Verse 2.42

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

मौञ्जी त्रिवृत् समा श्लक्ष्णा कार्या विप्रस्य मेखला ।
क्षत्रियस्य तु मौर्वी ज्या वैश्यस्य शणतान्तवी ॥ ४२ ॥

mauñjī trivṛt samā ślakṣṇā kāryā viprasya mekhalā |
kṣatriyasya tu maurvī jyā vaiśyasya śaṇatāntavī || 42 ||

For, the Brāhmaṇa the girdle should be threefold, of even thickness, soft and smooth, made of muñja grass; for the Kṣatriya it should be the bow-string made of murvā grass; and for the Vaiśya the cord made of hempen fibres.”—(42)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The muñja is a particular kind of grass; the cord made of that grass is called ‘Mauñjī.’ This cord should form the ‘girdle,’ hraid, waist-band. ‘Threefold’—triple-corded;—‘of even thickness’—not such as is thin in one part and thinner in another; but such as is even throughout;—‘soft and smooth,’ of soft texture, well-rubbed.

‘For the Kṣatriya the bow-string’;—the string of the bow. The bow-string is made sometimes of leathern thong, sometimes of grass or of fibres of hemp or flax; hence the text specifies it as that ‘made of murvā grass’; this string should be taken down from the bow and made into the waist-band.

Even though the qualifications of triplicity and the rest apply literally to all kinds of ‘girdle,’ and not only to that of muñja grass, yet they cannot be applied to the ‘bow-string,’ as with such qualifications it would entirely lose its character of ‘bow-string.’

‘Made of hempen fibres’;—the lengthening of the vowel in the second number of the compound is an archaism. Or, we may take the term ‘tāntavī’ by itself formed with the nominal affix added to the term ‘tantu’ only, and then compound the term ‘tāntavī’ with the term ‘śaṇa’; since the ‘tāntavī,’ the fibre, is a product of the ‘śaṇa,’ hemp, it is naturally spoken of as related to its source (the hemp) [hence the compound śaṇānām tāntavī—‘śaṇatāntavī’; as we find in such expressions as ‘the cow’s butter,’ ‘Deva-datta’s grand son’ and so forth]. This hempen cord should be made like that of the Muñja cord; as the author of the Gṛhyasūtras have clearly laid down that the Vaiśya’s girdle should have the qualities of triplicity and the rest.—(42)

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Gautama-Dharmasūtra, 1.17.—‘The girdles are of Muñja grass, of bowstring and made of Murvā grass, and of fibres respectively.’

Baudhāyana-Dharmasūtra, 1.2.14.—‘The girdles are of Muñja, bowstring and hempen.’

Āpastamba- Dharmasūtra, 1.1.2.33-37.—‘For the Brahmaṇa, the girdle consists of Muñja-string three-fold; for the Kṣatriya, of bowstring; or of Muñja-string mixed with iron; for the Vaiśya, of woolen yarn; or according to some, of fibres of the Āsana tree, or of those of the Tamāla tree.’

Vaśiṣṭha-Smṛti, 11.46.—‘The girdle for the Brāhmaṇa consists of the Muñja-string; for the Kṣatriya, of the bowstring; for the Vaiśya, of hempen fibre.’

Viṣṇu-Smṛti, 27.18.—‘For these the girdles are of Muñja, of bowstring and of Balvaja fibres.’

Āśvalāyana-Gṛhyasütra, 1.19.11.—‘The girdle for the Brāhmaṇa is of Muñja grass, for the Kṣatriya, of the bowstring; for the Vaiśya, of wool.’

Pāraskara-Gṛhyasūtra, 2.5.21-23.—‘For the Brāhmaṇa, the girdle is of Muñja grass; for the Kṣatriya, of the bowstring; for the Vaiśya, of Murvā grass.’

Gobhilā- Gṛhyasūtra, 2.10.10.—‘The girdles are of Muñja, Kāśa and Kambala.’

Paiṭhīnasi (Aparārka, p. 55).—‘For the Brāhmaṇa, the girdle of Muñja and Aśmāntaka.’

Yama (Vīramitrodaya-Saṃskāra, p. 433).—‘The girdle of the Brāhmaṇa is of Muñja grass; of the Kṣatriya of the bowstring made of Murvā grass; and that of the Vaiśyas, of hempen fibre.’

Śaṅkha (Vīramitrodaya-Saṃskāra, p. 434).—‘Or, for all, of Muñja grass.’