When a transaction is completed, the document recording it must be torn, signifying its fulfillment. If any clarification is needed, a new document should be prepared. All exchanges—especially those involving obligations—ought to occur in the presence of witnesses, ensuring transparency and trust. In cases of serious accusation, where the accuser stands forth, the ancient ordeals—balance, fire, water, poison, and the chest—are employed for purification and truth-finding. Either party, by their own will, may undergo the ordeal, while the other places his head as a pledge. Even without an ordeal, in cases of treason or grave crime, such pledges may be demanded. Yet, not all ordeals are suitable for every case. For a claim of a thousand coins, neither the plough, the balance, nor poison should be borne. In royal matters, only those known to be pure should be subjected to ordeal. For a thousand, the balance or other ordeals may be used, and even the chest for small amounts. For a sum of fifty, the pure may be tested, while the impure should simply be penalized. To begin any ordeal, the individual is summoned, bathed, and dressed in clean garments, observing a fast from sunrise. The ordeal must be performed in the presence of the king and a Brahmin, upholding sanctity and justice. The ordeal of the balance is reserved for women, children, the aged, the blind, the lame, Brahmins, and the sick. For a Shudra, the ordeal of fire or water is used, and sometimes the test of poison or seven grains of barley. In the trial by balance, the accused—adept in bearing weight—is placed upon the scales, balanced equally against the counterweight, and the line is carefully marked before lowering. It is said that the sun, the moon, the wind, fire, the sky, the earth, the waters, the heart, Yama, day and night, both twilights, and Dharma itself—all these witness a person’s conduct. Thus, the accused addresses the scale: “You are the abode of truth, O scale, created by the gods in ancient times. Speak the truth, O auspicious one, and free me from doubt. If I am a sinner, O mother, then lead me downward; but if I am pure, carry me upward.” For the ordeal by fire, the hands of the accused are marked with pressed rice, and seven leaves of the aśvattha tree are bound to them with a thread. The accused prays to Fire: “You alone, O Fire, move within all beings; as a witness to virtue and sin, declare the truth for me.” Then, an iron lump, glowing and weighing fifty palas, is placed equally in both hands. Taking it, the accused walks slowly through seven circles, each sixteen finger-breadths apart. If, after passing through the fire, the pressed rice remains unburnt, the accused is declared pure; but if the lump falls or doubt arises, the trial must be repeated. The oath is recited: “O purifier of purifiers, cleanse what is to be cleansed, O Fire; protect me with truth, O Varuṇa.” For the ordeal by water, the accused stands in water up to his navel, grasps his thighs, and submerges himself as an arrow is released. The swift must fetch the arrow. If his body remains unseen while submerged, he is pure. For the trial by poison, the accused addresses the poison: “You are poison, O son of Brahmā, established in the law of truth. Protect me from the blow of this curse; by truth, let me be immortal.” Having said this, he consumes the sacred poison from the Himalaya. If he digests it without harm, he is declared pure, and after worshipping the gods, he brings water for bathing. In the ordeal of water, the accused drinks three handfuls, and if, up to the fourteenth day, no harm from king or gods befalls him, if no calamity arises, he is certainly pure. In cases of lesser doubt, oaths may be taken upon the weapons of truth, cows, seeds, gold, the feet of deities and teachers, or by acts of sacrifice and charity—these are considered easy and sufficient. Turning to disputes over land, Agni declares: the elders of the community, herdsmen, those who have drawn the boundaries, and all who frequent the forests and fields should be called to determine the true boundary. Boundaries are marked by earth, charcoal, husks, trees, embankments, anthills, depressions, cairns, and similar signs. Those who bear red garlands and garments should lead the way as the boundaries are shown. If any falsehood is found, those responsible are to be punished separately by the king with a middle degree of penalty. If those who know the boundary are absent, the king himself must establish the boundary. The same rules apply to gardens, temples, villages, watering places, parks, houses, and even the flow of rainwater. For boundary disputes or land theft, violators are punished with lesser, greater, or intermediate penalties. A dam that causes little harm and much benefit should not be forbidden, but a well encroaching on another’s land—even if small but abundant in water—is not allowed. If someone builds a dam in another’s field without informing the owner, the enjoyment of that dam belongs to the owner if he is present, or to the king if he is absent. If someone fails to cultivate a ploughed field, he must compensate with produce from fallow land and ensure the field is cultivated by another. Should a buffalo destroy crops, the penalty is eight months’ worth of produce; for a cow, half that; for a sheep or goat, half the cow’s penalty. If the animals have eaten and are resting, the penalty is doubled; for those in a separate enclosure, the penalty for a buffalo is the same as for a cow. The owner of the field receives as much produce as was destroyed, while the herdsman is punished and the cow’s owner pays the previously stated penalty. There is no fault if cattle stray onto fields at the village edge or on a path, but if done intentionally, the penalty is as for theft. Cattle released by a large ox, cows in labor, or newly arrived animals—if they cause harm, their herdsmen are excused, as such misfortune is due to fate or the king’s decree. The cowherd must return entrusted cattle in the evening as they were received; for those lost through negligence or death, he must provide compensation after receiving his wages. If loss is due to the herdsman’s fault, a penalty of thirteen and a half paṇas is imposed, and the property is restored to its rightful owner. Thus, through these ancient and sacred procedures, justice is upheld, truth is sought, and harmony is preserved among all.