Verse 3.9

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

नऋक्षवृक्षनदीनाम्नीं नान्त्यपर्वतनामिकाम् ।
न पक्ष्यहिप्रेष्यनाम्नीं न च भीषणनामिकाम् ॥ ९ ॥

naṛkṣavṛkṣanadīnāmnīṃ nāntyaparvatanāmikām |
na pakṣyahipreṣyanāmnīṃ na ca bhīṣaṇanāmikām || 9 ||

Nor one bearing the name of an asterism, or a tree, or a river; nob one having her hame after a low caste or a mountain; nor one named after a bird, a serpent or a slave; nor one with a hame inspiring terror.—(9)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Asterism’ is constellation; one who bears the name of one of these; such as ‘Ārdrā,’ ‘Jyeṣṭhā,’ and the like.

‘Bearing the name of a tree’—such as ‘Śiṃśapā,’ ‘Āmalakī,’ and so forth.

‘River’—the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā; she who bears these names.

The term “ṛkṣavṛkṣanadī” is to be expounded as a copulative compound; which with the following term ‘nāman’ forms a genitive Tatpuruṣa compound; and these, along with the term ‘nāman’ repeated, form a Bahuvrīhi compound; the repeated term ‘nāman’ being dropped.

‘Having her name after a low caste’— such as ‘Barbarī’

‘Śabarī’ and the like.

‘Mountains’— such as the Vindhyā, the Himalaya, and the rest.

This compound (‘parvatanāmikām’) also is to be expounded as the former; and has the ‘ka’ affix added to it.

‘Named after a bird’— snch as ‘Śukī’ ‘Sārikā,’ and the like.

‘Serpent,’ snake; one who is named after it; such as ‘Vyālī,’ ‘Bhujaṅgī.’

‘Slave’— such names as ‘Dāsī,’ ‘Bālī.’

‘Inspiring terror’—that which causes fear; such as Ḍākinī,’ ‘Rākṣasī.’

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Saṃskāra, p. 732), where ‘ṛkṣa’ is explained as ‘asterism;’—and ‘antya’ as ‘mleccha;’—in Smṛtitattva (II, p. 149) to the same effect as the preceding verse;’—in Vīramitrodaya (Lakṣaṇa, p. 120), where ‘antya’ is explained as ‘antyaja,’ i.e., cāṇḍāla;—in Aparārka (p. 78) as indicating the unmarriageability of girls with the wrong type of names;—in Samkāramayūkha (p. 74);—in Saṃskāraratnamālā (p. 510), which explains ‘antya’ as bearing a Mleccha name;—in Smṛticandrikā (Saṃskāra, p. 201), which explains ‘ṛkṣa’ as ‘nakṣatra,’ ‘antya’ as ‘mleccha,’ and ‘bhīṣaṇā’ as terrifying;—and in Nṛsiṃhaprasāda (Saṃskāra, p. 50a).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 3.8-9)

See Comparative notes for Verse 3.8.