ORDEAL BY WEIGHING 710
of butter and rice. At this juncture presents must be given to the Brahmins.
Then the accused, who must be fasting and be wearing very damp clothes, is placed on that side of the scale which
is towards the west. They then put bricks and darbhu grass on the other side until a perfectly just balance has been obtained. The accused then leaves his scale and is sent to perform his ablutions without taking off his garments. During this interval the purohita writes in two lines of equal length, and each containing an equal number of letters, the mantram of which the following is a translation:
'
Sun, moon, wind, fire, Swarga, earth, water, virtue,
Yama, day, night, dusk, and dawn, you know this man ' s
deeds, and whether the accusation is true or false.'
He then specifies below the offence which the accused is supposed to have committed. This writing must not be in black ink; ink of some different colour must be used.
The purohita places the writing on the head of the
accused, and addresses the scales in these words:—' Scales, you know everything that is in the hearts of men you
;
know their vices and their virtues. What escapes man ' s
perspicacity is not hidden from you. Behold a person who is accused of a crime of which he declares himself to be innocent, and who desires to prove his innocence to the public. If he is not guilty, justice demands that you should pronounce in his favour.'
The duty of watching the movements of the scales must
be left neither to a religious recluse, nor yet to a person of
doubtful honesty. The former would be too likely to be influenced by compassion; the latter would not scruple
to trifle with his conscience. A Brahmin of tried wisdom and virtue is therefore chosen to fill the office, and he in his turn makes this speech to the scales:
'
Scales, the gods have appointed you to dispense justice to mankind and to reveal the truth. Show it, therefore, on this occasion; and if the man you are about to try is
really guilty, do not allow him to preserve his equilibrium, but make the weight of his sin turn the scale against him.
The purohita then puts the accused again in the scales.
He chants five times a stanza suitable to the occasion. If