Verse 2.207

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

श्रेयःसु गुरुवद् वृत्तिं नित्यमेव समाचरेत् ।
गुरुपुत्रेषु चार्येषु गुरोश्चैव स्वबन्धुषु ॥ २०७ ॥

śreyaḥsu guruvad vṛttiṃ nityameva samācaret |
guruputreṣu cāryeṣu guroścaiva svabandhuṣu || 207 ||

Towards superiors he should always behave as towards the Teacher, as also towards the Teacher’s son who has acquired the position of the Teacher, and towards the Teacher’s own blood-relations.—(207)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Superiors’;—those possessed of greater amount of wealth and learning. Towards these ‘he should behave always as towards the Teacher’;—i.e., he should offer him obeisance, welcome and so forth.

In this verse many such words have been used as are superfluous; but in as much as this is a metrical work, such usage is not objectionable. ‘Towards superiors’ was all that should h ave been said here; ‘as towards the Teacher’ would be already implied; ‘behaviour’ has already been mentioned in the preceding verse. Many such instances can be found in this work.

‘Towards the Teacher’s son who has acquired the position of the Teacher’;—the addition of the word ‘ācārya’ is meant to show that the son should have obtained the position of the Teacher. The sense is that, if during the Teacher’s absence, his son teaches his pupils for a few days, he should be treated as a Teacher

Another reading is ‘guruputresvaṭhāryeṣu.’ The term ‘ārya’ in’this case would mean ‘one belonging to the highly qualified Brāhmaṇa-caste,’ as we find in such instances as—‘śūdrāccāryo jyāyān.’

This verse does not enjoin that such treatment should lie accorded to all the sons of the Teacher.

‘Towards the Teacher’s own blood-relations.’—The epithet ‘own’ has been added for the purpose of restricting the statement to members of the Teacher’s family; the mere fact of being a member of the Teacher’s family is the sole ground for the treatment being accorded to him,—irrespectively of age, learning, etc.—(207)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

‘Ācārye’—is construed as qualifying ‘guruputre’ according to Medhātithi, who explains the two terms as ‘the teacher’s son who imparts instruction for a few days during the absence of the teacher’.—Another reading, suggested by

Medhātithi is ‘āryeṣu’, explained as ‘duly qualified Brāhmaṇas’ (Medhātithi, Kullūka and Govindarāja);—‘virtuous’ (Nārāyaṇa and Nandana);—‘older in age’ (Vīramitrodaya).

This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Saṃskāra, p. 462), where we have the following explanations:—‘Śreyaḥsu’ means ‘those possessed of superior learning and other qualifications;—‘āryeṣu’ means ‘older in age’;—‘guroḥ svabandhuṣu’ means ‘the teacher’s uncles and other relations—and in Yatidharmasaṅgraha (p. 34).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 206-207)

See Comparative notes for Verse 2.206.