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

S. XVIII 15-XIX 1
M. p. 148 l 32-p 149 l 23 ] HEINOUS OFFENCES 265
'Vadha' it should be understood, was to be effected if she was a con-
senting party.¹ Nārada (p 203 vv 7-8) states the punishment for sāhasa
of the lowest, middling and highest degrees
'The punishment for a sāhasa of the lowest degree must be a hundred
panas at the least in proportion to the act (i e the gravity of the offence),
while for a sāhasa of the middling degree the fine prescribed by those con-
versant with the śāstras is five hundred at least For* sāhasa of the
highest degree a fine of not less than a thousand is ordained (Besides)
death, confiscation of all property, banishment from the town, branding and
amputation of that limb (with which the crime was committed)—these are
declared to be the punishment for sāhasa of the highest degree
The direction (in the smṛtis) to inflict death, mutilation and the like is
addressed to the king and to none else, since he alone has the authority (or
right) to inflict punishment
Thus ends (the section on) sāhasa.
Now begins (the section on) adultery.²
Forcibly enjoying another's wife being a sāhasa, the punishment for
it has already been stated. But as regards the enjoyment of another's
wife of the same caste by fraud Bṛhaspati (p 366 v. 11) says
When a man enjoys a woman by fraud his punishment will be the con-
fiscation of his entire wealth and he shall then be branded with the mark
of the female private parts and be banished from the town.
'Sarvaharaḥ' means 'that which takes away the entire property.'
This punishment applies in the case of a woman of the same caste; in the
case of a woman of a lower caste, (the punishment is) half of this, in the case
of a woman of a higher class (than the adulterer), it is death. And similarly
the same author (Bṛhaspati p 366 v 12) says
Half of that punishment that is prescribed for (adultery) in the case
of a woman of the same caste is imposed, when the woman is of a lower
caste: but for connection with a woman of a higher caste, the punishment
for the male is death.³

1. If she consented to her being enjoyed by a man of low caste. It is also possible to
   take it in the sense 'if she consented to submit to death'
   2 Vide Rahi v. Govind 1 Bom. 97 at p. 116 where it is said after referring to the
   Mayūkha that adultery was regarded and punished as a crime of a grave character.
   3 This verse prescribes punishment for the male, but says nothing about the woman.

• P. 245 (text)
  V. M. 34