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:

अनारोग्यमनायुष्यमस्वर्ग्यं चातिभोजनम् ।
अपुण्यं लोकविद्विष्टं तस्मात् तत् परिवर्जयेत् ॥ ५७ ॥

anārogyamanāyuṣyamasvargyaṃ cātibhojanam |
apuṇyaṃ lokavidviṣṭaṃ tasmāt tat parivarjayet || 57 ||

Over-eating destroys health, cuts off life and bars heaven; it is unrighteous and detested by people; for these reasons one should avoid it.—(57)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The present verse proceeds to show that the prohibition of over-eating is based upon ordinary worldly considerations.

Destroys health,’—is productive of such diseases as fever, pain in the stomach and so forth.

Cuts off life,’—destroys life, bringing on such diseases as cholera and the like.

Bars heaven,’—because implying the neglect of one’s body, it involves the transgressing of such scriptural injunctions as ‘one should guard himself against all things.’ The ‘barring of heaven’ means going to hell.

Unrighteous’—productive of misfortune.

Detested by people’;—the man who eats too much is always looked down upon as a ‘glutton.’

For these reasons one ‘should avoid,’ — i.e., not do—over-eating.—(57)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Saṃskāra, p. 488); in Aparārka (p. 156);—and in Smṛticandrikā (Saṃskāra, p. 115).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(Verse 56-57)

See Comparative notes for Verse 2.56.

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