Source: http://www.payer.de/naradasmrti/narada03.htm
Timestamp: 2017-11-18 21:34:13
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Matched Legal Cases: ['Art. 296', 'Art. 302', 'Art. 105', 'Art 14', 'Art. 4', 'Art 366', 'Art 366', 'Art 15']

Naradasmrti, Matrika I
3. Mâtrkâ 1: Gerichtsverfahren, Allgemeiner Teil (vyavahâra)
Naradasmrti / übersetzt und kommentiert von Alois Payer <1944 - >. -- 3. Mâtrkâ 1: Gerichtsverfahren, Allgemeiner Teil (vyavahâra). -- Fassung vom 2004-03-29. -- URL: http://www.payer.de/naradasmrti/narada03.htm -- [Stichwort].
1. - 3.. Siehe Dharmakos'a. -- Vol I,1. -- 1937. -- S. 3-4. Zum Wesen des Rechts: ebd., S. 1 - 7
1. (=J1, NMS1.1) Als die Menschen nur auf den Dharma ausgerichtet waren und grundsätzlich nur die Wahrheit sprachen, da gab es keine Gerichtsverfahren, keinen Hass und keinen Egoismus.
"Where the sun shines, there is no shade. Where there is shade, there the sun does not shine. Similarly, where virtue reigns, there are neither lawsuits, nor hatred, nor selfishness. On the other hand, where these three are, there virtue is not to be found. Asahâya. The object of this introductory portion is to show how far judicial procedure is connected with Dharma ' Virtue,' or ' Duty,' the principal subject of an Indian law-book. The Viramitrodaya and other compilations attribute a further hemistich to Narada, in which the happy age here alluded to is referred to the period 'when Manu, the father of mankind, was reigning on earth."
2. (=J2, NMS1.2) Als der Dharma unter den Menschen verschwunden war, entstanden Gerichtsverfahren. Zum Aufseher über die Gerichtsverfahren wurde der König gemacht, der die Strafgewalt besitzt.
3. (=J3, NMS1.3) Geschriebenes1 und Augenzeugen sind die zwei Mittel, um einen dunklen (verworrenen) Rechtsfall zwischen zwei Streitparteien zu klären.
1 "Geschriebenes": Diese Stelle ist zusammen mit vielen anderen ein wichtiges Korrektiv zum Stereotyp der "Mündlichkeit der indischen Kultur". Zu Schreibmaterial usw. im alten Indien siehe die folgenden Texte:
Abb.: Schreiber und Buchmaler, indisch-persisches Nizâmî Manuskript (British Library) [Bildquelle: : Losty, Jeremiah P.: The art of the book in India. -- London : British Library, ©1982. -- 160 S. : Ill. -- ISBN: 0904654788. -- Plate XXI.]
Abb.: Indischer Schreiber
[Bildquelle: Missions-Bilder, 6. Heft. -- Abgedruckt in: Dubois, Jean Antoine <1766 - 1848>: Leben und Riten der Inder : Kastenwesen und Hinduglaube in Südindien um 1800. -- Bielefeld : Reise-Know-How-Verl. Rump, ©2002. -- 671 S. : Ill. -- ISBN 3-8317-1111-9. -- S. 340]
"Hoernles epigraphische Bemerkungen über Palmblatt, Papier und Birkenrinde:
In seiner "An epigraphical note on palm leaf, paper and birch-bark" -- Journal of the Asiatic Society -- Vol. LXIX (1901) (obwohl das Referat schon früher 1898 gehalten wurde). -- S. 93 - 134 fasst Dr. Hoernle [August Rudolf Friedrich Hoernle, 1841 - 1918], die Lage folgendermaßen zusammen:
Ursprünglich wurden ausschließlich die Blätter der Corypha-Palmen [Corypha umbraculifera] in ganz Indien benutzt, was bis zum Ende des 15. Jahrhunderts andauerte.
Abb.: Corypha umbraculifera in Blüte [Bildquelle: http://prism.20fr.com/. -- Zugriff am 2004-03-11]
Seit der Mitte des 15. Jahrhunderts wurde im westlichen Indien die Benutzung dieser Blätter eingestellt, ohne dafür eine Ersatzlösung zu finden.
Anfang 17. Jahrhundert hörte die Benutzung dieser Blätter auch in Bengalen, vermutlich auch in Orissa auf. Sie wurden durch die Borassus-Blätter [Borassus flabellifer] ersetzt.
Abb.: Borassus flabellifer [Bildquelle: http://www.css.cornell.edu/ecf3/Web/new/AF/treeShrub.html. -- Zugriff am 2004-03-11]
Ihre ausschließliche Benutzung dauerte nur in Bihar bis zur Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts an.
Der Gebrauch der Borassus flabellifer ist relativ modern und war in Nordindien nicht üblich außer Bengalen und Orissa.
Die Papierbenutzung wurde erst ab dem 13. Jahrhundert häufiger, und zwar um die Mitte des 13. Jahrhunderts in Zentralnordindien, um die Mitte des 14. Jahrhunderts im westlichen Indien und um 1450 im östlichen Indien.
Im 15. Jahrhundert ersetzte das Papier in Zentral- und Westindien gänzlich das herkömmliche Schreibmaterial wie z. B. das Palmblatt im Westen und vielleicht die Birkenrinde in Zentralindien. Im Osten konnte sich das Papier erst in der jüngsten Zeit durchsetzen, da es sich in der Konkurrenz erst lange bewähren musste.
Dr. Hoernle weist im diesem Zusammenhang auf die Nomenklatur der Borsassus-Palme bei Bühler hin, der diese Palme Borassus flabelliformis nannte. Nach Hoernle soll die Palme Borassus flabellifer heißen, ein Name, den Linné der Palme gab. In Bengalen heißt die Corypha umbraculifera Tedel, während der Borassus flabellifer Tal heißt.
Der Maßstab [wohl: Verhältnis] der beiden Palmen zueinander beträgt 1:1000. Man nahm früher an, dass die Talipat-Palme in Sri Lanka und an der Malabarküste bis zu dem 13. Breitengrad wild wuchs. Darüber hinaus wurde die Pflanze entlang die Westküste bis Konkan angebaut.
Nachträglich haben Botaniker wie Dr. Prain (der Oberaufseher der Royal Botanical Garden in Sibpur war) die These in Frage gestellt, dass diese Pflanze in Ceylon und Indien überhaupt wild wuchs, und gingen der Frage nach, woher diese Pflanze in Wirklichkeit stammte und wie sie sich in Indien durch Anbau eingebürgert hat.
"CORYPHA UMBRACULIFERA TALIPOTPALME
Die zu den größten Palmen gehörende Talipotpalme bietet in voller Blüte mit ihrem riesigen Stamm, den Blättern und dem Blütenstand einen phantastischen Anblick.
HÖHE: 24 m oder höher.
STAMM: Solitärstamm, 60 cm im Durchmesser; meist mit alten Blattbasen bedeckt, diese wiederum mit Epiphytenpflanzen. Blattnarben von abgefallenen Blättern.
BLÄTTER: Kiesige, costapalmate Fächerblätter, etwa 4,5 m im Durchmesser. Der Blattstiel ist an den Rändern gezähnt.
FRÜCHTE: Rund, von der Größe eines Golfballes, fallen in großer Zahl herab, wenn sie reif sind.
SAMEN: Groß, rund.
Neben der Kokospalme ist sie die wohl häufigste und am weitesten verbreitete Palme der Welt. In ihrer Heimat Indien und Malaysia gibt es mehrere Quadratkilometer große Plantagen. Zur Gewinnung ihres Zuckersaftes werden die noch ungeöffneten Blütenstände abgeschnitten. So lassen sich pro Tag bis zu 5 Liter Saft sammeln. Die Arbeit ist mühsam: die Einheimischen klettern mit Hilfe eines Gurtes, den sie um den Stamm legen, den Baum hoch, Halt finden sie an alten Blattbasen. Der Saft wird entweder durch Kochen zu Palmzucker eingedickt oder durch Fermentieren zu »Toddy«, einem alkoholhaltigen Palmwein, verarbeitet. Doch die Nutzungsmöglichkeiten dieser Palme sind damit noch nicht erschöpft: das harte, schwarze Holz wird häufig zum Bauen verwendet, die großen Blätter zu Matten und zu Papier verarbeitet, und die erste Pfahlwurzel, die die Pflanze ausbildet, ist eine begehrte Delikatesse.
BORASSUS FLABELLIFER PALMYRA-, LONTAROPALME
In den Tropen vermutlich die häufigste Palme
HERKUNFT: Indien und Malaysia.
HÖHE: Bis zu 36 m.
STAMM: An der Basis verdickt, sehr hart, schwarz und glatt.
BLÄTTER: Gefächert, bis zu 3 m im Durchmesser, bilden einen charakteristischen, dichten Blattschopf.
BLÜTENSTAND: Wächst zwischen den Blättern hervor.
FRÜCHTE: Sehr groß, bis 15 cm im Durchmesser, glänzend dunkelbraun.
SAMEN: Ein bis drei pro Frucht, groß, bedeckt mit hellbraunen, gekräuselten Fasern, die wie ein rauher Pelz aussehen.
KULTUR UND PFLEGE: Die Samen bilden zuerst eine 60 bis 90 cm lange Pfahlwurzel aus, bevor der Sämling aus der Erde herauswächst; sie sollten deshalb in einem tiefen Behälter oder bereits an ihrem endgültigen Standort in die Erde gesät werden.
IM FREILAND: Diese große Palme eignet sich für trocken-heiße Klimazonen.
IM HAUS: Als Zimmerpflanze nicht empfehlenswert.
Quelle: Gibbons, Martin: Palmen : das neue kompakte Bestimmungsbuch. -- Köln : Könemann, ©1998. -- 79 S. : zahlr. Ill. -- Originaltitel: The palm identifier. -- ISBN: 3-8290-1285-3. -- S. 22; 27]
Hoernle hat persönlich die Blätter oder deren Faksimile von 130 Manuskripten untersucht. Aufgrund dieser Untersuchung bestimmte er die Palmengattung, zu der diese Blätter gehörten.
Die Liste der Herkunft dieser Manuskripte:
Die Manuskripte, die im Deccan College,Pune aufbewahrt sind, wurden anhand der Berichte von Kielhorn, Bhandarkar und Peterson "Über die Suche nach den Sanskrit-Manuskripten in der Bombay-Provinz für die Jahre 1880-87 und 1887-97" identifiziert.
Die Gegenstände, die in Burnells klassifiziertem Katalog der Tanjor-Manuskripte erwähnt sind, wurden Hoernle durch freundliches Entgegenkommen des Verwalters des Tanjore Palace Estate zugänglich gemacht.
Manuskripte im Privatbesitz wurden ihm von einem leitenden Angestellten von Darbhanga Rai, Maulavi Muhammad Abdullah, von Pandit Hara Prasad Shastri und Muni Har Vijayaji, dem Operhaupt eines der Dschaina-Schakhas, zugänglich gemacht.
Die restlichen Manuskripte, die er untersuchte, wurden in den Sammlungen der Asiatic Society of Bengal und der indischen Regierung in Kalkutta aufbewahrt.
Er ordnete diese Manuskripte tabellarisch mit Auskunft über Datum, Herkunft, Material und Größe in sechs Tabellen. Diese enthalten Eintragungen, die eine Zeitspanne von 450 v. Chr. bis 1815 n. Chr. sowie die Regionen Westindien, Nepal, Nordindien, Bihar, Bengalen und Orissa umfassen. —Kompilator
Hiuen Tsiangs (7. Jh. n. Chr.) Reisen
Abb.: Hiuen Tsiang
"To the north of the city [Konkanâpura] not far is a forest of Tâla trees about 30 li round. The leaves (of this tree) are long and broad, their colour shining and glistening. In all the countries of India these leaves are everywhere used for writing on. In the forest is a stûpa. Here the four former Buddhas sat down and walked for exercise, and traces of them still remain. Beside this is a stûpa containing the bequeathed relics of the Arhat Shrutavimshatikoti."
[Quelle: Xuanzang <ca. 596-664>: Si-yu-ki.= Buddhist records of the Western World. / Translated from the Chinese of Hiuen Tsiang (A.D. 629), by Samuel Beal. -- Reprint der Ausgabe London 1884. -- Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass, 1981. -- 2 Vol. (bound in one). -- Originaltitel: Ta-T'ang-si-yu-ki (629). -- ISBN 81-208-1107-0. -- Vol II, S. 255]
Beal (Bd. II, S. 255) spricht vom Vorhandensein eines "Waldes von Talabäumen" in der Nähe von Konkanpura in Südindien. Dieser Wald müsste, meint Hoernle, irgendwo in Konkan sein. Denn bis zu dieser Grenze kann Corypha umbraculifera durch Anbau frei (aber nicht wild) wachsen. In diesem Wald gab es einen Stupa, und Hiuen Tsiang fügt hinzu, dass "in allen Gebieten Indiens die Blätter der Talipat-Palme für Schreibzwecke benutzt wurden."
Dieser Beleg ist nach Hoernle ein klares Beispiel für den Anbau der Corypha-Palme für inländische Nutzung sowie für deren Ausfuhr.
Alberuni (973-1043 n. Chr.)
Abb.: Al-Biruni, iranische Briefmarke zum 1000. Geburtstag
"The tongue communicates the thought of the speaker to the hearer. Its action has therefore, as it were, a momentary life only, and it would have been impossible to deliver by oral tradition the accounts of the events of the past to later generations, more particularly if they are separated from them by long periods of time. This has become possible only by a new discovery of the human mind, by the art of writing, which spreads news over space as the winds spread, and over time as the spirits of the deceased spread. Praise therefore be unto Him who has arranged creation and created everything for the best!
