In ancient human civilization in case of any wrong doings, revenge was only the aspect of punishment to be taken into consideration” and laws were designed in order to compensate the victim and not for punishing the accused. The penal law of ancient communities were related to wrong doings rather than crimes. At that time there were not law of crimes but it was the law of wrongs.
In ancient times, the person injured due to crime proceeds against the wrong-doer by an ordinary civil action, and recovers compensation in the shape of money-damages if he succeeds. But in ancient Hindu Law, punishment of crimes occupied a more importance rather than the compensation for wrong doings. In middle ages of history, when a person reoccur loss due to crime, he himself has to seek for justice and at that time the justice was achieved through retaliation and also the justice was based on principle of an eye for an eye. That time the offender was punished equal to harm caused to victim and he has to pay equal amount to harm against the victim, thus that time justice was based on compensatory grounds and criminals have to compensate victims the same property or harm caused to him in the same form.
In simple words if a person is found to be guilty of stolen cow of someone, then he has to return cow to the same person. In early ages justice system revolved around the criminal not the state. Victims individually have to seek for justice and criminals or offenders if found guilty were responsible for harm and they have to pay for it and there was not role of state in restitution.
