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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 ‘Dharma�, 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...

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

स्वाध्यायं श्रावयेत� पित्र्ये धर्मशास्त्राणि चै� हि �
आख्यानानीतिहासांश्च पुराणानि खिलानि � � २३� �

svādhyāya� śrāvayet pitrye dharmaśāstrāṇi caiva hi |
ākhyānānītihāsāṃśca purāṇāni 󾱱Ծ ca || 232 ||

At the rite in honour of the Pitṛs, one should recite the Vedic text, Legal Institutes, Stories, Histories, Legends and supplementary Texts.�(232)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (Գܲṣy):

ⲹ�’� Vedic Text.

Legal Institutes’Ĕthe works of Manu and others.

Stories’Ĕsuch as those of Suparṇa, Mitrāvaruṇa, and the rest, related in the Ṛgveda.

Histories’ĔѲٲ�, etc.

Legends’Ĕdescribing the creation of the world and such other subjects, written by Vyāsa and others.

Supplementary texts’�e.g., the Śī-ūٲ, the Ѳ峾Ծ, and the like.�(232)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

ĀԾ’Ĕ‘Legends relating to Suparṇa, Mitrāvaruṇa and the rest, related in the Ṛgveda� (Medhātithi, Govindarāja, Kullūka and Rāghavānanda);—‘such legends as occur in the 󳾲ṇa� (Nārāyaṇa);—‘the legends relating to the death of Kaṃsa and so forth� (Nandana).

This verse is quoted in 貹첹 (p. 502);—in Ҳ󲹰貹󲹳پ (Kāla, p. 560), which explains �󾱱Ծ� as standing for the ‘Harivaṃśa and the rest�;—in Ś󲹰첹ܻܳī (p. 172), which explains �ٳ󲹰śٰṇi� as ‘Manu and the rest�, �Ծ� as �ܱ貹ṇa and the like,� and �󾱱Ծ� as ‘the Śṅk貹 and other hymns—and in (Śrāddha, p. 1069), which has the following notes;—�ⲹ�,� Veda,—�ٳ󲹰śٰṇi,� works compiled by Manu and others,—�Ծ,� such stories contained in the Ṛgveda as the �ܱ貹ṇa,� the �Ѳٰ屹ṇa� and the �,� as also such Puranic stories as the one relating to the ‘Seven Fowlers,’Ĕ�پ� stands for the Ѳٲ and such works,—�ʳܰṇa� for the compilations which deal with the five subjects of Creation, Dissolution, Genealogies, Age-cycles, Deeds of royal dynasties,—�󾱱Ծ� for the Strīsūkta, the Mahānāmnika and other hymns.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Āśvalāyana Gṛhyasūtra (4.8.10).—‘Realising that they have become satisfied, he shall make them listen to the Ѳܳī verses, as also the mantra �ٲṣaԲԲī岹Գٲ, etc.�

վṣṇ (73.26).—‘Itihāsas, ʳܰṇas and Dharmaśāstras.�

-ĀśⲹԲ (23.66-67).—‘The hymns beginning with the words , etc., should be repeated before the 󳾲ṇa while they are eating; as also the hymn ṛṇṣv, etc., and also the 鲹ṣoԲ mantras; the hymn beginning with Ծī should be recited in praise of the Pitṛs, as also other sacred hymns, all the time that the feeding of 󳾲ṇa goes on.�

ʲ峾ܰṇa (Caturvarga-cintāmaṇi-Śrāddha, p. 1070).—‘At the rite in honour of Pitṛs, one shall have recited the Veda, the ʳܰṇas and the supplements, as also the hymns sacred to Brahmā, վṣṇ, Arka and Rudra.�

Yama (Caturvarga-cintāmaṇi-Śrāddha, p. 1070).—‘The Veda should be recited, as also the Dharma-śāstras over and over again; he shall recite before them the several Itihāsas also.�

Pracetas (Caturvarga-cintāmaṇi-Śrāddha, p. 1070).—‘After the 󳾲ṇa have taken their food, he shall recite before them, the Ṛk, the Yajū� and the Sāman as also all that is sacred to the Pitṛs.�

ٲⲹԲ (貹첹, p. 501).—‘While the 󳾲ṇa are eating, one shall repeat the Gāyatrī with the Praṇava and the Vyāhṛtis, once or thrice, as also the 鲹ṣoԲ mantras, the Pit�-mantras, the Puruṣasūkta and other sacred texts.�

ܻⲹԲ (貹첹, p. 502).—‘The 鲹ṣoԲ Sāmas, the Yaju� texts with and the Ѳ-ṛk—these should be recited to the eaters.�

վṣṇpurāṇa (貹첹, p. 502)—‘The reciting of the 鲹ṣoԲ mantras.�

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