Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi
by Ganganatha Jha | 1920 | 1,381,940 words | ISBN-10: 8120811550 | ISBN-13: 9788120811553
This is the English translation of the Manusmriti, which is a collection of Sanskrit verses dealing with 鈥楧harma鈥�, a collective name for human purpose, their duties and the law. Various topics will be dealt with, but this volume of the series includes 12 discourses (adhyaya). The commentary on this text by Medhatithi elaborately explains various t...
Verse 3.158
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
啶呧啶距ぐ啶︵ぞ啶灌 啶椸ぐ啶︵ 啶曕啶｀啶∴ぞ啶多 啶膏啶さ啶苦啷嵿ぐ啶 啷�
啶膏ぎ啷佮う啷嵿ぐ啶ぞ啶 啶え啷嵿う啷� 啶� 啶む啶侧た啶曕 啶曕啶熰啶距ぐ啶曕 啷� 啷оカ啷� 啷�ag膩rad膩h墨 garada岣� ku峁囜笉膩艣墨 somavikray墨 |
samudray膩y墨 band墨 ca tailika岣� k奴峁璦k膩raka岣� || 158 ||The house-burner, the poisoner, one who eats the food of an adulteress鈥� son, the seller of Soma, the sea-voyager, the bard, the dealer in oils, and the perjuror.鈥�(158)
Medh膩tithi鈥檚 commentary (尘补苍耻产丑腻峁补):
The burner of houses.
鈥�Garada鈥欌�攐ne who gives to others the gara-poison; the mention of 鈥�gara鈥� is merely indicative; it includes all kinds of poison.
He who eats the food of the adulteress鈥� son; similarly, he who eats the food of the widow鈥檚 son; the former being meant to be purely indicative.
He who sells Soma; 鈥楽oma鈥� is a particular kind of herb; he who sells this herb, for use either at sacrifices or for medicine.
Others have explained the term 鈥楽oma鈥� (in the expression 鈥榮eller of Soma鈥�) to mean the 闯测辞迟颈峁ａ弓辞尘补 and other sacrifices performed with the Soma. Though the actual 鈥榮elling鈥檕f these sacrifices is not possible,鈥攂ecause an act is purely incorporeal,鈥攜et, as a matter of fact, the practice of 鈥榮elling鈥� sacrifices is found to be current among illiterate people; hence the present prohibition. Illiterate people are found making such assertions in oath as鈥�(a) 鈥榳hatever good I have done, may be yours鈥� (where they mean to transfer the merit acquired by their good deeds), and (b) 鈥榯hat night in which you were born and that in which you are dying, leaving these two, all your charities and performances, all your good deeds, your life and offspring I might destroy, if they injure me鈥� (An oath). And just as they make use of such oaths, so also they practice the Giving and Selling (of acts) by means of words; and he who does this, is avoided (at 艢谤腻诲诲丑补 -feedings). It is from this that we infer the impropriety of uttering such oaths and the doing of such verbal givings and sellings.
鈥�Sea-voyager鈥欌�攐ne who goes out to the sea.
鈥�Bard鈥欌�攐ne who sings the eulogia of men.
鈥�Dealer in oils鈥欌�攐ne who presses sesamum and other oilseeds.
鈥�Perjuror鈥欌�攐ne who tells a lie when giving evidence.鈥�(158).
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
鈥�础驳腻谤补诲腻丑墨鈥欌�斺�楢n incendiary; as also (according to Nandana) one who burns corpses for money鈥�.
鈥�碍耻峁囜笉腻艣墨鈥欌�斺�極ne who eats the food of the son of an adultress鈥� (Medh膩tithi and Kull奴ka) 鈥榯he glutton who eats sixty palas of rice鈥� (N膩r膩ya峁嘺).
鈥�碍奴迟补办腻谤补办补岣�鈥欌�斺�楾he perjuring witness鈥� (Medh膩tithi, R膩ghav膩nanda and also Kull奴ka, whose explanation does not differ from Medh膩tithi鈥檚 as noted by Buhler);鈥擬edh膩tithi explains the word as 鈥�厂腻办峁别峁补苍峁泃补惫腻诲墨,鈥� and Kull奴ka as 鈥�S膩k峁v膩de m峁涐梗膩v膩dasya-kart膩鈥�;鈥斺�榓ny one who commits fraud, i.e. a forger, a falsifier of weights and measures鈥� (N膩r膩ya峁嘺 and Nandana).
This verse is quoted in 笔补谤腻艣补谤补尘腻诲丑补惫补 (膧c膩ra, p. 687) without any comment;鈥攊n 贬别尘腻诲谤颈 (艢谤腻诲诲丑补, p. 481);鈥攁nd in 狈峁泂颈峁僪补辫谤补蝉腻诲补 (艢谤腻诲诲丑补, p. 9a).
Comparative notes by various authors
(verses 3.150-166)
See Comparative notes for Verse 3.150.