The Hindus are not in the habit of writing on hides, like the Greeks in ancient times. Socrates, on being asked why he did not compose books, gave this reply: "I do not transfer knowledge from the living hearts of men to the dead hides of sheep." Muslims, too, used in the early times of Islam to write on hides, e.g. the treaty between the Prophet and the Jews of Khaibar and his letter to Kisra. The copies of the Koran were written on the hides of gazelles, as are still nowadays the copies of the Thora. There occurs this passage in the Koran (Sûra VI.. 91): " They make, it karâtis" i.e. The kirtâs (or charta) is made in Egypt, being cut out of the papyrus stalk. Written on this material, the orders of the Khalifs went out into all the world until shortly before our time. Papyrus has this advantage over vellum, that you can neither rub out nor change anything on it, because thereby it would be destroyed. It was in China that paper was first manufactured. Chinese prisoners introduced the fabrication of paper into Samarkand, and thereupon it was made in various places, so as to meet the existing want.
The Hindus have in the south of their country a slender tree like the date and cocoa-nut palms, bearing edible fruits and leaves of the length of one yard, and as broad as three fingers one put beside the other. They call these leaves târî (tâla or târ = Borassus flabelliformis), and write on them. They bind a book of these leaves together by a cord on which they are arranged, the cord going through all the leaves by a hole in the middle of each.
In Central and Northern India people use the bark of the tûz tree, one kind of which is used as a cover for bows. It is called bhûrja. They take a piece one yard long and as broad as the outstretched fingers of the hand, or somewhat less, and prepare it in various ways. They oil and polish it so as to make it hard and smooth, and then they write on it. The proper order of the single leaves is marked by numbers. The whole book is wrapped up in a piece of cloth and, fastened between two tablets of the same size. Such a book is called pûthî (cf.pusta, pustaka). Their letters, and whatever else they have to write, they write on the bark of the tûz tree."
[Quelle: Biruni, Abu-'r-Raihan Muhammad Ibn-Ahmad al- <973 - 1048>: Alberuni's India : an account of the religion, philosophy, literature, geography, chronology, astronomy, customs, laws and astrology of India ; about A.D. 1030 / ed. with notes and indices by Edward C. Sachau. -- Reprint der Ausgabe von 1910. -- New Delhi : Munshiram Manoharlal, 2001. -- Vol. I & II (bound in One). -- Originaltitel: Kitab Tahqiq ma li'l-Hind min maqula maqbula fi 'l-´aql au mardula (1030). -- ISBN 81-215-0562-3. -- Vol I., S. 170f.]
Alberuni beschreibt einen schlanken Baum wie Datteln- und Kokosnusspalme (die allerdings verschieden von den Corypha- und Borassuspalmen sind), "die genießbare Früchte tragen und Blätter einer Länge von drei Ellen haben, die so breit wie drei nebeneinandergelegte Finger sind. Sie nennen diese Blätter Tari und schreiben auf sie. Sie binden ein Buch von diesen Blättern mit einer Schnur zusammen. Die Schnur geht durch ein Loch in der Mitte dieser Blätter". Hoernle, der uns auf diese Aussage Alberunis aufmerksam macht, sagt, dass diese Beschreibung der Corypha-Palme genau passt ausgenommen der Bemerkung über die genießbare Frucht. Überzeugend folgert er, dass dieser Bemerkung ein Fehler in der Übertragung von Alberunis Beschreibung zugrundeliegen dürfte. "Er wollte wahrscheinlich sagen: einen Baum, schlank wie die Datteln- und Kokosnusspalme, aber keine essbaren Früchte tragend"
Während der Zeit Alberunis existierten aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach keine Borassuspalmen in Indien. Seine Messungen eines Blattes 80 cm x 6 cm sind nahezu die maximalen Größen eines Coryphablattes, aber undenkbar im Falle eines Borassusblattes. Und es muss betont werden, dass Alberuni von der Größe eines schon bearbeiteten Blattes spricht.
Alberuni über Bhurdscha-Patra [bhûrja-patra] (Betula utilis)
Abb.: Birkenrindehandschrift, 5. Jhdt. [Bildquelle: http://www.asianart.com/articles/batton/fig01.html. -- Zugriff am 2004. -- 03-11]
Alberuni weist auf ein anderes wichtiges Schreibmaterial (in Indien) vor Ankunft des Papiers, das Bhurdscha-Patra [bhûrja-patra] (Birkenrinde) hin.
In Zentral- und Nordindien benutzen die Leute die Rinde des Tuz-Baumes. Sie heißt "Bhurdscha". Sie nehmen ein Stück von einer Breite der ausgestreckten Finger einer Hand oder etwas weniger (etwa 20 cm.) und bearbeiten es in verschiedenen Weisen. Sie ölen und polieren es, so dass es hart und glatt wird. Dann schreiben sie auf ein solches Blatt. Ihre Briefe und alles, was sie zu schreiben haben, schreiben sie auf die Rinde des Tuz-Baumes. Hoernle bemerkt: "Es steht außer Zweifel, dass Alberuni die Rinde der Betula utilis beschreibt......Die Größen der Streifen der Rinde, die er angibt, entsprechen den des Kharoschthi-Birkenstreifens. einige Teile dessen in Paris und St. Petersburg aufbewahrt sind und aus dem ersten Jahrhundert n. Chr. stammen. Die Streifen der Rinde, auf die das Manuskript geschrieben worden ist, messen etwa 20 cm. in der Breite und etwa eine Elle in der Länge. Es wird daraus ersichtlich, dass von alters her die Streifen der Rinde in ihrer vollen Größe, vielleicht in Form einer Rolle, wie die griechischen Manuskripte des Papyrus, verwendet wurden. So verhält es sich auch mit dem Bakschali-Manuskript, das etwa 17.5 cm X 10 cm misst. Dieses Manuskript gehört vermutlich in das 10. oder 11. Jahrhundert, d. h. ungefähr vermutlich in die Zeit, als Alberuni noch lebte....Der geschriebene Text lief parallel zum engen Rand des originalen Streifens, wie es aus den veröffentlichten Bildtafeln des Pariser oder Petersburger Manuskripts ersichtlich wird. Dieser Brauch wurde auch dann beibehalten, als die Streifen in kleinere Stücke wie im Bakschali-Manuskript geschnitten wurden. Dieses nähert sich in seiner allgemeinen Form dem typisch indischen Palmblatt-Pothi..........Erst viel später nach der Zeit Alberunis, scheint die moderne Buchform eingeführt worden zu sein. Die Streifen der Rinde, in kleinere Stücke von etwa 30 cm Länge geschnitten, wurden in der Mitte gefaltet, and so wurde eine "Form" von zwei Blättern oder vier Seiten hergestellt.
Die frühesten Birkenrinde-Manuskripte
Die einzigen drei Birkenrinde-Manuskripte beträchtlichen Alters, die bekanntlich noch erhalten geblieben sind, sind:
Die Pariser und Petersburger Manuskripte,
Das Bower-Manuskript und
Das Bakshali-Manuskript.
Sie alle stammen aus dem Pandschab, Sindh, Radschputana und Kaschmir, was Alberunis Nordindien ausmacht.
Nr. 1 und 2 sind viel älter als Alberunis Zeit.
Nr. 1 geht wahrscheinlich auf das 1. und 2. Jahrhundert n. Chr. zurück, die Periode eines noch stärkeren griechischen Einflusses, und daher seine auffällige einer Rolle ähnliche Form, die wahrscheinlich von diesem Einfluss herrührte.
Nr. 2 geht auf ca. 450 Chr. zurück und ist in der indischen Pothiform, länglich, wie das Corypha-Blatt, mit einem Schnurloch versehen. (Das Bower-Manuscript enthält zahlreiche einzelne Werke, geschrieben auf Blätter von zwei verschiedenen Größen, 19 cm x 6.5 cm und 22.5 cm x 5 cm, aber beide das Corypha-Blatt nachahmend.) Es gehört in die Periode einer noch starken buddhistischen Interaktion zwischen dem, was Alberuni "südliches Indien" nennt und Zentral-asien" könnte der ausgeprägten Pothi-Form entsprechen.
Nr.3 geht wahrscheinlich auf die Zeit Alberunis selbst zurück, und seine Form ist sehr charakteristisch. Es ähnelt dem indischen Pothi, das aus getrennten Blättern besteht, nicht "gebunden" in ein Buch, aber doch zu einem Bündel zusammengeheftet; es unterscheidet sich jedoch vom Pothi darin, dass es kein Schnurloch hat..........Das Schnurloch wurde wahrscheinlich als etwas für das Material Riskantes weggelassen. — vgl. Hoernle
Die Tatsache, dass die Palmblätter und Birkenrinde-Manuskripte in Nordindien nicht erhalten geblieben sind, kann nicht bloß den klimatischen Verhältnissen zugeschrieben werden, meint Dr. Hoernle.. "Der Grund sollte vielmehr in den politischen und religiösen Unruhen, die so oft diese Gebiete Indiens erschütterten, gesucht werden. Während der mohammedanischen Eroberungen sollen z. B. große Zerstörungen literarischer Werke der Hindus stattgefunden haben.
Die zwei ältesten Papier-Manuskripte
Es ist bezeichnend dass die zwei ältesten Papier-Manuskripte, die uns bekannt sind, als Nachahmung des Birkenrinde-Prototyps als Bakschali-Manuskript hergestellt worden sind. Das älteste Papier-Manuskript, datiert aus dem Jahre 1231 n. Chr., hat genau die gleiche viereckige Form. Es misst 15 cm x 10 cm.
Das Zweitälteste Papier-Manuskript, das auf 1343 datiert ist, hat kein Schnurloch. Als zum ersten Mal die Birkenrinde benutzt wurde, wurde sie als Nachahmung des Palmblattes geschnitten und bearbeitet. Ähnliches geschah, als man das Papier zu benutzen begann. Man hat es als Nachahmung der Birkenrinde hergestellt.
Dr. Hoernle vertritt die Auflassung, dass die wenigen sehr alten Palmblätter aus dem westlichen Indien stammen. Nach seiner Meinung entstanden viele Palmblatt-Manuskripte während der Gupta- und Harscha-Epochen. In seiner ersten tabellarischen Darstellung der Palmblatt-Manuskripte scheint eines dieser Manuskripte auf 571-572 n. Chr. (Gupta-Ära) zurückzugehen. Aber nach Hoernle ist auch eine Harscha-Datierung nicht unbedingt unvereinbar mit einer westindischen Herkunft,wenn man die weite Ausdehnung des Harscha-Imperiums mitberücksichtigt.
Das Bower-Manuskript
Das Bower-Manuskript, das auf eine Birkenrinde geschrieben ist und auf die Mitte des 5. Jhs. n. Chr. zurückgeht, ähnelt stark dem typisch indischen Corypha-Palmblatt-Manuskript. Es besteht aus getrennten, mit einem Schnurloch versehenen Blättern, die 5 bis 6 cm in der Breite messen, was einer Breite eines Corypha-Blattes entspricht. Hoernle hat dieses Bower-Manuskript sowie die Weber- und Macartney-Manuskripte ediert. Diese Manuskripte sind in indischen Gupta Buchstaben geschrieben worden. Sie müssten von altansässigen Indern, die nach Kuchar ausgewandert waren, geschrieben worden sein. Warum sollen sich die Leute von Nordindien und Zentralasien die Mühe machen, fragt Hoernle, um Birkenrinde und Papier in die Form der Palmblätter zuzuschneiden? Er antwortet, dass die Bestätigung der uralten Bräuche unter den literarischen Klassen Indiens, den Gelehrten und "Frommen", und ihre Schreibweisen mit der Ausdehnung der indischen Kultur durch die buddhistische Propaganda über die Grenzen Indiens hinausgingen. Gleichzeitig führten sie die längliche Form des Palmblatts statt der rechteckigen des Birkenrindeblatts ein.
Die Ankunft des Papiers (11. Jahrhundert n. Chr.)
In seinen "Epigraphischen Ammerkungen" über Palmblatt, Papier und Birkenrinde beschreibt Hoernle folgendermaßen die Einführung des Papiers in Indien:
Papier kam im 11. Jh. mit den Mohammedanern in Indien an. Es ersetzte jedoch nur sehr langsam das Corypha-Palmblatt, dessen bewährter Gebrauch über die Zeit durch die Religion unter den konservativen indischen Gelehrten sanktioniert worden war. Diese sahen das Produkt der Mlettschas ("Kastenlosen") mit Misstrauen an....., und daher existierte auch kein einheimischer Terminus für Papier. Das Wort "Kagadsch" oder "Kagad" übernahmen die Hindus von den Persern, die es "Kaghaz" nannten, was wiederum eine Entstellung des chinesischen Wortes Kog-dz war, das soviel wie "Papier hergestellt von der Rinde des Papier-Maulbeerbaums" bedeutet.
Als die Araber im 8. Jahrhundert von den Chinesen das Verfahren der Papierherstellung lernten, übernahmen sie den gleichen chinesischen Fachausdruck auch für ihr eigenes aus Leinen hergestelltes Papier.
Seit dem 14. Jahrhundert erfreute sich das Papier breiter Popularität. Dementsprechend ging der Einfuhrhandel der Coryphablätter zurück. Anfang 17,. Jahrhundert ersetzte das Papier die Coryphablätter in ganz Nordindien, ausgenommen Bihar... Es ist interessant festzustellen, dass sich die Literaten von Bihar bei der Aufrechterhaltung des Gebrauchs von Coryphablättern äußerst konservativ verhalten haben, denn ihr jüngstes Coprypha-Manuskript ist auf 1739 n. Chr. datiert."
