126 ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF 



§ 19. Crimes and Punishments. 

 The great crimes (technically called Pandi khat) are those to which 

 some of the following pmiishments are applied : — 1, Confiscation of a man's 

 entire property. 2, Cutting off ears and nose. 3, Amputating hands and 

 feet. 4, Putting out eyes and emasculating. 5, Suspending by the heels 

 from a tree till dead. 6, Flaying alive. 7, Death by hanging or decapitation, 

 with the enslaving of wives and family, and forfeiture of whole property.* 

 The above punishments can only be inflicted by the chief court of each of 

 the three cities ( Kathmandi'i ; Shatgaon, and Patau.) The lesser addlats 

 have power to cause the " touching! of the stone," to fine, to place under 

 restraint, to send to prison, to inflict slight corporal punishments, and so 

 forth. 



* A more methodical and complete enumeration of the great punishments, (Panch Khata — 

 the word Khata being used to express as well the assigned penalty as the offence) is the 

 following : 



1, Death. 2, Mutilation. 3, Banishment. 4, Enslaving, or making over to some vile caste, 

 the offender's wives and children. 5, Confiscation. 



Nor is this enumeration of the chief offences the technical Sastrika one — but the more useful 

 and practical enumeration derived from present usage modified by the original enumeration of 

 the sacred law books. That enumeration is as follows : 



1. Biahm-hatya or brahmanicide. 



2. Stri-hatya, or woman killing. 



3. Bal-hatya, or infanticide. 



4. Gao-hatya or cow killing. 



5. Agamya-gavan or incest in the peculiar Hindu sense. H. 



t The Dhunga Chuayi or touching of a stone is this : When a cause is decided the 

 Bichdri orders a stone (any one) to be brought, and upon it a few blades of Dub grass to be 

 put. He then commands the loser of the cause to put a rupee and four dams on the stone and 

 to touch it, observing to him " you have committed an offence against the Mahdrdja as well as 

 the other party : that stone is the symbol of the Raja's feet, touch it, thereby acknowledging 

 your offence, and be freed." The rupee put on the stone is the Bichdri's perquisite, and the 

 four dams, that of the Mahdniah. This usage is not observed in every cause decided, but only 

 when it is held that sin (pdp) is necessarily attached to the losing party, and never in cases of 

 ordeal. Others say that the stone has the " charaii" or foot mark of the God Vishnu graved 

 on it, (the Saligrdm) and this account is more in harmony, with the usage of making atonemeut 

 by an offering to it, than if it represented the sovereign of the state. H. 



