FOURTH TITLE OF LAW.

The Minor Law Books (SBE33), by Julius Jolly, [1889], at sacred-texts.com

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RESUMPTION OF GIFT.

* 1. ¹ Where a man wishes to resume what he has given, because it has been unduly given by him, it is called Resumption of Gift, a title of law.

* 2. ² What may be given and what not, valid gifts and invalid gifts; thus the law of gift is declared fourfold in judicial affairs.

* 3. Again, what may not be given is eightfold; what may be given is of one kind only; of valid gifts there are seven species; and sixteen sorts of invalid gifts.

* 4. ⁴ An Anvâhita deposit, a Yâkita, a pledge, joint property, a deposit, a son, a wife, the whole property of one who has offspring,

* 5. And what has been promised to another man; these have been declared by the spiritual guides to be inalienable by one in the worst plight even.

* 6. ⁶ What is left (of the property) after the expense of maintaining the family has been defrayed,

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may be given. But by giving away anything besides, a householder will incur censure.

7. ⁷ He who has, for three years, property sufficient to provide for those whom he is bound to maintain, or who has even more than that, shall drink the Soma juice.

* 8. ⁸ The price paid for merchandise, wages, (a present offered) for an amusement, (a gift made) from affection, or from gratitude, or for sexual intercourse with a woman, and a respectful gift, are the seven kinds of valid gifts.

* 9. ⁹ Invalid gifts are the following (sixteen): what

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has been given by a man under the influence of fear, anger, hatred, sorrow or pain; or as a bribe; or in jest; or fraudulently, under false pretences;

* 10. Or by a child; or by a fool; or by a person not his own master; or by one distressed; or by one intoxicated; or by one insane; or in consideration of a reward, thinking 'This man will show me some service;

* 11. And so is invalid what was given from ignorance to an unworthy man thought to be worthy, or for a purpose (thought to be) virtuous.

* 12. Both the donee who covets invalid gifts and accepts them from avarice, and the donor of what ought not to be given who yet gives it away, deserve punishment.

Footnotes

128:1 IV, 1. 'Unduly' means in a mode opposed to law. Mitâksharâ, Vîramitrodaya, Mayûkha, &c. Manu VIII, 214.

128:2 'Valid gifts,' literally 'what is given.' 'Invalid gifts,' literally 'what is not given.'

128:4 For the meaning of the technical terms, Anvâhita and Yâkita, see II, 14. The prohibition of such gifts as would leave the family destitute appears to relate principally to charitable donations and religious endowments.

4-6. Yâgñavalkya II, 175.

128:6 That only may be given which is left after the cost of living has been defrayed for those whom the head of the family is bound to support. Any gift, on the other hand, which causes hardship to the family, is reprehensible, and not meritorious. A.

129:7 This rule applies to those cases where there is more wealth than what suffices to maintain the family. A. Manu XI, 7; Yâgñavalkya I, 124; Vasishtha VIII, 10; Vishnu LIX, 8.

129:8 Those gifts only are valid which have been made in one of the seven modes here mentioned. The sixteen other modes of gift are illegal. A. 'A present offered for an amusement,' i.e. what has been given to bards, eulogists, and the like persons. 'A gift made from affection,' to a daughter or other relative. Vîramitrodaya, &c. Instead of strîbhakti, 'sexual intercourse with a woman,' the MSS. of Vulg. and the quotations read strîsulka, 'a nuptial gift presented to the relations of the wife.'

129:9 9-11. 1. 'Fear,' as e.g. if an honest man promises one hundred drachmas to a ruffian who addresses him, while he is passing through a forest, with the words, 'If thou givest me one hundred drachmas, thou shalt live. Otherwise, thou shalt die.' 2. 'Anger, or hatred:' if a man, actuated by jealousy, says to a Brahman, to whom his wife has offered a seat, 'All the furniture which you see in this house shall be yours.' 3. 'Sorrow:' if a man, in a heavy affliction, declares, 'I will go into the forest. My house has been given to Brahmans to-day.' 4. 'Pain:' a man distressed by a painful illness, says to a Brahman, 'I have given thee one hundred Suvarnas.' 5. 'A bribe:' a litigant says to an assessor of the court, 'I will give thee one hundred Panas if my cause is declared victorious by thee.' 6. 'In jest,' what has been laughingly given. 7. 'Under false pretences,' as e.g. under the following circumstances:—A libidinous man is enamoured of a public woman, by the name of Kûtamañgarî ('Mango Bud'). He is deprived of her p. 130 by a Thakur, and is bewailing his separation from her. Some one asks him whether he will make him a present of a ring, in case he should bring Kûtamañgarî before him. He promises to give the ring and offers a surety for it. Thereupon the other exhibits a Mango bud (Kûtamañgarî) to him, instead of the woman Kûtamañgarî. 8. What was given by a child. 9. What was given by a fool. 10. What was given by a person not his own master. 11. What was given by one distressed, as e.g. if a man being carried away by a current of water exclaims, 'I will give one hundred Suvarnas to any one who saves my life.' 12. What was given by one inebriated. 13. What was given by one insane or possessed by a demon. 14. What was given through a hope of recompense, in expectation of some service to be performed by the donee. 15. What was given to an unworthy man, from ignorance, as e.g. to a Sûdra, whom the donor fancied to be a Brahman, because he saw him girt with the sacred thread. 16. What was given for a purpose (thought to be) virtuous, as e.g. if a devout man has made a religious endowment, and the donee employs it for gambling or libidinous purposes. A. Other jurists construe these texts somewhat differently, in order to obtain the sixteen sorts of void gifts distinguished by Nârada. Manu VIII, 212.