she runs off with another man—she shall not be allowed to leave with [what was promised], citing as the reason that it was promised. If no oral promise is made, and the woman brought into the household and kept as a wife runs off with another man, she will receive only whatever the husband gives her of his own volition. She will not be permitted to keep what she has willfully taken; the husband may take it back. If she had had her husband draw up a document, then whether or not she receives the wealth and possessions signed over [to her], what was signed over is not valid. She will receive, in accordance with the *Ain*, her share [of the joint property] as long as she remains faithful to her husband. She will not receive it [just] because it was signed over [to her].

29. If someone belonging to any of the Four Varṇas and Thirty-six castes abandons a minor whom he himself has begotten, [turning over care for the child] to some outside household, either

#### 23. On Partition of Property

because [the child] was born under the *mūla* constellation (i.e. lunar mansion) or for no specified reason, and if this is done with the mutual consent of the [natural] father and mother, then if the abandoned [child] is a son, the shares of the father and mother and the 1 share of the abandoned child, in total 3 shares, shall in accordance with the *Ain* be given to the one who takes [the child] in and brings it up. If the decision is that of only 1 person, then [of the 2 shares] of the father and mother only 1 share shall be given. If the son or daughter is born as a result of adultery, the dowry of the mother who bore [the child] and the share of the father who committed adultery shall be given to those who bring [the child] up.  If the child dies, the natural father will not receive the shares received by the abandoned child, [even in the event that] he has no [remaining] son as heir; the adoptive father will receive them. If the abandoned child is a daughter, her father's share and her mother's dowry along with the expenses for her marriage shall be given to this child. Her adoptive parents shall spend half of that wealth to bring her up; the other half shall be used to marry her off. Whatever remains shall be given to that daughter as a dowry. It shall be up to the adoptive parents, too, to decide, saying, 'I will give [so much of] the wealth received from her natural parents to that girl as a dowry. I will [spend so much of] my own wealth to marry her off.' If that daughter dies, her entire property will belong to her adoptive parents. If a child has been abandoned in a village or city, an *adālata* or *ṭhānā* shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, arrange for its upbringing. If [it is abandoned] outside of them, the *amālī* shall bring it to an *adālata* or *aḍḍā*. The *bhāradāra* who heads the *aḍḍā* shall dutifully send it to the *adālata*. If the parents of an abandoned child are identified [only] later, [at which time it is learned that] the adoptive parents have taken in a child whose caste status is superior to their own and are bringing it up, they shall follow the caste code and marry to someone of comparable caste status. If [the child] is of a caste status comparable [to that of its adoptive parents, the latter] shall admit it into their own caste. If [the child] is of a caste status inferior to theirs, [the father] shall put him into a Khatrī caste. When a share [of the joint property] is given to such a son whose caste status is either superior or comparable to his own, such a son shall be given ⅓ of the share while the sons he himself has begotten would have received two thirds. If the child is of a caste status inferior to that [of its adoptive parents] and water is acceptable from it, it shall be given its share in accordance with the *Ain* applicable to that caste. If it belongs to a Water-unacceptable or an Untouchable caste, it shall be given to someone from a caste comparable to his own to bring up. It will receive his share of [the property of] its [natural] father and mother. From its adoptive parents it will receive only whatever is given out of compassion and love; it has no claim to his adoptive parents' property.

30. When someone with all due care brings up a child who has been abandoned on the street and whose father and mother have not been identified, that child shall be considered to be a Khatrī if it is brought up by a person belonging to a Brahmin caste. If it is brought up by someone from any other caste, it shall be considered to be of the same caste as the person who brings him up. It shall be up to the person who brings it up whether or not to accept cooked rice from it; he shall not be obliged to do so. When the joint property is divided, for every 3 portions [of property distributed to sons] a natural son shall receive 2 portions and such a son who has been found and taken in shall be given 1 portion. If there is no natural son, [the adoptive son] shall be allowed to enjoy the wealth and possessions of his adoptive parents after performing their death rites and paying off debts accrued [by them]. A person [otherwise] entitled to enjoy their property in the absence of a son as heir will not receive it.

