Analogous to the custom of _traga_ was that of _Dharna_, which was
frequently and generally resorted to for the redress of wrongs and
offences at a time when the law made little provision for either. The
ordinary method of _Dharna_ was to sit starving oneself in front of
the door of the person from whom redress was sought until he gave it
from fear of causing the death of the suppliant and being haunted
by his ghost. It was, naturally, useless unless the person seeking
redress was prepared to go to extremes, and has some analogy to the
modern hunger-strike with the object of getting out of jail. Another
common device was to thrust a spear-blade through both cheeks,
and in this state to dance before the person against whom _Dharna_
was practised. The pain had to be borne without a sign of suffering,
which, if displayed, would destroy its efficacy. Or a creditor would
proceed to the door of his debtor and demand payment, and if not
appeased would stand up in his presence with an enormous weight upon
his head, which he had brought with him for the purpose, swearing never
to alter his position until satisfaction was given, and denouncing at
the same time the most horrible execrations on his debtor, should he
suffer him to expire in that situation. This seldom failed to produce
the desired effect, but should he actually die while in _Dharna_, the
debtor's house was razed to the earth and he and his family sold for
the satisfaction of the creditor's heirs. Another and more desperate
form of _Dharna_, only occasionally resorted to, was to erect a large
pile of wood before the house of the debtor, and after the customary
application for payment had been refused the creditor tied on the
top of the pile a cow or a calf, or very frequently an old woman,
generally his mother or other relation, swearing at the same time
to set fire to it if satisfaction was not instantly given. All the
time the old woman denounced the bitterest curses, threatening to
persecute the wretched debtor both here and hereafter. [307]
The word _dharna_ means 'to place or lay on,' and hence 'a
pledge.' Mr. Hira Lal suggests that the standing with a weight on the
head may have been the original form of the penance, from which the
other and severer methods were subsequently derived. Another custom
known as _dharna_ is that of a suppliant placing a stone on the
shrine of a god or tomb of a saint. He makes his request and, laying
the stone on the shrine, says, "Here I place this stone until you
fulfil my prayer; if I do not remove it, the shame is on you." If the
prayer is afterwards fulfilled, he takes away the stone and offers a
cocoanut. It seems clear that the underlying idea of this custom is the
same as that of standing with a stone on the head as described above,
but it is difficult to say which was the earlier or original form.