Verse 2.216

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

कामं तु गुरुपत्नीनां युवतीनां युवा भुवि ।
विधिवद् वन्दनं कुर्यादसावहमिति ब्रुवन् ॥ २१६ ॥

kāmaṃ tu gurupatnīnāṃ yuvatīnāṃ yuvā bhuvi |
vidhivad vandanaṃ kuryādasāvahamiti bruvan || 216 ||

The young man may perform the proper salutation on the ground to the young wives of his Teacher,—saying “here i am.”—(216)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘May’ signifies dis-satisfaction on the part of the author; or, it may bo construed with the next verse.

‘On the ground’—the clasping of the feet is not necessarily meant to be done.

‘The young man..... to the young wives’;—i.e., what is here laid down pertains to cases where both parties are young. If the student is a child, or the Teacher’s wife is old, then the clasping of the feet is unobjectionable.

‘Here I am’;—this refers to the rule prescribed before (in 123).

‘Proper’—i.e., with upturned hands, etc. (see 72).—(216)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 30l), as laying down how, in view of the foregoing text, the young student is to behave towards the Teacher’s wife;—also in Vīramitrodaya (Saṃskāra, p. 462), which remarks that the term ‘yuvā’, ‘young man,’ in this verse makes it clear that the mention of ‘twenty years’ in verse 212 is meant to stand for youth in general;—in Saṃskāramayūkha (p. 47) as laying down the necessity of saluting the Teacher’s wives;—and in Smṛticandrikā (Saṃskāra, p. 104).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Viṣṇu (32-14).—[Reproduces Manu.]