[Quelle: Kesavan, B. S. (Bellary Shamanna) <1909- >: Das Buch in Indien : eine Zusammenstellung. -- New Delhi : National Book Trust, 1986. -- S. 11 - 32.]
"What is a book ? Physically, it could be said, it is a collection of pieces of paper of the same size between covers and held together by glue and string. In another sense, it is the intellectual content conveyed by the words which are written or printed on the pages. All cultures are in agreement with the latter statement; comparatively few would agree with the former. Two thousand years ago in the Mediterranean world a book was physically a long roll of papyrus or of parchment. At the same time in China it was a collection of thin strips of bamboo or pieces of silk.
In India, the earliest concept of the book was as a collection of leaves or sheets of bark strung together between covers by a cord. The Indians would have viewed with horror both the slaughtering of young animals for their skin and the writing of sacred texts on such material, while paper, which was invented in China in the 1st century, did not come into general use in northern India before the 13th century, at about the same time as in Europe, in each case the Muslim world being the intermediary. In southern India, however, palm leaves continued in general use until the 19th century as the normal writing material.
The first references to writing in India, found in the earliest layers of the Pali Buddhist Canon of about the 5th century BC, speak of various types of material used for writing, such as leaves (panna), wood {phalaka, or boards, and shalâkâ, or bamboo chips or slips), and metals. The type of leaves is unspecified, but there is no reason to believe that it is as yet actually the usual writing palm of ancient India, the talipot (Corypha umbraculifera), for the latter is indigenous only to the extreme south of the peninsula, of which the early Buddhist texts had no knowledge. In fact any kind of suitable leaf was probably made use of, as leaves of the plantain and shâla trees were used in village schools until recent times.
Since much of what is known of the social history and material culture of ancient India is deduced from the obiter dicta of authors actually writing about something else, any argument 'from silence' must be used with extreme caution. Nonetheless, there is, as Rhys David long ago pointed out, an absolute silence about books (as physical objects, that is) in the Buddhist Canon, despite long inventories of what monks are and are not permitted to own, which argues that literary or religious texts were not committed to writing, while the repeated assertion that suttas (the Buddha's discourses) could be lost through a monk's having no disciple to teach them to, argues very strongly that the mere possibility of writing down the Buddhist sacred texts could not be entertained. This is not only the Indian aversion to the written as opposed to the oral tradition, but the very real problem that no writing material known in the 6th and 5th centuries BC was usable for writing connected literary or scriptural texts, as opposed to records, letters, or accounts. It is clear therefore that the use of the talipot must have been unknown to the north of India at this time, and seems still to have been unknown by the late 4th century BC, since it is not included with the writing materials (bark and cloth) noted by the Greek companions of Alexander. It can only have been with the expansion of the Mauryan empire into the south of India in the 3rd century BC that the talipot could have become known to the northern Indians, and its possibilities exploited for the writing of literary and religious texts.
The leaves of the talipot in its natural state are arranged like a fan and are about 1.3m long and 15cm wide at their broadest, tapering off to both ends, being divided by a central rib around which the leaf naturally folds. Each fold is cut from the rib, and fashioned into its finished shape, about 6.5 - 9cm broad by up to a metre in length, and then subjected to several processes of boiling, drying, and rubbing. The finished leaf is a smooth and flexible, light-brown surface. The size varies very much according to the purpose for which the leaves are needed. A long religious text would be written on leaves of the maximum possible length. A shorter text would usually be written on leaves of lesser length, which would enable the breadth to be somewhat greater, if desired, but this did not necessarily follow. Precise evenness of breadth was difficult to achieve in such a medium, and whereas many of the fine-quality palm-leaf manuscripts from eastern India of the 10th to 12th centuries taper only slightly towards their ends, in those from western India the difference is much more noticeable.
Hoernle writing in 1900 states that the talipot, Corypha umbraculifera, grows wild fairly commonly in Ceylon and the Malabar coast, and cultivated up both coasts as far as Bombay in the west and lower Bengal in the east, although the latter very uncommonly. Inland it does not grow at all. There must have been in ancient India a flourishing trade in the leaves, either in their raw or finished states, from south to north. The western manuscripts tend to be uneven in quality and size, suggesting that supplies could be difficult to get; this is particularly true of the period from the 13th century on, after the Turkish conquest. The eastern manuscripts on the other hand tend to be much more even, suggesting availability of a good supply, and they may have been in much more intensive cultivation in Bengal then than now. All the same, the great scriptoria of Bihar and Nepal would have had to have obtained their supplies from a source at some considerable distance. Palm leaves were still obtainable after the Turkish conquest of eastern India, and were used in eastern India up to the 17th century, but always on a much smaller size of prepared leaf than in the 12th century.
In southern India, the home of the talipot, early manuscripts are extremely rare, but this type of palm leaf was used in the earliest surviving southern manuscripts, of c. 1112, in the Digambara bhandâr at Moodabidri. However, those manuscripts from southern India which have survived from about the 16th century on, use a different palm leaf, that of the palmyra (Borassus flabellifer), a fan palm similar to the talipot, but somewhat smaller as to its leaf size. This is a less tender tree than the other, able to stand the colder winter climate of northern India, and was introduced from East Africa. According to Hoernle, the earliest reference to such a tree in India is dated 1328, but the evidence seems to suggest that the leaves were not widely used for writing until the 16th century. Manuscripts of this material are much less broad, about 3.75cm being the maximum.
It is clear then that round about 1500 there was a decided change from the one palm to the other. The talipot is useful only for its leaves, but the palmyra for all its products including fruit and sap, giving tâdî or toddy, as well as being far easier to cultivate. In the course of a few centuries it completely ousted the widespread cultivation of the talipot in southern India, so that palmyra leaf had to be adopted as a writing material faute de mieux. This changeover also coincided with the introduction of paper into the plains of northern India, so that the flourishing export trade of talipot leaves from south to north ceased and the commercial cultivation of talipot groves of the sort described by Hsüan Tsang in the 7th century became uneconomic. Only in Ceylon and Burma where the talipot grows far more readily, were its leaves still generally used for the production of manuscripts.
It is undeniable, however, that the leaves of the palmyra are inferior as writing material to those of the talipot, being less flexible, smaller, and more difficult to write on, while not taking ink well at all.
Abb.: Palmblatt mit eingeritzter Schrift, vor dem Färben [Bidlquelle: http://www.tamil-heritage.org/photoarc/olai/olainaya.html. -- Zugriff am 2004-03-12]
The changeover from the one to the other involved also a change in the method of writing. All the talipot manuscripts known from northern India, as well as the much earlier fragments found in Central Asia, are written on with a reed pen (lekhanî) using ink (mashî), although it would seem from Râjashekara's evidence (writing in Kanauj about 900) that they could also be incised with an iron stylus (loha-kantaka). The former method was used right up until the cessation of writing on palm leaves in northern India, an area which for the purposes of this discussion may be taken to be north of a line from Goa to Calcutta. However, with the exception of the early Jaina manuscripts of c. 1112 referred to above, all the manuscripts from India south of this line, have their texts written on the leaves through incision with an iron stylus. After inscribing, the leaves were usually, although not invariably, smeared with ink (usually carbon based) and then cleaned with sand, leaving the ink in the incised letters which otherwise would have been almost invisible. As it was difficult to write directly on to the leaves of the palmyra, the method of inscribing became the only one used in southern India after its widespread adoption as the normal writing palm. However, before its introduction into the Indian subcontinent only shortly before this, all the earlier southern manuscripts must have been on the talipot, as we find in the manuscripts in Moodabidri; and as in the north, it is probable that both methods of writing were used. It is perfectly possible to use the incision method with a talipot, as most Burmese and Ceylonese manuscripts are written in this fashion, although in neither instance are the leaves rubbed as fine and smooth as the ancient talipot manuscripts with surface writing from northern India.
Abb.: Lesen einer Palmblatthandschrift [Bidlquelle: http://our_legacy.pitas.com/. -- Zugriff am 2004-03-12]
The finished pile of leaves whether talipot or palmyra was normally strung on a cord (sûtra or nâdî) through pre-bored holes, and protected by a pair of covers (pata or patlî), usually wooden, at top and bottom of the pile. The earliest palm-leaf manuscripts tend to have a single hole bored about one-quarter of the way from the left edge. The odd position of the hole in these early manuscripts suggests that the format is based on an earlier one using different materials, probably wooden strips with holes at one end and kept strung together, as known from Khotan in the 2nd century. These were used as letters and accounts, not for literary purposes. Very long manuscripts at a later date have a similar hole one quarter of the way from the right edge. This second hole does not appear to serve any useful function, as long manuscripts are traditionally bound up with the string passing through only the left holes. It is wound round the pile several times, then passed diagonally across to the position of the right holes, but only wound round the outside and fastened in a loop. Sometimes the cord is replaced by two metal spikes fastened to one cover. The manuscript could then be protected by a square piece of cloth wrapped round it, or put in a specially made wooden box if important enough. Over the centuries the hole in manuscripts which had only the one tended to move nearer and nearer the natural position for it, i.e. the centre of the leaf. In addition to wood, the covers could be of metal or ivory or other materials, or sometimes no more than strengthened leaves. Wooden covers could be painted or carved and inlaid with precious stones or ivory, while metal ones could be sculpted with images. The Sanskrit term for the physical form of such a manuscript is pustaka, usually translated as 'book'. The Hindi derivative pothî is used to describe this type of book, for the format of the palm-leaf manuscript was used also for many other materials — bark, ivory, metals, cloth — and was retained for many centuries in northern India after paper had generally replaced the talipot. Palm leaves could however also be cut into different shapes, making manuscripts in the shape of a cow, or a Shiva lingam or a rosary, often with minutely incised writing. Special covers might also be required, such as the brass tortoise enclosing an 18th-century Tamil manuscript.
The palm leaf is a writing material which was in universal use at one time or another across the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent, yet it seems almost certainly not to have been the earliest material so used. That the talipot was unknown in north-western India when Alexander invaded the Panjab is clear from the contemporary Greek accounts now lost but quoted in later sources. We are told firmly that the Indians used as writing materials the inner bark of trees, and well-beaten cotton cloth. The former is of course the inner bark of the common birch Betula utilis, which known as the bhojapattra or bhûrja grows freely in the Himalayan regions, and which provided the Hindu Kashmiris with their writing material until the 18th century.
The shape of birch-bark manuscripts varies considerably over the centuries. The earliest known, the 2nd-century Ms. Dutreuil de Rhins in Paris and Leningrad, is in the shape of a long scroll, with strips of birch bark pasted together. For other manuscripts, on the other hand, the original sheet was cut into long narrow strips conforming to the pothî format, with stringholes, which are of doubtful utility in such a manuscript due to their friability. Many of the Gilgit manuscripts (4th-8th centuries) conform to this pattern, but this cache of manuscripts also contained magnificent manuscripts on large sheets of bark far larger than any palm leaf, though again in the pothî format (No. 1). These originally would have had long wooden covers, perhaps decorated.
All these manuscripts come from a quite wide area of the western Himalayan regions through into Afghanistan, but we know from al-Bîruni and Râjashekara that birch bark was used over a much wider area of northern India. After the Turkish conquest, the vale of Kashmir, long renowned for its Sanskrit learning, was left isolated as the only centre for the production of birch-bark manuscripts; and even there the introduction of Muslim manuscripts into the valley after the 14th century radically affected the format of this the last period of their production. The sheets of bark were cut to fairly large rectangles and then about eight to ten at a time were folded in two and sewn into sections, and the sections sewn together into a codex shape; the whole was then covered with a binding which sometimes was of rough leather. This radical departure from traditional Hindu practice would seem to have begun as early as the 15th century, as all birch-bark manuscripts after this date are in this upright format, even though few still have their original bindings. All birch-bark manuscripts were written on with pen and ink, that used in the later Kashmiri manuscripts being famous for its indelible properties.
The birch was not the only tree whose bark was used as a writing material. At the other end of the Himalayas in that other enclosed valley, the Assam valley of the Brahmaputra, the inner bark of the aloe tree (Aquilaria agallocha [= A. sinensis]) known locally as the sâncî was used as a writing material. Although no extant manuscript appears to be earlier than the 15th century, it is known from Bana's 7th-century account, when King Bhâskaravarman of Assam sent as presents to the great King Harsha of Kanauj, jewels, silks, and 'volumes of fine writing with leaves made from aloe bark, and of the hue of the ripe pink cucumber'. This lovely description fits perfectly well the 18th-century manuscripts commissioned by the Ahom Kings (No. 121). These sheets of bark when suitably prepared were written on with pen and ink. Unlike the large sheets of birch bark they bear a hole in the centre of the leaf, often ornamented, and traditionally were threaded with a string or nâdî. The sâncîpât leaves have a tendency to split at the edges, but are otherwise tough and durable. The upper and lower covers were usually thick leaves of the same bark, still with the outer layer on.
Abb.: Stamm, Blätter und Blüte von Aquilaria sinensis [Bildquelle: http://www.hktree.com/tree/Aquilaria%20sinensis.htm. -- Zugriff am 2004-03-12]
The other early writing material referred to by Nearchos (quoted by Strabo) is well-beaten cotton cloth, a material {pata or kârpârsika pata) to which reference is made in early Sanskrit legal literature being used for official documents. Texts for engraving on stone or copper plates were written on cloth before being handed over to the engraver. None has survived from a very early period, but it may be assumed that, as in later times, it had to be made writable on by first stiffening it with paste and then covering it with a suitable ground. The earliest surviving example appears to be a solitary leaf from a pothî manuscript on silk found in Sinkiang, but probably of Indian origin, datable on palaeographic grounds to the 8th century and in a northern Indian hand (British Library Or.8212/1594). Such manuscripts are extremely rare; a complete one dated 1351 is reported to be preserved in a Jaina library in Patan in Gujarat.
