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...
Verse 2.20
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
एतद् देशप्रसूतस्य सकाशादग्रजन्मनः ।
स्वं स्वं चरित्रं शिक्षेरन् पृथिव्यां सर्वमानवाः ॥ २० ॥etad deśaprasūtasya sakāśādagrajanmanaḥ |
svaṃ svaṃ caritraṃ śikṣeran pṛthivyāṃ sarvamānavāḥ || 20 ||All men on the earth may learn their respective duties from the Brāhmaṇa born in these countries. (20)
Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
From the ‘agrajanma,’ i.e., the Brāhamṇa—‘born in these countries’—Kurukṣetra and the the rest—all men ‘may learn’—seek to know—‘their respective duties’—proper conduct. This has been already explained under Verse 18.—(20)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
This is quoted in the Vīramitrodaya, Paribhāṣā (p. 56) which says that this is meant only to eulogise the particular country.
Comparative notes by various authors
(Verses 18-23)
See Comparative notes for Verse 2.18 (The Practice of Good Men).