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

S. V. 2, 2-4 ] PLEDGE 203
M. p.105 l. 15-p. 106 l.1 ]
'Karma kārayet' (in Kāt.) means 'he shall employ'; 'karma-
phalam' means 'the rent or wages'. Yājñavalkya (II 59) says :
A pledge damaged or destroyed, except by the act of God or king, must
be restored (by the pawnee)¹.
'Naṣṭaḥ' means 'has undergone deterioration'. Such a pledge must
be restored after bringing it to its former condition. Bṛhaspati says .
When a pledge has become worthless by being used, there is loss of
principal (to the pawnee).
Vyāsa declares in the case of a pledge being destroyed that its price
must be paid :
If through the fault of the receiver (i. e. pawnee) a pledge of gold
and the like be lost, the creditor, on recovering the principal together
with interest, should pay the price (of the article pledged).
Nārada (p. 73 v. 126) says :
If (the pledge) be destroyed except by the act of god or king, there
is loss of the principal (to the creditor).
Manu (VIII. 144) says :
He (the creditor) should satisfy the pawnor by paying the price;
otherwise he would be a thief of the pawn.²
Bṛhaspati (p. 323 v. 21) says ·
If a pledge be destroyed by the act of God or king, the debtor should
deliver another pledge or he should pay the loan with interest

• Vyāsa says ·
  If the pledge be destroyed by the act of God or the king no blame
  attaches in any case to the creditor (or pledgee).
  Kātyāyana says
  If the thing pledged were to fall (deteriorate) or were to be destroyed
  without any fault of the creditor (the pledgee) the debtor should be
  made to give another pledge (of equal value) and he would not be free
  from the debt.
  Yājñavalkya (II. 60) also says
  A pledge becomes complete (valid) by acceptance (or possession) of
  the thing pledged,³ if a pledge becomes worthless, even though proper

---

1 Compare sec. 152 of the Indian Contract Act about loss, destruction or
deterioration.
2. This is the same as Nārada p. 73 v. 127. According to Kullūka this refers to a case
where the pledge is deteriorated by use, then the pledgee must give as much money as will
be required to restore the pledge to its former state According to Asahāya the pawnee
must satisfy the pawnor by returning to him the profit made by using the pledge.
3 Possession is necessary in the case of a pledge (whether 'gopya' or 'bhogya')
to give it validity against subsequent dealings with the thing pledged, the rule being that
in the case of a pledge, gift or sale a prior transaction prevails over a later one (provided the

• P. 178 (text).