The cloth scroll is a format of considerable antiquity, and was used almost exclusively for horoscopes and almanacs. The soothsayers summoned by Siddârtha to expound the meaning of his wife's dreams are shown on the illustrated Kalpasûtra manuscripts with long scrolls of cloth (No.26) from which they make their pronouncements.
Abb.: Lesende und schreibende Wahrsager, Jaina-Kalpasûtra-Manuskript, Gujarat, 1445 (British Library) [Bildquelle: : Losty, Jeremiah P.: The art of the book in India. -- London : British Library, ©1982. -- 160 S. : Ill. -- ISBN: 0904654788. -- Plate X.]
The writing on these scrolls commences parallel to the short side, proceeds to the end of the scroll, and if more space is required proceeds back along the reverse side. The same format is seen in the 2nd-century birch-bark scroll from Gandhara. The ancient tradition of painting on large squares of cloth is found continued, remarkably, in the great manuscript of the Hamzanâma commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar about 1570. This huge project involved the preparation of 1400 paintings on separate sheets of cloth, with the text normally written on the reverse.
These materials —birch bark, cloth, aloe bark, and palm leaf—were the normal materials of which books were made in ancient India. But faced with their impermanence in the Indian climate, the ancient Indians turned naturally to stone and metal when they wanted to record a text for all time.Everlasting stone, used widely for inscriptions from the 3rd century BC, was occasionally used by a royal author to demonstrate his literary as well as his martial talents. Buddhist tradition records that the Canon was inscribed on sheets of gold in Ceylon in 88 BC, and on sheets of copper in Mathura in the reign of Kanishka (?ist century ad). None of these has survived, but from a very early period are found votive offerings on gold or silver inscribed with the Buddhist creed, which would appear to have been placed in stûpas or buried in the foundations of monasteries or similar religious foundations. Buddhist texts were frequently inscribed on metal plates, and strung between covers as if they were palm-leaf manuscripts. The practice of writing on long strips of palm leaf kept in spirals which was prevalent in southern India, Nepal, and Ceylon, for letters and official documents, was imitated in at least two spectacular instances in gold and silver, in a pair of treaties exchanged between the Zamorins of Calicut and the Dutch East India Company engraved on long strips of gold and silver in 1691 and c. 1711.
Abb.: Vertrag zwischen den Zamorins von Kalikut und der Niederländischen Ostindiengesellschaft auf einem 2 m langen Goldstreifen eingraviert, Malyalam, 1691, (India Office Library)
[Bildquelle: : Losty, Jeremiah P.: The art of the book in India. -- London : British Library, ©1982. -- 160 S. : Ill. -- ISBN: 0904654788. -- S. 10]
Another precious material used for manuscripts is ivory sheets, with the text incised. Due to its extreme fragility in the Indian climate, little of this material has survived from an early period, but several manuscripts are known from the 18th and 19th centuries.
More ubiquitous even than the stone inscriptions are the copper-plate charters (tâmrashâsana), which record the granting of land to individuals from the king, represented by his chief minister or chief of staff, of which examples survive from the 4th century. These records were first copied out on cloth, birch bark or palm leaf, before being handed over to the copper smith (ayaskâra) for engraving. The originals were apparently kept in the royal chancellery and the plates were given to the donee.
Abb.: Landschenkung auf sieben Kupferplatten, mit Siegel der östlichen Calukya, 664 n Chr. (British Library)
The smiths copied not only the letters but also the shapes of the original, the charters from southern India being long and narrow in imitation of palm leaves, from northern India being comparatively wider. The text was incised parallel to the long side. Usually several sheets were required to complete the text, and these were written in the usual pothî format, with blank first and last sides, and then strung through a hole on a ring to which could be affixed a large bronze boss cast from a mould bearing the royal seal. Some dynasties of northern India preferred to issue grants in large single sheets with the seal welded or riveted on. They were usually kept not in secure storage but buried at the boundaries of the land which had been granted. They were especially important as the only permanent records of land holdings and were frequently altered by beating out the important details and reincising: and in later centuries entirely spurious grants are commonplace. The largest grant so far discovered is on 55 plates weighing 2161b with over 2,500 lines, issued by Râjendra Cola in ad 1024.
Most of these materials, apart from palm leaves, birch bark and sâncî bark, were used for special purposes for which the newest material, paper, could not be substituted. This material, officially invented according to Chinese annals by one Tsai Lun in ad 105, was formed by pulping and shredding materials of vegetable origin in a solution of water and gum and catching the suspended fragments on a fine mesh; when allowed to dry, a malleable and durable sheet of considerable strength is the result. The Chinese after perfecting the process used the bark of the paper mulberry as the vegetable basis of their paper. The process was learnt by the Arabs after the conquest of Samarkand in 751, and spread throughout the Middle East, but linen rags were substituted for the mulberry bark. This sort of paper was introduced by the Turks after their conquest of northern India, in the early 13th century. There is some evidence, however, to show that another kind of paper was in use at least in the Himalayan regions long before this.
Numerous examples of paper manuscripts in Indian scripts were discovered in the various archaeological expeditions sent to Central Asia in the early years of this century. The paper used in these manuscripts is of poor quality and in no way compares with the many specimens of beautiful papers used for Chinese manuscripts found, for example, in the Cave of the Thousand Buddhas at Tunhuang. It is usually unbleached, off-white or dirty-brown in tone, and suggests that its makers while knowledgeable in the techniques of papermaking were either insufficiently skilled to be capable of the manufacture of, or simply indifferent to, such a high-quality product. They are all in the pothî format and in a variety of hands, one of them being a large calligraphic variety of the Gupta script used exclusively in Central Asia. Examples of paper manuscripts from Central Asia such as the Weber and Macartney Mss. (in the Bodleian and British Libraries) include, however, texts written in scripts of undeniable Indian origin, the northern and western varieties of the Gupta script, which were thought to have been copied by Indian scribes in Central Asia. However, the discovery of a large cache of paper manuscripts in Gilgit in 1931 along with birch-bark manuscripts suggests that papermaking was practised at least in the Himalayan regions of the Indian subcontinent by the 6th century ad. Knowledge of the process may have spread to Gilgit across the Karakorum, or perhaps along the Himalayan trade route from Nepal.
Papermaking in another part of the Himalayan region, the valley of Nepal, was undertaken since at least the 12th century, since two manuscripts dated 1105 (now in the Asutosh Museum in Calcutta) and 1185 (No. 11) are now known. The earlier manuscript is on a greyish-brown paper, the later on a paper dyed dark blue and written in gold and silver ink, a style that was especially popular in Nepal in later centuries. In place of the mulberry, Nepalese papers all used the bark of the daphne [Daphne papyracea] as the raw vegetable material, which grows on the high hills surrounding the Kathmandu valley.
It is perhaps extraordinary that if papermaking was practised as early as the 6th century, its use should not have been more widespread. However, these ancient papers depended on the use of plants which grow only in the Himalayas, so that its manufacture was severely localized. The same of course is true of birch bark, but by the middle of the first millennium ad its use was sanctified by centuries of traditions, so that there was little incentive to change to a new material which involved an even more laborious preparation and was not especially suitable to the climate of the north Indian plains. Even in Nepal where papermaking was clearly well-established by the 12th century, the number of palm-leaf manuscripts surviving far outstrips those on paper until the 16th century.
It was the Middle Eastern type of paper made from shredded cloth rather than bark which began to undermine the pre-eminence of the traditional materials in northern India from the 13th century, and this happened comparatively quickly in the west so that scarcely any palm-leaf manuscripts from this area are later than the 15th century. But traditionalist concepts asserted themselves in the formats of the Hindu and Jaina manuscripts in their pothî format, and like the Nepalese paper manuscripts they are cut to the same shape as the earlier materials. At first in the height: width ratio of 1: 3. they gradually increase the height to 1: 2 by the 15th century and this shape is maintained until the 18th century for most types of manuscripts.
For manuscripts in Arabic and Persian, and those Indian languages like Urdu normally written in the Arabic script, no material was thought suitable other than paper, and at the earliest Muslim court in Delhi, historians were soon hard at work writing up the conquest on paper which was first imported from Iran, but which was later produced in India in centres like Daulatabad, Ahmadabad, Lahore, and Kashmir. The centres of excellence of paper manufacture were by the 16th century producing beautiful papers of thick and durable quality, capable of being highly burnished and decorated. Until the 18th century the production centres and methods for manufacturing paper for Muslim and Hindu manuscripts were different. Hindu papermaking was apparently much more localized, and the sheets of paper produced were much smaller, normally the size of the folio required for a manuscript, rather than the much larger sheets requiring cutting favoured by the Muslim centres. In good-quality Persian manuscripts the text is written in the centre of the page and margins in gold and colours drawn all round, forming a central text panel. The sharpness of the tools needed for the marginating often caused the panel to split from its borders. Also the borders suffered far more than the central panels from normal wear and tear, and could easily be replaced.
Manuscripts in languages written in the Arabic script were bound and covered in the normal Middle Eastern way, i.e. leather over boards. These bindings differ somewhat from western ones in that they are 'roundback', i.e. the front and back covers flow smoothly round into the spine without a strengthening ridge, and are never 'hollowback', i.e. the spine is always stuck to the backs of the sections. They also lack a square, a protrusion of the covers beyond the edges of the folios on three sides, and often have a flap, a leather piece attached to the front edge of the rear cover which covers the front of the folios and rests beneath the front cover. There are very few surviving early examples, of which some have rudimentary tooling. At least from the late 16th century, in the Mughal studio, much more elaborate bindings were attempted, with gold-tooling, stamping, gilding, and also pasteboard covers painted and lacquered instead of being covered with leather (Nos.65, 66).
The earliest imitations of such bindings on Hindu manuscripts are from Kashmir, where birch-bark sheets were folded into sections, sewn together and bound with a leather cover from at least the 15th century.
A compromise between the Hindu pothî and the Muslim codex format was reached in the 17th century, in which a pile of paper folios in ihe pothî format was folded in two, and sewn in a single section, each bifolium being sufficiently wide for even half of it, the single folio, to be in a landscape format. The cover could be made of board covered with cloth or leather, or even nothing but a piece of leather (as No.99. siehe unten), and was united with the rest of the manuscript in the single sewing, a fairly heavy cord being used. The pages were protected in this rather rudimentary binding by several flyleaves at beginning and end, and very stiff pieces of paper or card inserted under the cord in the centre. Later in the 18th century, manuscripts in this format but vertical rather than horizontal were produced. The text areas are however still between side margins, and not yet contained within frames. This final approximation occurs in manuscripts of the late 18th century from Kashmir and in certain northern traditions based on those of Kashmir, as at Jaipur, where fine-quality papers were used. In these traditions the folios are now sewn section by section, and stitched at the back, and a cover usually with a flap attached. Even in these manuscripts, however, the sewing is only rarely at the long edge at right-angles to the line of the text (No. 126). More usually the text is parallel to the long-edge of the paper, and the sewing is therefore at the top, still keeping to the pothî format (Nos.128—9). Occasionally the sewing is along the short side, which means that the text even on a pothî-shaped leaf has to be written the same way up on both recto and verso.
Abb.: Nr. 99: In der Mitte zusammengeheftete pothî-Blätter mit Einband und jihvâ
[Bildquelle: : Losty, Jeremiah P.: The art of the book in India. -- London : British Library, ©1982. -- 160 S. : Ill. -- ISBN: 0904654788. -- S. 131]
The covers of this type of manuscript usually include a flap called a jihvâ (tongue); often a cord attached to the tip of the flap is meant to be wound round the manuscript for added security. Cloth was normally used to cover the boards — brocade, velvet, silk, or cotton, often gorgeously embroidered with coloured threads or gold and silver wire. Leather was also used as well from the 18th century, usually deerskin, but sometimes a more exotic material such as tiger skin could be used (British Library Add.26539).
Finally, as an added protection against the ravages of insects (termites, white ants, silverfish) and the extremes of temperature and humidity, manuscripts of all different formats were wrapped up, usually in large square pieces of cloth, and sometimes committed to boxes. The cloth traditionally used was cotton dyed with an orpiment preparation containing arsenic, in which bundles of paper or palm-leaf pothîs would be wrapped up. Occasionally another material is used, such as a deer skin round a very long palm-leaf pothî (British Library Add.5033). Fine quality manuscripts would have their own individual cloths and the richer the manuscript the more elaborate the cloth, which could be of silk stitched over a tougher coarser cotton as in Nepal, or the most elaborate brocade. The imperial Pâdshâhnâma in Windsor Castle is still kept in its fine brocade cover from the royal library in Lucknow. Sometimes specially decorated boxes would be made; a tradition associates the name of the great 15th-century Assamese Vaishnava reformer Shankaradeva with the painting of a manuscript container."
[Quelle: Losty, Jeremiah P.: The art of the book in India. -- London : British Library, ©1982. -- 160 S. : Ill. -- ISBN: 0904654788. -- S. 5 - 13.]
