Chapter 10

Vishnu Smriti 10

Now, the ordeal of the balance (dhaṭa). // Vi_10.1 //

It shall be four cubits high and two cubits long. // Vi_10.2 //

Therein, the balance beam, five cubits long, made of hard wood, shall have scales at both ends. // Vi_10.3 //

And one from among the goldsmiths or bronzesmiths shall hold it. // Vi_10.4 //

Therein, in one scale, he shall place the man performing the ordeal, and in the second, a counterweight of stone or the like. // Vi_10.5 //

Having made the counterweight and the man equal and well-marked, he shall take the man down. // Vi_10.6 //

And he shall take an oath on the balance. // Vi_10.7 //

And on the holder of the balance. // Vi_10.8 //

The worlds that are remembered for those who kill Brāhmaṇas, the worlds that are for false witnesses, Those are the worlds for the balance-holder who holds the balance falsely. || Vi_10.9 ||

By words that are synonyms for dharma, you are called dhaṭa (balance). You alone, O Balance, know what mortals do not know. || Vi_10.10 ||

This man, accused in a lawsuit, is being weighed in you. Therefore, you must righteously save this man from this doubt. || Vi_10.11 ||

Then he shall place that man in the scale once more. If, when weighed, he increases in weight, then he is pure according to dharma. || Vi_10.12 ||

If the scale-rope breaks or the beam breaks, he shall place the man on it again. Thus knowledge becomes free from doubt, from which a decision is made. || Vi_10.13 ||