व्यवहारमयूख (नीलकण्ठ भट्ट - पश्चिमी भारत की हिन्दू न्याय-संहिता एवं व्यवहार कोष)

TAPTAMĀṢA ORDEAL 73
in sacrifices, thou art nectar, oh purifier; burn him (the person undergoing
ordeal) if he be a sinner, be cool as ice if he be pure'. Then he (the judge)
should make him (the person performing the ordeal), who has fasted, who
has taken a bath, who comes with wet garments on, take out the seal-ring
from the midst of the ghee. Then persons who are (appointed to) super-
vise (the ordeal) should examine his forefinger That man is pure whose
skin is not scalded; otherwise he is impure (guilty)
The method of (ordeal by) ploughshare.
Bṛhaspati says (p. 318 v 28)
The ploughshare (phāla) is said to be of iron, weighing twelve palas
and eight angulas long and four angulas broad. *The thief should lick it
once with his tongue when it is red hot. If he is not burnt, he establishes
his purity (innocence), if otherwise he loses (i.e. he is guilty)
Now (begins) the method (of ordeal) based on (image or picture of)
Dharma.
Pitāmaha says.—
I shall now describe the method of testing by means of Dharma and
Adharma men who are guilty of causing bodily injuries, or who have
monetary disputes or who desire to undergo penance (for sins) He
should have prepared a silver (image of) dharma and a leaden or iron
(image of) adharma or he (the judge) should draw on bhūrja (birch leaf)
or on a piece of cloth dharma and adharma (respectively) of white
and black colour Having sprinkled (over the images or pictures) pañ-
cagavya,¹ he should worship (dharma and adharma) with sandal
paste and flowers (The image or drawing of) dharma should be wor-
shipped with white flowers and adharma should wear dark flowers.
Having performed these rites and applied sandal-wood paste to them, he
should place them (images or drawings) inside two balls which are made
of cowdung or clay The two should be placed unseen inside an unused (i e.
new) earthen vessel in the presence of gods (idols) and brāhmanas and
in a cowdunged and holy spot. He should then invoke the gods and loka-
pālas as laid down already (in the section on rites common to all ordeals
p 48) After having invoked dharma he (the judge) should write on a leaf (or
paper) the subject matter (of dispute or complaint) 'If I am free from
guilt, may (the image or drawing of) dharma come to my hands'—
(saying this) the person charged should quickly catch hold of one (out
of the two images)² If he takes hold of dharma he is (to be declared)

1. The five things with which this is prepared are the dung, urine, milk, curds,
   clarified butter of a cow.
2. This procedure closely resembles drawing lots.

• P. 85 (text).
  V. M. 10