Die aktuellste Gesamtdarstellung indischer Epigraphie ist:
Salomon, Richard <1948 - >: Indian epigraphy : a guide to the study of inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan languages -- New York : Oxford University Press, ©1998. -- 378 S. : Ill. -- ISBN: 0195099842
Parallelstellen zu Vers 3:
Vasishtha XVI, 10: "It is declared in the Smrti, that there are three kinds of proof which give a title to (property, viz.) documents, witnesses and possession; (thereby) an owner may recover property which formerly belonged to him (but was lost)." [Übersetzung von G. Bühler, 1882]
Vishnu VI, 23: "There are three means of proof in case of a demand having been contested, vizt. a writing, witnesses, and proof by ordeal." [Übersetzung von J. Jolly, 1880]
" This verse is remarkable for its omission of the third type of human evidence, possession (bhukti). Neither Bhavasvâmin nor Asahâya note this in their comments, although Asahâya does say that human evidence relies on witnesses and documents. Later writers were troubled by this verse, which is only cited five times altogether (Dharmakosa 217)—an indication that it was never of currency? Vishvarûpa on Yâjnavalkya 2.70 states that this verse only mentions two forms of evidence because they were the most commonly used. Sarasvatîvilâsa 111 states that these two forms of evidence are the weightier ones."
4. - 25. Siehe Dharmakos'a. -- Vol I,1. -- 1937. -- S.11-17. Einteilungen des Gerichtsverfahrens: ebd. S. 7 - 19
4. (=J4, NMS1.4) Es gibt zwei Typen von Gerichtsverfahren:
mit einer Gebühr
ohne eine Gebühr
Das Verfahren mit einer Gebühr hat einen schriftlich fixierten Geldzuschlag1.
1"schriftlich fixierten Geldzuschlag": um die Belatung der Gerichte durch "Prozesshansel" zu verringern, muss die Partei, die voraussichtlich verliert, eine Gebühr vereinbaren, die sie zu bezahlen hat, falls sie verliert.
"'A lawsuit attended by a wager' is where one of the parties promises in writing to pay a certain sum to the king, over and above the amount in dispute. 'A lawsuit not attended by a wager' is one devoid of a stipulation of this sort. Vîramitrodaya. This is apparently the correct explanation.
Asahâya observes that the amount staked may be much smaller than the amount in dispute. Thus, although the sum in dispute be very considerable, one may stake two hundred Panas, or a hundred Panas, or fifty Panas only."
"This verse and the commentary on it are discussed in detail in my article, "The Judicial Wager in Hindu Law," ABORI 62 (1981), 135-145. The lengthy comment with its example of the impoverished son of an official again sounds like Kalyâna."
5. (=J5, NMS1.5) Bei einem Gerichtsverfahren mit einer Gebühr muss der von beiden, der darin unterliegt, beim Sieg der gegnerischen Partei die von ihm gemachte Gebühr und die Strafe zahlen.
Yâjnavalkya II, 18 (siehe Mitâksharâ): "Wenn mit dem Prozesse eine Wette verbunden war, so soll der Richter den verlierenden die Strafe und seine Wette an den König bezahlen lassen, und an den Gläubiger das Geld." [Übersetzung: A. F. Stenzler, 1849]
"According to Asahâya, the wager must not be laid till the two first stages of the trial, the charge and the answer, are over. The wager may be laid either by the plaintiff or by the defendant. The plaintiff, whose declaration has been refuted by the defendant, stakes a certain sum on the issue of the case. Or the defendant, after having denied the correctness of the charge, stakes a certain sum on the correctness of his own statements, to be proved by the issue of the case. Asahâya does not say to whom the sum staked has to be paid in his opinion. It may be observed that, according to Burmese law, which is an offshoot of the early law of India, ten per cent, of the sum staked should be given to the judge and to the pleaders, and the remainder to the victorious party; see Richardson's Dhammathat [richtig: Damathat], p. 73. [Richardson, D.: The Damathat or the Laws of Menoo. -- Moulmein: American Baptist Mission Press, 1847] "
6. (=J6, NMS1.6) Als das Wesentliche bei Gerichtsverfahren wird die Klage genannt. Wenn sie unterliegt, unterliegt der Kläger, wenn er sie rettet, dann ist er der Sieger.
Yâjnavalkya II, 8.: "Beweist er sie [die Klage], so gewinnt er, sonst verliert er. So ist der Prozess bei Streitigkeiten als vierfach dargestellt." [Übersetzung: A. F. Stenzler, 1849]
7. (=J7, NMS1.7) Familienverbände, Zünfte, Vereinigungen, ein Beamter und der König sind die Stützen der Gerichtsverfahren. Von diesen ist das jeweils später genannte gewichtiger.
"Kula means an assemblage consisting of a few persons. Shreni denotes an assemblage of eminent merchants, &c. Gana denotes a fellowship, such as e.g. the Brahman caste. Asahâya. Other commentators take kula to mean a family meeting; shreni, a company of artizans; gana, an assembly of cohabitants. These three stages of private arbitration may be compared to the modern Panchayats of India."
8. (=J8, NMS1.8) Vom Gerichtsverfahren sagt man, dass es
vier Begünstigte hat
vier erreicht
vier bewirkt
9. (=J9, NMS1.9) Es hat
achtzehn Gegenstände
hundert Zweige
zwei Anklageweisen (abhiyuj)
Zu den verschiedenen Aufzählungen zu vyavahâra siehe: Kane, Pandurang Vaman <1880 - 1972>: History of Dharmasastra : (ancient and mediaeval, religious and civil law). -- Poona : Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. -- Vol. 3. -- 2. ed. -- 1973. -- 259-268
10 (=J10, NMS1.10). Das Gerichtsverfahren hat vier Füße:
Jedes in der Aufzählung folgende hebt die vorhergehenden auf.
11. (=J11, NMS1.11) Dabei beruht
Dharma auf Wahrheit
das Gerichtsverfahren auf Augenzeugen
Gewohnheit auf schriftlich Niedergelegtem
königlicher Erlass auf Befehl des Königs
"Where both parties adhere strictly to truth in their statements, there is virtue or justice clearly enough, judicial procedure, written proof, and a royal edict being quite unnecessary in that case. Where either of the two parties is suspected to have made a false statement, judicial procedure has to be resorted to, which depends on the evidence given by witnesses. Documentary evidence (caritra) is where the statements of witnesses are consulted, written in their own hand, on a leaf, or on birch-bark, or on a strip of rind, or some other writing material. That suit, however, which has been decided by an edict from the king himself, is superior to all the rest, according to the saying,' What has been decided in a village, goes into the town. What has been decided in the town, goes before the king. What has been decided by the king, though wrongly decided, cannot be tried anew.' Asahâya. The term caritra has been rendered in conformity with this interpretation, which is confirmed by the remarks of Candeshvara on this sloka. Other commentators and several MSS. of the Nârada-smriti read svî-karane or prashnakarane for pustakarane. These commentators explain the term caritra in conformity with a text of Brihaspati, ' Whatever is practised by a man, proper or improper, in accordance with local usage, is termed caritra (custom).'"
"Asahâya and Bhavasvâmin agree that these four "bases" are listed in ascending order. If a case is resolved simply by both parties telling the truth, that is a proceeding based on dharma. If the dispute is settled only by the testimony of witnesses, this is a situation where the legal proceeding (vyavahâra) "overrules" a proceeding based on dharma. Asahâya understands the term caritram pustakarane to mean that the witnesses have clearly recorded their statements on birch bark, or a register (? samputikâ), and that these statements overrule earlier ones made in a legal proceeding. Bhavasvâmin indicates that it may mean that a case is decided on written evidence, but he is not certain of this and offers a variant reading: caritram sangrahah pumsâm "custom is the assemblage of men" (this reading is found in Kautilya 3.1.40), and suggests that this means that the rules are those traditional rules peculiar to particular places, regions, or groups. When all of these first three options fail, the appeal to the king is binding, hence it "overrules" the others, i.e., it alone is applicable when the others are not applicable. See Ludo Rocher's article, "caritram pustakarane" Indologica Taurinensia 7 (1979), pp. 345-350, where a full discussion of this verse and its variant readings may be found. See also Kâtyâyana 35-36 and Kane's translation and notes to those verses."
12. (=J12, NMS1.12) Man sagt vom Gerichtsverfahren, dass es vier Grundlagen hat weil es durch die vier Mittel zustande kommt:
Schlichtung (sâma) usw.
[Trennung (bheda)]
[Geschenke (upapradâna)]
[Strafe (danda)]
Es hat vier Begünstigte weil es die vier Stände und Lebensstadien hütet.
"Because a lawsuit is decided by resorting, as the case maybe, to any one of the four means of success, viz. conciliation, division, bribery, and force, therefore it is said to have four means. Because it protects or guards the four castes and the four orders, therefore it is said to benefit four. Asahâya. The four orders are the four stages in the life of a twice-born man : student, householder, hermit, and ascetic."
"The four means are conciliation, division, gift-giving, and punishment according to both Asahâya and Bhavasvâmin (see also Kau 1.13.12). Bhavasvâmin explains that conciliation is a sort of flattery: "Speak the truth. You are bom of a noble family of scholars. Your people will be blessed." According to Bhavasvâmin, gift-giving is forgiving a portion of the debt; division consists of threats, etc., while punishment means chastisement, exacting tribute, and the like."
13. (=J13, NMS1.13) Das Gerichtsverfahren erreicht der Überlieferung nach vier, weil es zu je einem Viertel erreicht
die Angehörigen der Gerichtsversammlung
"If unjustly decided, it brings evil on the four persons mentioned in this sloka. If justly decided, it confers good on them. Asahâya."
14. (=J14, NMS1.14) Man sagt, dass das Gerichtsverfahren viererlei bewirkt, weil es folgende vier bewirkt:
Dharma (Recht)
Artha (Nutzen)
Reifen (Entwicklung) der Welt
"Bhavasvâmin comments that dharma comes from protection of the upright, both noble and ignoble, and that this is done by hearing disputes correctly. Wealth comes from accepting fines from the defeated. Fame comes from behaving correctly and without greed."
15. (=J15, NMS1.15) Das Gerichtsverfahren hat acht Glieder
der König mit seinen Mannen
das Lehrwerk (Rechtscodex)
"The several functions of the eight (or ten) 'members' of a judicial proceeding are thus described in a sloka attributed to Brihaspati. ' The chief judge publishes the sentence. The king passes it. The assessors investigate the facts of the case. The law-book dictates the judgment, i.e. the victory of the one party, and the fine imposed on the other party. Gold and silver serve the purpose of administering ordeals. Water is used for relieving thirst or appeasing hunger. The accountant has to compute the sums. The scribe has to record the proceedings. The attendant must compel the defendant and the witnesses to appear in court,' and detain both plaintiff and defendant, if they have given no sureties.' According to Asahâya, the term ' the king's righteous officer ' has to be referred to the king's chief judge, and by ' law-books ' are meant the compositions of Manu, Nârada, Visvarûpa, and others."
"The king and his men are one "limb." The men serve in the king's stead whenever the king is not able to attend to the matter personally ... The accountant should be a local, respected merchant, and the scribe is to record the proceedings The elements of gold, fire, and water are said by Asahâya to be three visible forms of the deity Dharma who, through ordeals that use these elements, points out truth an falsehood."
16. - 20b. (=J16-20b, NMS1.16-20b) Das Gerichtsverfahren hat 18 Titel (Gegenstände):
Für diese Gegenstände eines Gerichtsverfahrens gibt es traditionell auch eine andere Einteilung in 108 Glieder.
"18 Titel": magische Zahl 18 = 3x6 = 1x(1+2)x(1+2+3)
"108 Glieder": magische Zahl 108 = 4x27 =1x2x2x3x3x3
16-19. Manu VIII, 4-8:
"Of those (titles)
the first is the non-payment of debts, (then follow),
deposit and pledge,
sale without ownership,
concerns among partners, and
resumption of gifts,
Non-payment of wages,
non-performance of agreements,
rescission of sale and purchase,
disputes between the owner (of cattle) and his servants,
Disputes regarding boundaries,
robberv and violence,
Duties of man and wife,
partition (of inheritance),
these are in this world the eighteen topics which give rise to lawsuits. Depending on the eternal law, let him decide the suits of men who mostly contend on the titles just mentioned." [Übersetzung von G. Bühler, 1886]
"20-25. The 132 divisions of the eighteen titles of law are stated as follows by Asahâya:
Which debts have to be paid, and which not, &c.;
debts (in general);
means of livelihood of a Brahman in times of distress ;
modes of proof;
lending money at interest;
incompetent witnesses;
witnesses for the plaintiff;
witnesses for the defendant;
six cases where witnesses are unnecessary;
validity of testimony, how long retained;
false witnesses ;
exhorting the witnesses ;
valid evidence ;
invalid evidence;
what has to be done, where both witnesses and documents are wanting ;
ordeal by balance ;
ordeal by fire ;
ordeal by water ;
ordeal by poison ;
ordeal by sacred libation.
Nyâsa (common deposits);
aupanidhika (sealed deposits);
yâcitaka (loans for use);
anvâhitaca (deposits for delivery);
silpihastagata (bailments with an artizan);
pogandadhana (property of a minor).
The common undertakings of partners in business;
sacrifices offered by officiating priests;
What may be given;
what may not be given;
valid gifts;
invalid gifts.
impure work;
conduct of a student;
rules of conduct for an apprentice;
rules of conduct for a manager;
fifteen sorts of slaves;
emancipation from slavery;
legal position of a slave;
release of a slave by the favour of his master.
The wages of servants;
cowherds and the rest;
fee of a public woman;
questions arising in regard to the payment of rent.
Sales effected by another than the rightful owner.
Sale without ownership;
Non-delivery of a sold chattel.