**Four regulations applicable in the case where the head of a joint family responsible for transactions and [other such] matters relating to the household does not, when dividing up the family property, give an accurate account [to family members] of debts and property—houses, paddy fields, male and female slaves, cash, material possessions, household articles and the like—or deceives them when distributing the shares:**

31. If he does not give an accurate account of debts and property to the best of his knowledge, he shall be fettered and put into prison as long as he does not give the shares [to his family members].

32. Whatever amount of property appears after he gives an accurate account, it shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be divided among all those to whom a share is to be given.

33. The person who is imprisoned because he has cheated by not giving an [accurate] account [to his family members] does give an accurate account of debts and property, on that very same day [the property] shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be divided among all those to whom shares of the property listed in the account are to be given. The person who is imprisoned shall have his fetters removed and be set free if the others give their endorsement to [freeing] the giver of the account.

34. If [the head of a household] has accurately divided [the joint property] during its partition, and if someone [among his family members] causes trouble by falsely claiming that an [accurate] account of debts and wealth has not been given, then if he cannot prove with evidence that [some of it] has been hidden or [otherwise] concealed, and if nothing [of his allegation] is ascertained as true upon investigation by the *kacaharī* office, he shall be fined 10 percent of the total claim.

**Three regulations applicable in the case where someone holds on to his share of the property of someone who has no son as heir, old-age subsistence property and so forth, even though it is ascertained that according to the** *Ain* **and in the opinion [of the village notables] he should receive little or nothing at all:**

35. He shall be made return whatever cash, physical possessions, houses, paddy fields, [other] land, quadrupeds, male and female slaves or the like is ascertained as having been taken by him, and it shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be given to those who are entitled to it.

#### 23. On Partition of Property

36. If he does not return human chattel, land, material possessions or the like which, it is ascertained, he is not entitled to, he shall be fettered and put into prison for as long as he does not return everything that needs to be returned.

37. After he returns the human chattel, land, material possessions or the like which were ascertained as having to be returned and signs a written statement of confession, he shall be released from his fetters after whatever, according to the *Ain*, has been collected, such as a fine, the 20 percent judicial fee, *baksāunī* fee or so forth.

#### **The regulation applicable to the punishment of someone who comes to complain that he did not receive their share of [joint property], someone's property in the absence of a son as heir, old-age subsistence property, or a woman's personal property or dowry, none of which he is not entitled to:**

38. If someone comes to complain at an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla*, [saying,] 'Such and such a person has not given me my share of [joint property], property in the absence of a son as heir, a dowry, a woman's personal property or old-age subsistence property', having seized [the accused person] and brought him [to the office], and if it is ascertained during a judicial proceeding that [the accuser] is not entitled to it, he shall be fined 10 percent of his total claim. [If he is vindicated,] a winning fee amounting to ¼ of the fine shall be collected [from him].

## 24. On [Conflicts between] Husband and Wife

1. If someone has a wife whom he has ritually married; an unmarried girl or widow whom he has taken as a concubine; a woman whom he took as a concubine, a woman whom he brought [into the household] after committing adultery [with her]; or a common woman, female servant or bondservant being kept as a wife by him, and he abandons [one of them] without providing her with a means of support (*khānapina*), and if he even assaults her to the extent of breaking a limb, then if she—even though she is only one of her husband's wives—comes to an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* office and lodges a complaint, [saying]: 'Arrange for my separation. I shall take my share [of my husband's property] and separate from him',185 she shall be made to sign a deed relinquishing [her conjugal] rights (*rājīnāmā*) and be given her share of [the husband's property] in accordance with the *Ain*, based on what caste the woman belongs to.

2. If someone makes a female slave his wife, and if they have offspring, and if he does not provide such a wife—whom he had first emancipated and then made his wife—with a means of support, assaults her to the extent of breaking a limb, and if she comes to an *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* and asks to be separated from her husband, she shall, in accordance with the *Ain* and [other] binding customs, be given her share [of the husband's property]. Ten percent of the value [of the share] given [to her] shall be collected as [a fee].

3. If [someone] declares that he intends to separate from a ritually married wife of his one who has not committed adultery—and [then indeed] separates from her by performing [the customary practice of] cutting a sliver of [bamboo into two pieces] (*sinko kāṭnu*), and if she comes and complains, inquiries shall be made and she shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be given her share [of the husband's property]. Ten percent of [the value] of the share given [to her] shall be collected [as a fee].

