Verse 2.153

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

अज्ञो भवति वै बालः पिता भवति मन्त्रदः ।
अज्ञं हि बालमित्याहुः पितेत्येव तु मन्त्रदम् ॥ १५३ ॥

ajño bhavati vai bālaḥ pitā bhavati mantradaḥ |
ajñaṃ hi bālamityāhuḥ pitetyeva tu mantradam || 153 ||

The ignorant person is verily a “child,” while the imparted of mantras is the “father.” They have called the ignorant man “child,” and the imparter of mantras, “father.”—(153)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

It is not by reason of his younger age that one is known as ‘child’ it is the ‘ignorant’—uneducated person—who, even though old in age, is called ‘child.’

‘Importer of mantras’—is used figuratively; the sense being that ‘he who imparts,—i.e., teaches and expounds,—the Mantras—i.e., the Vedas—becomes the father.’

The particle ‘vai,’ ‘verily,’ indicates the support of other scriptures; and these scriptures (thus referred to) must have been regarded by the said gods as ancient and authoritative. Hence it is that we have the term ‘they have called.’ which points to a traditional belief.

‘The ignorant’—uneducated—‘person,’—‘they’—i.e., even the ancients—have called ‘child’; —and ‘the importer of mantras, the father.’ The particle ‘iti,’ occurring after the term ‘bāla,’ points to the exact form of the traditional belief;—the construction being—‘ajñam bāla iti etena śabdena āhuḥ,’ ‘the ignorant person they have called by the name child.’ It is on account of the presence of this ‘iti’ that the accusative ending is absent in the term ‘bāla.’

This story about the child (Āṅgirasa) occurs in the Chāndogya, and the author of the Smṛti (Manu) has reproduced it here only in sense.—(153)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 305)—in Vīramitrodaya (Saṃskāra, p. 480);—and in Smṛticandrikā (Saṃskāra, p. 93).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verse 150-154)

See Comparative notes for Verse 2.150.