Rescission of purchase,
worn clothes ;
loss on metals (caused by working them);
preparing cloth.
Transgression of a compact.
Quarrels regarding a field;
quarrels regarding a house;
quarrels regarding a garden;
quarrels regarding a well;
quarrels regarding a sanctuary;
quarrels regarding (the boundary of) a village ;
prohibition to decorate (to cause nuisance in?) a cross-road, &c.;
making a dike;
protection of grain;
compensation for grain (destroyed by cattle);
the foundation (of a householder's existence).
Mutual duties of husband and wife.
Examination of a man's virile potency;
gift of a maiden in marriage;
the offence of insulting an officiating priest;
the right time for giving a maiden in marriage;
the offence of casting a blemish on an unblemished maiden, or suitor;
marriage forms;
rule regarding incontinent females and other (unchaste women);
what constitutes legitimate issue;
illicit intercourse;
punishment of adultery;
intercourse with cattle, and other crimes of this sort;
raising issue where there is no husband;
the offspring of adulterous intercourse;
unauthorised intercourse of a woman with one not her husband;
rule regarding bad wives and
conduct prescribed for a woman whose husband is absent ;
definition of a rendezvous.
Definition of heritage;
its distribution;
indivisible property;
what constitutes strîdhana;
descent of strîdhana after the death of the proprietress;
rules regarding the property of brothers;
division of the property between parents and sons;
case of a daughter whose father is unknown, &c.;
case of a father unauthorised (to raise issue);
share of a son suffering from a chronic or agonising disease, or otherwise (incapable of inheriting);
division among the sons of a reunited coparcener;
management of the property of a deceased or absent brother;
work done by one to whom the management of the family property has been entrusted, &c.;
decision in the case of a contested partition;
enumeration of the divers kinds of sons. [There ought to be nineteen subdivisions of the law of inheritance, instead of fifteen. That number might be obtained by counting each reason of exclusion from inheritance as a separate division.]
What constitutes a heinous offence;
punishments ordained for heinous offences ;
distinction between articles of inferior, middling, and superior value;
the two kinds of robbers;
seizure of robbers;
granting food or shelter (to thieves), &c.;
punishment of heinous offences and larceny; n. tracing a thief by the foot-marks;
confiscation of the property of thieves or others, when the stolen goods have not been recovered.
punishments ordained for both offences.
Gambling with dice, and betting on animals.
Protection of the (four) castes and (four) orders by the king in person;
dignity of a king;
maintenance of Brahmans by the king;
authorisalion from the king to bestow one's property (on Brahmans);
description of the various modes of subsistence permitted to a Brahman;
eight things worthy of reverence.
It should be noted that Asahâya himself, in the sequel of his commentary, does not adhere strictly to this division, and gives
a number of different headings, which will be quoted in the notes to this translation."
Zu den Rechtstitel (vyavahârapada) siehe: Kane, Pandurang Vaman <1880 - 1972>: History of Dharmasastra : (ancient and mediaeval, religious and civil law). -- Poona : Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. -- Vol. 3. -- 2. ed. -- 1973. -- S. 248- 259
Abb.: Konkordanz der Rechtstitel bei Manu, Kautilya, Mitâksarâ, Nârada, Smrticandrikâ
[Quelle der Abb.: Kane, Pandurang Vaman <1880 - 1972>: History of Dharmasastra : (ancient and mediaeval, religious and civil law). -- Poona : Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. -- Vol. 3. -- 2. ed. -- 1973. -- S.249]
Vgl dazu die Rechtstitel in den wichtigsten schweizerischen Gesetzbüchern:
Schweizerisches Zivilgesetzbuch: http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/c210.html. -- Zugriff am 2003-11-17
Dritte Abteilung: Die Vormundschaft
Ergänzung des Schweizerischen Zivilgesetzbuches (Fünfter Teil: Obligationenrecht): http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/c220.html. -- Zugriff am 2003-11-17
Schweizerisches Strafgesetzbuch: http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/311_0/index.html. -- Zugriff am 2003-11-17
Dritter Titel: Strafbare Handlungen gegen die Ehre und den Geheim- oder Privatbereich
Sechster Titel: Verbrechen und Vergehen gegen die Familie
Siebenter Titel: Gemeingefährliche Verbrechen und Vergehen
Achter Titel: Verbrechen und Vergehen gegen die öffentliche Gesundheit
Neunter Titel: Verbrechen und Vergehen gegen den öffentlichen Verkehr
Zehnter Titel: Fälschung von Geld, amtlichen Wertzeichen, amtlichen Zeichen, Mass und Gewicht
Elfter Titel: Urkundenfälschung
Zwölfter Titelbis: Straftaten gegen die Interessen der Völkergemeinschaft
Vierzehnter Titel: Vergehen gegen den Volkswillen
Fünfzehnter Titel: Strafbare Handlungen gegen die öffentliche Gewalt
Sechzehnter Titel: Störung der Beziehungen zum Ausland
Siebzehnter Titel: Verbrechen und Vergehen gegen die Rechtspflege
Achtzehnter Titel: Strafbare Handlungen gegen die Amts- und Berufspflicht
Neunzehnter Titel: Bestechung
Zwanzigster Titel: Übertretungen bundesrechtlicher Bestimmungen
20cd. (=J20cd, NMS1.20cd) Gemäß der Einteilung der Taten der Menschen wird das Gerichtsverfahren als als hundertfach bezeichnet.
"Jolly took the verses given in the commentary to be part of the text of Nâsmrti, but this is unlikely. For a translation and discussion of these verses see my article, "A Bogus Passage in Jolly's Nârada-smrti," IIJ 27 (1984), 201-205."
J hat hier noch folgende Verse
J21. 'Recovery of a debt' has twenty-five divisions ; 'deposits' has six; 'partnership' has three; 'resumption of gift' has four ;
J22. 'Breach of service' consists of nine divisions ; 'wages' has four divisions; there are two divisions of 'sales effected by another than the rightful owner;' 'non-delivery of a sold chattel' has a single division only;
J23. 'Rescission of purchase' has four divisions; 'transgression of compact' is onefold ; 'boundary disputes' is twelvefold; there are twenty divisions in 'mutual duties of husband and wife ;'
J24. 'Law of inheritance' consists of nineteen divisions ; 'heinous offences' of twelve ; of both 'abuse' and 'assault' there are three divisions;
J25. 'Gambling with dice and betting on animals' has a single division; 'miscellaneous' has six divisions. Thus, adding up all these branches (of the principal titles of law), there are one hundred and thirty-two of them.
21. (=J26, NMS1.21) Weil das Gerichtsverfahren aus den dreien
entsteht, sagt man, dass es drei Ursachen hat. Diese Dreiheit erzeugt Streit.
22. (=J27, NMS1.22) Das Gerichtsverfahren hat zwei Anklageweisen (abhiyuj):
die Anklage aufgrund von Verdacht
die Anklage aufgrund von Tatsachen
Verdacht aufgrund des Umgangs mit Bösen, Tatsache, weil Diebesgut (ho*dha) und dergleichen gefunden werden.
"Supposing that the owner of a lost chattel casts his suspicion on a man who is constantly seen in the company of well-known thieves and other bad characters, or who lives with prostitutes, or is addicted to gambling, if he impeaches that man, it is called a charge founded on suspicion. If a man is impeached, after having been taken with the maner, the stolen goods having been found among his property, it is called a charge founded on fact. In a charge founded on suspicion, the decision must be referred to the gods (i.e. to an ordeal). In a charge founded on fact, the decision rests with the king's judge. Asahâya,"
23. (=J28, NMS1.23) Das Gerichtsverfahren hat zwei Tore, weil es mit zwei Argumentationen verbunden ist. Von den beiden ist die erste Argumentation die Anklage, das zweite die Verteidigung.
24. (=J29, NMS1.24) Das Gerichtsverfahren hat zwei Wege weil es sich gründet auf
Wahrheit ist mit Tatsächlichkeit verbunden, Irrtum gründet auf Tollheit.
"The issue of a lawsuit, like its beginning, may be twofold, Either a just decision is given, in accordance with fact, or the decision is erroneous. Asahâya"
J30. Even ordeals are rendered invalid by frauds in the statements. Thus there must be no mistake with regard to the place, the time, the amount, etc.
25. (=J31, NMS1.25) Dabei soll der König, der der Durchsetzer des Rechts ist, mitgeteilten und folgenlosen Irrtum verzeihen. Er soll nur die Wahrheit ans Licht bringen, weil Glück auf Dharma gründet.
Yâjnavalkya.II, 19: "Der König soll, die Täuschung vertilgend, die Prozesse nach der Tatsache führen; selbst die Tatsache, wenn sie nicht dargelegt wird, verliert im Prozesse." [Übersetzung: A. F. Stenzler, 1849]
"'Brought forward,' i.e. stated by the plaintiff. The king shall neglect it, i.e. not accept it as correct. Asahâya."
"The word chala has two meanings, a mistake and a deliberate error. As an example of a proceeding involving a mistake, Asahâya gives the case of a man who loaned 500 drammas to Devadatta in Vatapadraka (Baroda?), but who misremembers the name of the place and in the court says that the loan was made to Devadatta in Samvâduka village. Even though Devadatta owed him the money, the decision went against the plaintiff because of this error in his plaint. Asahâya — or, judging by the style, Kalyâna — further quotes a verse which Jolly took to be part of the text of Nârada, but which is unknown in any other Nârada ms, and is not quoted in any other text:
This understanding of chala is the common one. The technical meaning is sophistry, or "the giving of false interpretations to the words of an adversary in discussion" (A.B. Keith, Indian Logic and Atomism, Oxford, 1921, p. 154). Asahâya gives the standard example of this technical meaning: navakambala (as a bahuvrîhi compound) can mean either "the one who has a new blanket" or "the one who has nine blankets." Sophistry is a deliberate misunderstanding of such a term by an adversary: when the plaintiff says that he has a witness and points him out by saying he is the man with the new blanket, and the respondent replies that there is no one present who has nine blankets. Narada's view of this is given in Ma 1.25. Chala is also discussed in Jolly Ma 2.25 (see Appendix). See also J.D.M. Derretts discussion of chala in "Some Features of Public Law in Smrti Sources," ALB 42 (1978), 1-31. Smrtisâra attributes Ma 1.25 to Yâjnavalkya (compare Yâjnavalkya 2.19)."
26. - 65. Siehe Dharmakos'a. -- Vol I,1. -- 1937. -- S. 88-97. Darsanavidhi: ebd. S. 67-106
26. (=J32, NMS1.26) Für einen selbstbeherrschten König, der die Gerichtsverfahren dem Dharma gemäß ablaufen lässt entstehen sieben Vorzüge wie die sieben Strahlen1 des Feuers.
1"sieben Strahlen des Feuers"
Vgl. Mundaka-Upanishad 1.2.4:
"Die Schwarze, Fletschende, Gedankenschnelle,
Hochrote, Funkenstiebende, Rauchfarbge,
Und die Allschimmernde, hehre, -- das sind, schaukelnd,
Des Opferfeuers sieben Flammenzungen."
[Übers. Paul Deussen, 1897]
27. (=J33, NMS1.27)
Großschätzung von den Untertanen
und ein ewiger Platz im Himmel
28. (=J34, NMS1.28) Deswegen soll der König, wenn er den Gerichtstuhl erreicht, frei von Selbstsucht, neutral gegenüber allen Wesen sein und das Gelübde des Sohns der Sonne [=Yama1] tragen.
1"Yama"
Abb.: Yama [Bildquelle: http://www.agasthiar.org/AUMzine/0003-dd.htm. -- Zugriff am 2003-11-18]
"YAMA, ' Restrainer.' Pluto, Minos. In the Vedas Yama is god of the dead, with whom the spirits of the departed dwell He was the son of Vivaswat (the Sun), and had a twin-sister named Yamî or Yamunâ. These are by some looked upon as (he first human pair, the originators of the race; and there is a remarkable hymn, in the form of a dialogue, in which the female urges their cohabitation for the purpose of perpetuating the species. Another hymn says that Yama "was the first of men that died, and the first that departed to the (celestial) world." He it was who found out the way to the home which cannot be taken away: " Those who are now born (follow) by their own paths to the place whither our ancient fathers have departed." " But," says Dr. Muir, " Yama is nowhere represented in the Rig-veda as having anything to do with the punishment of the wicked." So far as is yet known, " the hymns of that Veda contain no prominent mention of any such penal retribution. .. . Yama is still to some extent an object of terror. He is represented at having two insatiable dogs with four eyes and wide nostrils, which guard the road to his abode, and which the departed an advised to hurry past with all possible speed. These dogs an said to wander about among men as his messengers, no doubt for the purpose of summoning them to their master, who is in another place identified with death, and is described as sending a bird as the herald of doom."
In the epic poems Yama is the son of the Sun by Sanjnâ (conscience), and brother of Vaivaswata (Manu). Mythologically he was the father of Yudhi-shthira. He is the god of departed spirits and judge of the dead, A soul when it quits its mortal form repairs to his abode in the lower regions; there the recorder, Chitra-gupta, reads out his account from the great register called Agra-sandhânî, and a just sentence follows, when the soul either ascends to the abodes of the Pitris (Manes), or is tent to one of the twenty-one hells according to its guilt, or it is born again on earth in another form. Yama is regent of the south quarter, and as such is called Dakshinâsâ-pati. He is represented as of a green colour and clothed with red. He rides upon a buffalo, and is armed with a ponderous mace and a noose to secure his victims.