4. If a man assaults his wife, breaks a limb [intentionally], breaks a hand or leg—or injures an eye, and if such a wife comes to lodge a complaint, the wife shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be given her share [of the husband's property] and the husband shall be punished in accordance with the *Ain*'s [Art. 58] 'On Brawling'. If such an injured wife takes her share and declares, 'I won't live with my husband', she shall be allowed to leave him by performing [the customary practice of] cutting a small sliver of [bamboo into two pieces]. It is up to her whether or not to remain

185 *aṃsa liṃchu ṭiṃchu*, read *aṃsa li chuṭṭinchu* (MA2).

#### 24. On [Conflicts between] Husband and Wife

faithful [to her husband]; there is no compulsion to do so. If such a woman does not come186 to lodge a complaint, the husband shall not be held accountable. Ten percent of the share shall be collected [as a fee].

5. If a man assaults his wife without any right to do so, and if she comes to complain, a judicial inquiry shall be undertaken. If a man brings another wife as concubine to the household and throws his ritually married wife out, the husband's property, of which she is entitled to a share, shall be divided equally among husband and wife, putting sons' shares and daughters' marriage expenses aside. If the husband later on does not give his wife her share of the property after the partition, he shall be seized, brought in and fined an amount equal [to the wife's share]. The wife shall be given her share.

6. If someone's wife—one who ritually married him or as an unmarried girl became his wife after worshiping lamp (*diyo*) and ritual water vessel (*kalaśa*) having been an unmarried girl [before], or who is his concubine having been a widow [before]—eats [forbidden] food which results in degradation from her caste, or if she is suffering from an incurable disease, from uterine inversion or from uterine prolapse, and if the husband does not have sexual intercourse with such a wife, he shall not be held accountable. The husband shall provide such a wife with a means of support. If the wife comes to complain [to authorities] that the husband is not providing her with a means of support, she shall be given her share [of the husband's property] in accordance with the *Ain*. Ten percent of [the total value of the property] given to her shall be collected [as a court fee].

7. If someone's wife who ritually married him comes to complain, [saying,] 'Neither is my husband living in a foreign country, nor is he suffering from any disease and he regularly goes to other women, but does not have sexual intercourse with me, even once a year', such a wife shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, be given her share [of the husband's property].  If he does, he shall be executed—taking life for life.

8. If where someone's wife is staying at her parental house or somewhere else because of a dispute with her mother- or father-in-law, an brother-in-law, a sister of her husband, or with co-wives, or because she does not like her husband, and if she comes [to authorities and] says, 'Neither does my husband provide me with a means of support nor does he sleep with me', she shall not be given her share [of the husband's property]. If the husband says, 'Fetter my wife', she shall be made to sign a deed relinquishing her right [to his property] (*rājīnāmā*), and she shall be fettered and handed over to him.

186 *āyā*, read *naāyā* (MA2).

9. If a man says to [his wife], 'I will provide you with a means of support. Live in my house, not with your parents or other relatives', but his wife [goes off to] live somewhere else and demands her share [of his property], she shall not get it. If the husband says, 'I will fetter her. Give me permission [to]', the *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* office shall provide him with fetters. He shall be allowed to keep his wife bound for some days.

10. If a man has neither [secretly] kept a concubine outside [of his house] nor brought a concubine [secretly] kept outside into his house [as a co-wife], [so that] he has only one ritually married wife, then if his ritually married wife comes to lodge a complaint, do not listen to her quarrel; hand her over to her husband.

11. If a husband and wife are living together in the same house and if the husband is not able to earn anything because opportunities to do so (*sāba-gāsa*) are insufficient, and if [consequently] he draws on his wife's dowry for basic necessities, he is not obliged to pay her back. [Only] if the husband [later] acquires wealth [may] the wife ask [back] however much187 was spent.

12. If a husband sells or draws on his wife's dowry without making her a witness, the sale or disbursement shall be considered invalid. The wife shall be given back [her property], and the husband shall restore [the purchase] amount to the buyer (*sāhu*). If his wealth is not sufficient, he shall be made draw up a loan deed without security (*kapālī tamasuka*). If the husband sells or draws on [his wife's dowry] with her consent, and if her name is mentioned in the sale deed, the transaction shall be valid.

