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° Daksha tells us that one should wash his hands and feet after returning from a bath in some tank or river. The matter is very simple, and Hindus of all nations might be trusted to use their discretion in this matter. But. no :—the legislator: must lay down laws even in such a matter as this. And the laws are grotesque enough. “14. . After washing the feet and hands, one should carefully examine the water and drink it three times ; then he should wipe his mouth twice with: the root of the thumb, somewhat bent. “15. Having thus wiped the mouth three times he should wipe his feet and touch the different pare of his body. “16. He should then.touch his nose by the forefinger joined to the thumb ;'and then he should repeatedly rub his eyes and ears- with the thumb joined with the middle finger. “17, Then with his thumb and little finger he should touch his navel, and with the palm of his hand he should touch his chest. Then. with all the fingers he should touch the head, and aa with the ends of his. fingers he should touch his arms.” ‘Rules multiplied in this manner defeat their own ob- ject. They seek to bind down the people inall their acts and movements ; but they end by being disregard- 340 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK Vv. ed even in their most essential points. Such has been the natural fate of the Dharma SAstras in modern times. . It is scarcely necessary to dwell long on the subject of criminal. and civil laws and administration, for the rules we find in the Pauranik Institutes are more or less based on the earlier Institutes which we have reviewed in the foregoing Books. The king should reside ina stronghold and appoint governors of districts, gover- nors of a hundred villages, governors of ten villages, and governors of single villages ; and it was the duty of these governors to suppress crime and administer ‘the law, (Vishnu III, 6 to 15.) The king should also appoint revenue officers for working mines, levying taxes, tolls, and ferry dues, and for his elephants and forests, (Vishnu III, 16.) A sixth part of the produce of land, two per cent. on cattle, gold and clothes, and a sixth part of flesh, honey, clarified butter, herbs, per- fumes, flowers, roots, fruits, liquids, and condiments, wood, leaves, Skins, earthen pots, stone vessels, and bamboo work could be levied as tax. Ten per cent. on Aiome manufactures and five per cent. on imports went to the royal exchequer. Artisans, manual labourers and Sédras were to- work one day in the month for the ‘king. (Vishnu, II, 22 to 32.) Par&sara speaks of re-'\ Jigious taxes also, and says that the king was entitled | to one-sixth of the produce, the gods to 2; part, and | Brahmans to 3y (H, 14.) Brahmans were free from all ; taxes! _, a x3 ; a VII]. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL LIFE. _ 34t The laws of conquest were humane, and annexa- tion was not recommended. “The king, having con-. - quered the capital of his foe, should invest there a prince of the royal race of that country with the royal dignity.” (Vishnu TMI, 47-) — The laws of inheritance are mainly the same as in the earlier Institutes. ( V4jnavaleya Il, 116 to 135 ; Vishun XVIland XVIII, &c.) The rate of interest is also the same, viz.,one-eightieth per month on good security, 2 ¢., fifteen per cent. per annum. Exorbitant interests were charged when there wasrisk. Ten per cent. per month was the rate from merchants going abroad and twenty per cent. per month from merchants going to sea. ( Yap- navalkya VI, 38 & 39.) For criminal trials, ordeals by fire, by water, and | by poison are spoken of (Ydjnavalkya WU, 106 to 115; Vishnu XI, XII & XIII); although these barbarous methods were falling into disuse. All cases, and specially civil cases, were decided by. oral and documentary evidence, and Vishnu has two chapters (VII & VIII) on the nature of documents and the competence of persons to appear as witnesses. Wit- nesses were solemnly exhorted to speak the truth, and truth was held in high esteem. “Truth,” says Vishnu, “ makes the sun spread his rays, Truth makes the moon | shine, Truth makes the. wind blow, Truth makes the earth bear, Truth makes the water flow, Truth makes the fire burn, Truth makes the atmosphere and the gods 342 . .