In the Purânas a legend is told of Yama having lifted his foot to kick Chhâyâ the handmaid of his father. She cursed him to have his leg affected with sores and worms, but his father gave him a cock which picked off the worms and cured the discharge. Through this incident he ia called Sîrna-pâda, ' shrivelled foot.'
Yama had several wives, as Hemamâlâ, Su-shîlâ, and Vijayâ, He dwells in the lower world, in his city Yama-pura. There, in his palace called Kâlîchî, he sits upon his throne of judgment, Vichâra-bhû. He is assisted by his recorder and councillor, Chitra-gupta, and waited upon by his two chief attendants and custodians, Chanda or Mahâ-chanda, and Kâla-purusha. His messengers, Yama-dûtas, bring in the souls of the dead, and the door of his judgment-hall is kept by his porter, Vaidhyata.
Yama has many names descriptive of his office. He is Mrityu, Kâla, and Antaka, ' death;' Kritânta, 'the finisher;' Samana, the settler;' Dandîl or Danda-dhara, ' the rod-bearer ;' Bhîma-shâsana, 'of terrible decrees;' Pâsî, 'the noose-carrier;' Pitri-pati, 'lord of the manes;' Preta-râja, 'king of the ghosts;' Srâddha-deva, 'god of the exequial offerings;' and especially Dharma-râj'a 'king of justice.' He is Audumbara, from Udum-bara, ' the fig-tree,' and from his parentage he is Vaivaswata There is a Dharma-shâstra which bears the name of Yama, "
Yâjnavalkya II,1: "Die prozesse soll der König prüfen mit kundigen Brâhmanas, nach der Vorschrift der Rechtsbücher, frei von Zorn und Begierde." [Übersetzung: A. F. Stenzler, 1849]
29. (=J35, NMS1.29) Er soll dem Dharmalehrwerk Ehre erweisen, sich auf den Berufsrichter stützen und gesammelten Geistes die Rechtshändel der Reihenfolge nach anhören.
30. (=J36, NMS1.30) Die Anhörung soll vierfach sein:
Titel (Rechtsgegenstand)
1 Ich weiche von Asahâya's Auslegung von âgama ab:
"Âgama, 'the connection', i.e. the relation of the case in hand to the entire system of law; 'the title of law', its pappertaining to a subdivision of this or that title of law; its 'cure', i.e. it must be cured like a illness, by carrying it through the four parts of a judicial proceeding. Asahâya"
31. (=J37, NMS1.31) Er soll den Fortgang des Gerichtsverfahrens führen
ohne Widerspruch zu Dharmashâstra und Arthashâstra1
auf der rechten Fährte
geschickt und vollständig
1"ohne Widerspruch zu Dharmashâstra und Arthashâstra" = in Übereinstimmung mit Recht und Staatsraison
Vgl. Staatraison im schweizerischen Strafrecht: die Ermächtigungsdelike:
Störungen der Beziehungen zum Ausland (=Straftatbestände des 16. Titels des Strafgesetzbuchs [Art. 296-301]) dürfen nur auf Ermächtigung des Bundesrats hin verfolgt werden (Strafgesetzbuch Art. 302, Bundesstrafrechtspflege Art. 105)
Delikte von Bundesräten, Ständeräten , Nationalräten, Bundesrichter und dem Bundeskanzler in der Ausübung ihres Amtes dürfen nur mit Genehmigung der eidgenössischen Räte strafrechtlich verfolgt werden (Verantwortlichkeitsgesetz Art 14). Die Verfolgung von Delikten dieser Personen als Privatpersonen bedarf des Einverständnisses der Magistratsperson selbst oder der Behörde, der sie angehört. (Garantiegesetz Art. 4) Entsprechendes gilt für Magistratspersonen der Kantone (Strafgesetzbuch Art 366, Abs. 2 lit. b)
Delikte von Bundesbeamten im Zusammenhang mit deren Amts- oder Dienstverhältnis können nur mit Ermächtigung des Eidgenössischen Justiz- und Polizeidepartements verfolgt werden (Strafgesetzbuch Art 366 Abs.1, Verantwortlichkeitsgesetz Art 15)
32. (=J38, NMS1.32) Er soll die Fährte des Dharma so verfolgen wie ein Jäger die Fährte eines verwundeten Wildes im Gebüsch verfolgt aufgrund von wenig Blut.
Manu VIII, 44: "As a hunter traces the lair of a (wounded) deer by the drops of blood, even so the king shall discover on which side the right lies, by inferences (from the facts)." [Übersetzung von G. Bühler, 1886]
33. (=J39, NMS1.33) Wo es einen Widerspruch gibt zwischen Dharmashâstra und Arthashâstra, soll er das Arthashâstra beiseitelassen und dem Dharmashâstra folgen.
D. h. es gilt: "Recht vor Macht"
Yâjnavalkya II, 21: "Wenn zwei Rechtsvorschriften im Widerspruch stehen, so soll eine Folgerung gelten welche sich aus dem Prozesse ergibt; aber eine Vorschrift über das Recht gilt mehr als eine Vorschrift welche den nutzen betrifft. Dies steht fest." [Übersetzung: A. F. Stenzler, 1849]
34. (=J40, NMS1.34) Wenn sich das Dharmashâstra widerspricht, dann gilt angemessener Brauch. Denn Brauch ist stärker, durch ihn wird der Dharma hintangesetzt.
"According to Asahâya., this verse inculcates the superiority of custom to written law. Thus both the practice of raising offspring to a deceased or disabled brother, and the remarriage of widows (see twelfth title of law) are specially sanctioned in the sacred law-books. Yet these two customs are opposed to established practice. Therefore subtle ratiocination is required, Asahâya. quotes a verse to the effect that the immemorial usages of every province, which have been handed down from generation to generation, can never be overruled by a rule of the sacred law."
35. (=J41, NMS1.35) Der ehrwürdige Dharma ist nämlich subtil, den Sinnen verborgen, schwer zu bedenken, deshalb soll er auf dem sichtbaren Weg den Fortgang des Gerichtsverfahrens führen.
36. (=J42, NMS1.36) Ein Nicht-Dieb kann als Dieb beurteilt werden, ein Dieb als Nichtdieb. Der Nichtdieb Mândavya1 ist aufgrund eines Gerichtsverfahrens als Dieb verurteilt worden.
1"Mandavya": siehe Mahâbhârata 1.101:
"Janamejaya said:
What had Law done that he incurred a curse? And by whose curse, brahmin seer, was he born in a serfs womb ?
There was a brahmin known as Mândavya, persevering and knowledgeable on all the Laws, who abode by truth and austerities. This great ascetic and yogin was wont to stand below a tree at the gate of his hermitage with his arms raised high while observing a vow of silence. He had stood there for a long time in mortification when Dasyus came fleeing to his hermitage, carrying their plunder, hotly pursued by many guards, O bull among Bhâratas. They hid their plunder about his hovel, and when the troop came after them, they lay down there in great fear. Scarcely had they lain down when the troop of guardsmen pursuing the robbers arrived, and they saw the seer. They asked the ascetic, who still held his posture, king, "Which way did the Dasyus go, great brahmin ? We shall hurry after them the same way." But the ascetic gave no reply to these words of the guardsmen, king, neither good nor evil. Thereupon the king's men searched the hermitage and found the thieves lying there and their loot. The guardsmen now began to suspect the hermit himself, and they seized him and brought him with the Dasyus to the king. The king passed judgment on him with the others: "Let him be killed." The headsmen, who did not know him, strung him on a stake. After the guardsmen had hoisted the hermit on the stake, they returned to the king with the plunder.
The law-minded brahmin seer hung on the stake for a long time, without food, but even so did not die. He held on to his life and summoned the seers. These hermits became most mortified over the great-spirited hermit who was mortifying himself impaled on the stake, O mortifier of your enemies! They returned in the night in the form of birds from everywhere. After showing their powers, as far as they were capable, they questioned the great brahmin: "We wish to learn, brahmin, what evil you have done." Thereupon he said to the ascetics, tigers among hermits, "On whom shall I place the blame? For no one but me is guilty."
The king heard that he was a seer and came out with his councillors and sought to appease the great seer on the stake: "What evil I have done in my folly and ignorance, great seer, I seek to Appease you of it; pray be not angry with me!" At the king's words the hermit made peace; and, having appeased him, the king lowered him off the stake. When he had lowered him from the top of the stake and tried to pull the stake out of him, he could not pull it out, and he cut it off at the end. And so the hermit went about with the stake still inside him, winning with his mortifications worlds mostly out of the reach of others. "Mândavya-of-the-Stake" people called him.
Then the brahmin, who knew the higher meanings, went to the realm of Law; and finding Law seated, the mighty man took him to task: "What evil, if any, had I unwittingly done that such a retribution was wreaked on me? Tell me the truth at once—behold the power of my austerities!"
You had stuck blades of grass in the tails of little flies, and this was the punishment you received for that deed, ascetic.
Mândavya-of-the-Stake said:
The sin was small and the penalty you dealt me vast. Law, for that you shall be born a man from the womb of a serf! Now I lay down the limit on the fruition of the Law: nothing shall be a sin up to the age of fourteen years; but if they do it beyond that age it shall be counted an offense.
So, because he was cursed by the great-spirited hermit for that offense, Law was born from the womb of a serf in the form of Vidura. He was versed in Law and Profit, innocent of greed and grudge, far-sighted, serene, and devoted to the welfare of the Kurus."
[Quelle: The Mahabharata / translated and ed. by J. A. B. van Buitenen. -- Chicago : Univ. of Chicago Pr. -- Band 1: The book of the beginning. -- 1973. -- XLIV, 492 S. -- ISBN 0-226-84648-2. -- S. 237f.]
37. (=J43, NMS1.37) Ein Gerichtsverfahren bzw. Rechtsgeschäft, das
außerhalb des Dorfes,
innerhalb des Hauses,
gemacht wurde, muss wiederholt werden.
"Asahâya gives two different interpretations of "between women:" transactions done by women, and transactions witnessed by women only. The night is for sleeping, not for transactions, hence a transaction could not be verifiable even if it were done in one's own—sleeping—presence. Bhavasvâmin makes it clear that the remaining situations are not allowed because of the absence of witnesses and, in the case of enemies, because the witnesses could be expected to lie. He also points out that such transactions are not prohibited altogether, but that they ought to be redone, properly."
38. (=J44, NMS1.38) Weil Konflikte ein Dickicht sind, und auch weil das Gedächtnis unfähig ist, soll er sich bei Schuldfällen und dergleichen nach Belieben Zeit nehmen, aus dem Wunsch heraus, die Wahrheit zu erfahren.
"Asahâya points out that the delay spoken of here is a delay in requiring the reply of the respondent to a charge involving a transaction that took place in the distant past."
39. (=J45, NMS1.39) In folgenden Fällen soll er den Konflikt sofort austragen lassen
Vergehen bezüglich
Vergänglichem bzw. Dringendem
Yâjnavalkya II, 12: Bei Gewalt, Diebstahl, Beleidigung, einer Kuh, schwerer Beschuldigung, Angriff oder einer Frau soll der Richter sogleich antworten lassen; in anderen Fällen ist beliebige Zeit gestattet." [Übersetzung: A. F. Stenzler, 1849]
40. (=J46, NMS1.40) Wer ohne den König informiert zu haben, in einem zweifelhaften Fall vorgeht, d.h. Selbstjustiz übt, ist peinlich zu bestrafen, und sein Fall hat keinen Erfolg.
Yâjnavalkya II, 16: "Wer eine zweifelhafte Sache eigenmächtig zu Ende bringt, wer entflieht, und wer aufgefordert nichts sagt, der soll verurteilt und bestraft werden." [Übersetzung: A. F. Stenzler, 1849]
"Bhavasvâmin's commentary makes it clear that the subject of this verse is self-help. It is wrong for a man to resolve a doubtful dispute by force without informing the king. Presumably the king would be able to see to it that the doubtful matter would be settled justly without regard to which party could wield the most force. Bhavasvâmin says that a doubtful case is one that has not been deckled."
41. (=J47, NMS1.41) Wenn jemand, wenn ein Fall zur Sprache gebracht wird, nicht erscheint und sich dem Wort entzieht, dann soll ihn der Kläger bis zur Vorladung bannen.
"Bhavasvâmin says that absconding means not acting in a way conducive to a resolution of the dispute. Subodhinî and Bâlambhattî on Yâjnavalkya 2.5 both agree with Asahâya's explanation. See my article, "âsedha and âkrosa —Arrest in the Sarasvatîvilâsa," Indology and Law: Studies in Honour of Professor J. Duncan M. Derrett, pp. 205-222."
42. (=J48, NMS1.42) Bann ist vierfach:
Bann an einem Ort
Bann für eine bestimmte Zeit
Bann vom Reisen
Bann von einer Aktivität
Ein Gebannter darf dem Bann nicht zuwiderhandeln.
"Local arrest is in this form: ' If you move from this place, the king will arrest you.' Temporary arrest is in this form:' You must not leave this house for a certain period.' Inhibition from travelling consists of a prohibition not to undertake a journey on which one has determined. Arrest relating to karman is in this form: 'You must not persevere in performing this or that karman (religious ceremony).' Thus according to Asahâya. and Vtramitrodaya, p. 55. When placed under arrest of any one out of these four kinds, the person arrested must not break the arrest. Otherwise he will become guilty of an offence against the king. Asahâya."
43. (=J49, NMS1.43) Jemand, der gebannt wird
beim Überschreiten eines Flusses
bei einem Unfall bzw. auf dem Kampfplatz
und sich diesem Bann entzieht, hat keine Schuld.