13. If a man humiliates a wife of his who has [brought] a dowry and throws her out, and brings another woman in to keep as a co-wife, and if he sells or draws on the personal property or dowry of the expelled wife, he shall be obliged to pay her back. The *adālata*, *ṭhānā* or *amāla* shall make him make restitution. Ten percent [of the total value of] the returned property shall be collected [as a fee].

14. If a woman's husband goes far away [inside the country] or abroad on a pilgrimage, for trading or on state business, and if his wife runs into difficulty and needs to sell human chattel or land in order to obtain basic necessities (lit. 'food and clothing') or to perform the marriage or initiation rituals of a son or daughter, the transaction shall be considered valid [only] if she has obtained written authorisation (*sanada*) from her husband and if the sale is in line with the authorisation. If the transaction is made by the wife on her own and without obtaining a written order from her husband, it shall also be valid if, upon returning, the husband agrees to it. If he comes to complain [to authorities] that his wife has sold human chattel or land in his absence and such and such a person has purchased it, he shall be allowed to redeem it by paying [the latter] the amount received by his wife.

187 *māti*, read *jati* (MA2).

#### 24. On [Conflicts between] Husband and Wife

15. If a man signs over property to a younger co-wife for her old-age subsistence (*jiunī*) when an older co-wife is still alive, he shall give an equal share to his older co-wife as her elder's share (*jeṭhāka*). If, when he gives property to his younger co-wife, [his property] is not sufficient [to allow him] to give [an elder's share] to his elder co-wife, [what property there is] shall be divided equally between [the older and younger co-wives]. If the husband does not give an elder's share to his elder co-wife when giving property to his younger co-wife, half the share [given to the younger co-wife] shall be given to the elder co-wife.

16. If someone's wife hears the news of her husband's death and does not observe their caste's mourning customs, does not perform death rites for [her husband], or does not take care of him properly when he is sick, although she is present, [but] leaves the house and goes somewhere else to live, she—even if she does only one of these things—shall not receive any share or old-age subsistence [from her husband's property]. She shall not be given anything. Even if her husband drew up a deed and signed over [property to her], it shall not be valid.

## 25. On Widows' Property Rights

1. If a woman after the death of her husband remains faithful to him and maintains a livelihood from agriculture or some other means, and [then] runs off with another man, she shall not be entitled to take any wealth acquired during the time she remained faithful to her former husband—cash or kind, immovable property, quadrupeds, servants or the like. The legitimate sons and daughters [born to her by her former husband] or those who are entitled to inherit property in the absence of male issue shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, receive the entire property [otherwise due her].

2. If a common woman has around 1–2 sons or daughters by a first husband, then runs off with another man and has 1–2 sons or daughters by him, then runs off with another man and gives birth to 1–2 sons or daughters, and then runs off with someone else and gives birth to sons or daughters, the sons and daughters shall, in accordance with the *Ain*, receive [respectively] their share of property and marriage expenses from their fathers. The sons and daughters born to all her husbands shall divide the entire wealth acquired by their mother after she became a common woman and take their share of property or marriage expenses. The *kacaharī* office shall collect [as a court fee] 10 percent of the value of the inheritance it arranged for them to be given.

3. If a woman who has not crossed the age of 45 has illicit sexual intercourse with a man or has lost her caste, and if she has sold, gifted or donated land, cash or kind, human chattel or the like, thinking that she will get nothing once [the violation] becomes known [to others], then such transactions—be it a sale or the collection of loans—carried out before the illicit sexual intercourse [or loss of caste] has come to light shall not be valid. If such a sale or a collection [of loans] is carried out by placing either the coparcener entitled to inherit her property in the absence of male issue or [an official] from the *adālata, ṭhānā* or *amāla* office as a witness, such a sale or a collection [of loans] carried out by her shall be valid even if she has run off with another man but this has not yet become known [to anyone]. If none of them, neither a coparcener nor [any official] from the *adālata, ṭhānā* or *amāla*, witnessed [the sale or the collection of loans], and if she ran off with another man after selling, gifting or donating [property], the sale or the collection of loans carried out by such a woman shall not be valid.

4. If the husband of a woman dies, and if the woman has remained faithful to him, such a woman—irrespective of whether she has been living separately after the property has been partitioned or has been living in the joint family without the property having been partitioned—shall

#### 25. On Widows' Property Rights