- ‘PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK Vv. and offerings exist. If Truth and a thousand horse- sacrifices are weighed against each other, Truth ranks higher ‘than a thousand horse-sacrifices.” (VIII, 27 to 36.) The punishments for various crimes are similar .to those in the older Institutes. YAjnavalkya lays _down that murderers and. thieves of cattle should be impaled, pick-pockets should suffer mutilation, and mi- nor thefts were dealt with otherwise (II, 276 to 278). Murderesses and women who destroyed causeways (so as to inundate a village) were to be drowned (II, 281). Women who attempted to poison or set fire to houses or killed their husbands or children should be mutilat- ed, and trampied to death by cattle (II, 282). Adul- tery was punished according to the caste of the wo- men dishonored ; and V4jnavalkya lays down the ini- quitous law that adultery with a woman of a lower caste is not punishable! (II, 291:) Similarly a fine is consi- dered a sufficient punishment for deflowering a Buddhist nun ! (II, 296.) Vishnu lays down that one who forges royal edicts or private documents should be put to death, and poisoners, incendiaries, robbers, and killers of women, children or men, and all great offenders should be executed (V, 1, 9, 10, and 11). Brahmans were not to be executed for any offence, however heinous! (Vishnu V, 2). Laws of excessive severity and cruelty are laid down for Sddras. If one strikes one of a “superior caste, he should be muti- lated ; if he abuses such a person his tongue should be CHAP. vir} DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL LIFE. 343. cut out; Lie he pretends fo instruct such a person, hot oil , should be dropped into his mouth (Véskau V, 19, 23 & - 24). If one who should not be touched defiles a twice- born man by touching him, he should be put to death. ( Vishnu \V, 104.) It may. safely be asserted that such inhuman laws were never enforced even by Brah- man judges; but the presence of these laws in the In- stitutes is an indelible stain, which the caste-system has _ thrown, on Hindu legal literature and on the Hindu nation. CHAPTER VIII. HINDU ANB JAINA ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE. WE have ina “previous chapter spoken cf Buddhist architecture in India. The history of Buddhist archi- tecture closes’ with the fifth century. There are few specimens of any importance after 500 AD. On the ether hand, Hindu temple architecture, judging from existing specimens, begins at this date and continues down to the 17th and 18th centuries after the Christian Era. These facts which are recorded . or imperishable stone all over India, confirm and justi the division which we have made between the Buddlist Period and the later Hindu or Pauranik Period. Another fact deserves our considgation. Hindu temple architecture commences, as we lave said, withthe - 6th century A.D. ; nevertheless, excejt in Orissa, the specimens of Hindu temples of the sixth, seventh, eighth, and even ninth centuries ar? rare, From the latter end of the ninth century Hindi temples multiply \ all over India, and they increase h dimensions and grandeur as they deteriorate in t:ste through subse- quent centuries. he. # _ Here also architecture only conirms historic facts. Temple worship and temple buildng were not a part are CHAP. VIH.} HINDU & JAINA ARCHITECTURE, &C. 345. of the Hindu religion before the Buddhist revolu- tion. Down to-the fifth century after Christ Bud- dhism was still the prevailing religion; and although Pauranik Hinduism gradually became the dominant faith from the sixth century, the innovation of temples could make head but slowly, and specimens of superbj temples of thé sixth and seventh centuries are rare in Northern India. Then followed the period of political convulsions,’ the ruin of ancient dynasties, the disap- -pearance of ancient races. When the Rajput and other’ gegnate races at last became the masters of Northern india in the ninth century, a complete change had come over the ideas of the nation. Temple worship was proudly asserted by priests and encouraged by kings. And Rajput chiefs and kings proved their devo- tion to Hinduism by those beautiful and magnificent edifices which struck the early Musalman conquerors of India. Hindu architecture was checked, and almost disappeared in Northern India after the Mahommedan: conquest ; ; but the extreme south of India was never brought under the Moslem sway, and religions edifices of | cohsiderable dimensions and grandeur continued to be! constructed there till the last century. We _Jainaism flourished in Rajputana and elsewhere after thé roth century A.D., and the specimens of Jaina architecture date from that time. In Northern India thé Jainas borrowed ‘the Northern Hindu style, while in Southern India they borrowed, the Dravidian style. 346 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK v. ‘ NORTHERN INDIAN STYLE, THE earliest specimens of Hindu temple architecture then date from 500 A.D., and these specimens are to be formed in their purity as well as in the greatest pro- fusion in Orissa. The student who has paid a visit to the town of Bhuvanesvara in Orissa* knows more of Hindu temple architecture in its purity than pages of description are likely to teach him. The North-Indian style has some distinct and well- defined features which are noticéable in all the earlier structures all over Northern India. The outline of the high tower or Viména is curvilinear, and it is surmount- ‘ed by what is called an Amalaka from the name of a fruit which it is supposed to resemble. No trace of divi- .