Jolly hat hier in Klammern folgenden Vers:
J50. [50. Those causes which have been tried in the king's court, (or) by friends, connections, or relations, shall be tried anew, after a fine of twice the original amount (of the sum in dispute) has been imposed.]
"Asahâya observes that this verse, though it ought not to come in here, has been inserted from the original work (of Nârada ?). It means, according to him, that both those lawsuits which have been decided by the king in person, and those which have been decided by friends, connections, or relatives, shall be tried anew, in case the double amount of the fine ordained has been paid. Yâjnavalkya II, 305 ["Ungerecht entschiedene Prozesse soll der König noch einmal prüfen, und die Richter so wie die Rartei welche gewonnen hatte, sollen das Doppelte der in dem Prozesse festgesetzten Strafe zahlen." Übersetzung: A. FD. Stenzler, 1849]. Perhaps the word '(or)' had better be omitted."
44. (=J51, NMS1.44) Wer zu einer für einen Bann rechten Zeit gebannt wird und sich dem Bann entzieht, den muss er bestrafen. Ein Bannender, der nicht recht verfährt, ist zu bestrafen.
45. - 47. (=J52-54, NMS1.45-47) Nicht darf gebannt werden und nicht darf der König vorladen
jemanden, der heiraten will
jemanden, der krank ist
jemanden, der vorhat, zu opfern
jemand, der sich in einem Missgeschick befindet
jemandem, der schon von einem anderen angeklagt ist
jemanden, der gerade in einem königlichen Auftrag tätig ist
Rinderhirten während der Weide
Bauern währen des Getreidebindens
Handwerker zur betreffenden Zeit
Soldaten während der Schlacht
ein Unmündiger
jemand, der eine Schenkung machen will
jemand, der ein Gelübde erfüllt
jemand, der sich in einer schwierigen Situation befindet
"These are mostly self-explanatory, but Asahâya restricts the explanation of one about to give a gift to one doing so on a parvan day. According to Vishnupurâna 3.11.118 these days are amâvasyâ, paurnimâ, caturdasî, ashtamî, and ravisamkrânti. Bhavasvâmin gives reasons for each of these exceptions to arrest, most of which are obvious, but he does add that farmers are exempt from arrest right up to the end of the harvest because their work is important to the populace and to the king."
48. (=J55, NMS1.48) Wer angeklagt ist, darf nicht selbst anklagen solange er nicht den Fall hinter sich gebracht hat. Nicht darf man jemanden, der schon von jemandem angeklagt ist, anklagen. Man soll ein verwundetes Tier nicht nochmals verwunden.
Yâjnavalkya II, 9: "So lange der Verklagte die Beschuldigung nicht zurückgewiesen hat, soll er keine Gegenklage anbringen, noch auch soll einer den von einem anderen Verklagten verklagen. Das einmal Ausgesagte soll er nicht abändern." [Übersetzung: A. F. Stenzler, 1849]
"The defendant, after having been accused by the plaintiff, must not proffer a counter plaint against the plaintiff, without having previously cleared himself of the charge raised against himself; because two different causes cannot be tried at one and the same time. Neither must a new plaint be lodged against one who has already been impeached by another, because one already hit must not be hit again. If a deer has been first hit by one huntsman, and is again hit by another hunter, the effort of die latter is to no purpose. The first huntsman may justly claim the deer, and not the second Asahâya."
"This is one of the few Nârada verses which are not quoted by any subsequent writer on dharmashâstra. This may be due to the greater currency of Yâjnavalkyasmrti 2.9 which says basically the same thing. Both Asahâya and Bhavasvâmin say that the intent of the first half of the verse is to prevent the accused from launching a counteraccusation before settling the original dispute. The metaphor refers to the rule found in Manu 9.42 which says that a hunter who shoots a wounded animal loses his arrow because the prey belongs to the one who shot it first."
49. (=J56, NMS1.49) Wenn jemand eine Anklage erhebt, dann darf er sie nicht verändern, er darf auch nicht die Partei verändern. Tut er dies, dann verliert er die erste Anklage.
"'He must not alter the charge'. as e.g. by claiming a larger or a smaller sum afterwards than be had done before If e. g. after having first claimed, as being his due, a sum amounting to 20 Gadyânakas of gold, he says afterwards : This man has to give 50 drammas (drachmas) to my son, it is called ' receding from one's first claim and proffering another claim.' Asahâya."
50. (=J57, NMS1.50) Nicht darf man fälschlich klagen. Es ist das Vergehen des Falschklägers. Und die Strafe, die die diesbezüglich genannt wird, soll dem Falschkläger zukommen.
51. (=J58, NMS1.51)Kennzeichen für jemanden, der das Gerichtsverfahren verlieren wird, sind:
Zeitschinden unter einem Vorwand
Leugnen früherer Aussagen vor Gericht
" Delaying one's answer under false pretences is e. g. if a man says,' I am unwell just now,' or ' I am unclean just now. I make no answer.' Likewise, if a man, after having been asked by the judges, does not speak, or if having made a statement previously he revokes it; by such signs as these a man may be known to have lost his cause. Asahâya."
52. (=J59, NMS1.52) Wenn jemand, der vorgeladen wurde, flieht, und wer sich vor Gericht nicht verteidigt, soll vom König bestraft werden, denn er hat den Prozess verloren.
"He who, after having been summoned by the king, makes off; or who, having decamped and having been seized with difficulty by the king's officers, does not make any reply to the questions put to him, shall be fined by the king, because he loses his suit. Asahâya. "
J60. If a man being questioned does not uphold a statement duly made by himself (at a former stage of the trial) ; or if he ends by admitting what had been previously negatived by himself ;
J61. Or if he is unable to produce any witnesses, after having declared that they are in existence and having been asked to produce them : by all such signs as these persons devoid of virtue may be known.
53. (=J62, NMS1.53) Wenn Gerichtsverfahren bereinigt sind, wird ein Beweismittel nutzlos, es sei denn es sei ein geschriebenes Dokument oder Augenzeugen, die vorher noch nicht vorgeführt wurden.
Yâjnavalkya II, 20: "Wer eine mehrfache Beschuldigung leugnet, und in einem Punkte überführt wird, den soll der König die ganze Schuld bezahlen lassen. Etwas früher nicht Angezeigtes aber ist nicht zu berücksichtigen." [Übersetzung: A. F. Stenzler, 1849]
"' This wicked debtor owes me money. He declines to restore it, though I can prove his obligation to pay me by witnesses and documentary evidence. Therefore I must cite him before the tribunal of the king.' If the claimant says so and does not produce evidence at the time when he proffers his claim, but produces it afterwards, it does not make evidence. If, however, a statement of this kind had been previously made, and the claimant, owing to some unfortunate accident, or to forgetfulness, &c., has merely failed to repeat it at the third stage of the trial (i. c. during the judicial inquiry), it may be renewed, and shall be examined by the judges, although the case had already been decided, and sureties been given and taken. Asahâya."
"Verse 53 is an exception to Jolly Mâtrkâ 1.61 found in the commentary on Mâtrkâ 1.52. The point of this verse is that evidence that exists but has been overlooked for a legitimate reason should be admitted into the trial even if it is not introduced as evidence at the proper time. Asahâya gives the following examples: an accident or being intimidated in the presence of the king and the court, or mental confusion. For the king to exclude this evidence on procedural grounds would be tantamount to sophistry. Asahâya explains the stipulation "not previously announced" to mean evidence mentioned before the beginning of the trial, but not previously mentioned in the trial proper; i.e., the existence of this evidence was publicly known, though not officially introduced. Presumably, the common knowledge of the existence of evidence before the trial would serve as a check against the manufacturing of evidence at the time of the trial. The Vyavahâracintâmani [von Vacaspati Misra] cites these verses (at 201 and 438) and attributes them once to Kâtyâyana and once to Nârada. The Vyavahâranirnaya of Mayârâma Misra and the Vivâdarnavasetu (both at Dharmakos'a I,1, S. 222b) also attribute these verses to Kâtyâyana."
54. (=J63, NMS1.54) So wie der Segen der Regenzeit nutzlos ist, wenn das Getreide reif ist, ebenso ist ein Beweismittel für bereinigte Gerichtsverfahren nutzlos.
55. (=J64, NMS1.55) Selbst Unwahres, das zur rechten Zeit vorgebracht wird, wird untersucht. Was man aber aus Nachlässigkeit nicht sagt, das wird beiseitegelassen, selbst wenn es wahr ist.
Yâjnavalkya II, 19: "Der König soll, die Täuschung vertilgend, die Prozesse nach der Tatsache führen; selbst die Tatsache, wenn sie nicht dargelegt wird, verliert im Prozesse." [Übersetzung: A. F. Stenzler, 1849]
"Bhavasvâmin offers an example: If a man who claims that he is owed ten suvarnas and who has mentioned this amount in the plaint remembers later in the trial that the correct amount was twelve suvarnas and claims that amount in the course of the trial, he will lose two suvarnas because of his failure to mention "twelve" at the correct time (the time of the written plaint). A says that this is the fault of the party to the suit, not the fault of the court."
56. (=J65, NMS1.56) Wenn jemand meint, dass das Urteil und die Strafzumessung in einem Gerichtsurteil unrechtmäßig erfolgt sind, dann kann er den Fall nochmals vorbringen, wenn er sich auf das Doppelte der Strafe einlässt.
"Asahâya says that tîrita and anusista are technical terms used in legal texts (see Manu 9.233). He defines tîirita as the judgment (nirnaya) reached by the judges after hearing the arguments of the parties, while anusista is the pronounced punishment (nigaditadanda) arrived at after considering the magnitude of the crime. Apararka on Yâjnavalkyasmrti 2.80 attributes this verse to smrtyantara "some other text.""
57.(=J66, NMS1.57) Wenn das Gerichtsverfahren falsch durchgeführt wurde, dann sollen die Mitglieder des Gerichts diese [in 56] genannte Strafe bekommen. Denn niemand bleibt ohne Strafe auf dem rechten Weg.
Yâjnavalkya II, 4: "Richter welche aus Leidenschaft, Begierde oder Furcht den Rechtsbüchern entgegen handeln, sollen jeder das Doppelte der Summe des Streites als Strafe zahlen." [Übersetzung: A. F. Stenzler, 1849]
58. (=J67, NMS1.58) Wenn ein Gerichtsmitglied aus Leidenschaft, Unwissenheit oder Gier falsch urteilt, dann soll er amtsenthoben sein und der König soll ihn streng bestrafen.
"Asahâya says that the singular "judge" should not be misunderstood. If one judge is guilty of bias and the other judges go along with his wrong judgment because they have no clear opinion of their own, the king should find out the biased judge and punish him. If there are several guilty judges, then they must be punished."
59. (=J68, NMS1.59) Ein König, der die ihm spezifische Pflicht erfüllt, muss besonders prüfen, was gut und was schlecht ist, da die Herzen der Menschen verschiedenartig sind.
"Asahâya says that the circle of acquaintances in a person's life may influence him. Since the king's circle is larger than anyone's, he must be even more careful to avoid their influence. The compound sabhyâkotana means something like a warning thrust or slap at the judges (see note to Mâtrkâ 1.5)."
60. - 61. (=J69-70, NMS1.60-61) Es gibt Menschen, die aus Gier falsches Zeugnis geben, es gibt andere bösgesinnte Leute, die Dokumente fälschen. Deshalb muss der König beides besonders prüfen: geschriebene Dokumente aufgrund der Gebräuche für Dokumente, Zeugen aufgrund der Gebräuche für mündliches Zeugnis.
62. (=J71, NMS1.62) Lügner können wie Redliche aussehen und Redliche können wie Lügner erscheinen. Es gibt verschiedenste Charaktere. Deshalb ist Prüfung angebracht.
63. (=J72, NMS1.63) Das Firmament erscheint wie eine Ebene1, und das Glühwürmchen wie das Feuer (havyavâh). Nicht aber gibt es am Firmament eine Ebene noch im Glühwürmchen1 ein Feuer.
1 "wie eine Ebene"
Abb.: "Wie eine Ebene", Skyline (mit Smog) von Bombay [Bildquelle: http://www.bakshish.ch/India-Trip/Bombay/Sky_line.1.jpg. -- Zugriff am 2004-03-12]
2 "Glühwürmchen", d.h. ein Leuchtkäfer, in Indien vor allem der Gattung Ototretadrilinae
Abb.: Glühwürmchen, allerdings aus der Schweiz [Bildquelle: http://www.n.ethz.ch/student/bkaempfe/natur.htm. -- Zugriff am 2004-03-12]
"As the sky has the appearance of a level plain like the earth, yet there is nothing like earth about it; and as there is no fire in the fire-fly, although it sparks like fire; even so the utterances of men are often untrue, though they may have the appearance of true statements. Therefore it is necessary to examine strictly even what a man professes to have seen with his own eyes. Asahâya"
64. (=J73, NMS1.64)Deshalb ist es angebracht, einen Fall zu untersuchen, selbst wenn man ihn mit eigenen Augen gesehen hat. Wer seine Meinung zu den Fällen erst kundgibt nachdem er geprüft hat, der weicht nicht vom Recht ab.
65. (=J74, NMS1.65) Ein König der immer so aufmerksam die Gerichtsverfahren beaufsichtigt, verbreitet in diesem Leben leuchtenden Ruhm und erreicht danach die höchste Stelle der Sonne.
"For the meaning of bradhna "sun," see Louis Renou, Journal asiatique 1939, p. 333. The pinnacle of the abode of the sun is the highest heaven, the king's reward after death."
Zu Mâtrkâ 3: Das Gericht (sabhâ)