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 9.258
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
啶夃い啷嵿啷嬥啶曕ぞ啶多啶氞啶ぇ啶苦啶� 啶掂啷嵿啶曕ぞ啶� 啶曕た啶むさ啶距じ啷嵿い啶ムぞ 啷�
啶啷嵿啶侧ぞ啶︵啶多さ啷冟い啷嵿い啶距ざ啷嵿 啶う啷嵿ぐ啶距ざ啷嵿啷堗啷嵿し啶｀た啶曕啶� 啶膏す 啷� 啷ㄠカ啷� 啷�utkocak膩艣copadhik膩 va帽cak膩岣� kitav膩stath膩 |
ma峁単al膩de艣av峁泃t膩艣ca bhadr膩艣caik峁峁噄kai岣� saha || 258 ||Those who take bribes, dissemblers, cheats and gamblers, fortune-tellers and palmists.鈥�(258)
Medh膩tithi鈥檚 commentary (manubh膩峁a):
Those who are addicted to taking bribes for doing some work for people, at the royal Court or with ministers etc.
鈥�Dissemblers.鈥欌�攅fficient in the art of dissembling; saying one thing and doing another; openly professing love and secretly doing injury. These persons do not always accept anything; they simply win the confidence of men by means of such tricks as鈥攈aving come to know that a certain business of the man is going to succeed, they go to them and say 鈥業 am going to do this work for you.鈥� They also make use of threats sometimes.
鈥�Gamblers鈥欌�攚ho carry on gambling as a means of adding to their income.
鈥�Cheats鈥欌�攖hose who mislead people; having promised to do a certain work, they do not do it; and having approached the people of the village, they adopt various methods to cheat them out of their properly. To this class belong the persons who are known as 鈥�艢颈惫补尘腻诲丑补惫补蝉鈥�; they make 艢iva or Vi峁ａ箛u the means of living.
鈥�Fortune-tellers鈥欌�攁strologers and foretellers;鈥攐r persons who approach rich men with such words as 鈥榝or your sake I shall win the favour of Durg膩 or S奴rya or such other gods and goddesses,鈥� and making a living by it. Or, the term may stand for those who make a living by pronouncing the auspicious formula 鈥楳ay this be so.鈥�
鈥�Palmists鈥欌�� who read the character of men from their palms.鈥�(258)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
鈥�础耻辫补诲丑颈办腻岣�鈥�.鈥斺�楧eceitful persons, who say one thing and do another鈥� (Medh膩tithi);鈥斺�榯hose who extort money by threats鈥� (Kull奴ka and R膩ghav膩nanda);鈥斺�榯hose who cheat by using false weights and measures鈥� (N膩r膩ya峁嘺 and Nandana).
鈥�痴补帽肠补办腻岣�.鈥欌�斺�楥heats, those who promise to do some thing but don鈥檛 do it鈥� (Medh膩tithi);鈥斺�榯hose who pretend to change base metals into precious ones鈥� (R膩ghav膩nanda and Kull奴ka);鈥斺�榤en who take money under false pretences鈥� (N膩r膩ya峁嘺).
鈥�惭补峁単补濒腻诲别艣补惫峁泃迟腻岣�鈥�.鈥斺�楢strologers and others who prescribe auspicious rites etc.鈥� (Medh膩tithi, Kull奴ka and R膩ghav膩nanda);鈥斺�榤en who live by reciting auspicious hymns鈥� (N膩r膩ya峁嘺);鈥斺�渢hose who pronounce the auspicious formula 鈥榖e it so鈥�.鈥� (鈥榦thers鈥� in Medh膩tithi.)
鈥�叠丑补诲谤腻辫谤别办峁峁噄办腻岣�鈥�.鈥斺�楶almists who always praise the fortunes of others鈥� (Medh膩tithi);鈥擭膩r膩ya峁嘺, reading 鈥�产丑补诲谤腻艣肠别办峁峁噄办腻岣�鈥�, explains 鈥�产丑补诲谤腻岣�鈥� as 鈥榩ersons who tempt women鈥�, and 鈥�墨办峁苍颈办腻岣�鈥� as actors and the rest;鈥擪ull奴ka and R膩ghav膩nanda and Nandana adopt the same reading and explain 鈥�产丑补诲谤腻岣�鈥� as 鈥榟yprocritical men who pose as pious men and cheat people鈥� and 鈥�墨办峁峁噄办补鈥� as palmists.
This verse is quoted in 痴颈惫腻诲补谤补迟苍腻办补谤补 (p. 291), which adds the following explanations:鈥斺��础颈办峁峁噄办补鈥� (which is its reading for 鈥�墨办峁苍颈办补鈥�), is that fortune-teller who makes money by making false agreeable predictions.
Comparative notes by various authors
(verses 9.256-260)
See Comparative notes for Verse 9.256.