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...
Verse 3.44
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
शरः क्षत्रियया ग्राह्यः प्रतोदो वैश्यकन्यया ।
वसनस्य दशा ग्राह्या शूद्रयोत्कृष्टवेदने ॥ ४४ ॥śaraḥ kṣatriyayā grāhyaḥ pratodo vaiśyakanyayā |
vasanasya daśā grāhyā śūdrayotkṛṣṭavedane || 44 ||When being married to a man of higher caste, the Kṣatriya girl should take hold of the arrow, the Vaiśya girl of the goad and the Śūdra girl of the hem of the garment.—(44)
Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
When being wedded by a Brāhmaṇa, ‘the Kṣatriya girl should take hold of’ the arrow held in the hand of the Brāhmaṇa bridegroom; the arrow having been prescribed in place of the ‘taking of the hand.’
‘Goad’—of oxen; it is made of iron, on being driven by which they suffer pain; just like the ‘aṅkuśa’ in the case of. elephants.
‘Of the garment’—of the cloth,—‘the hem should be taken hold of by the Śūdra girl, when being married to men of the Brāhmaṇa and other higher castes. (44)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Saṃskāra, p. 835), which adds that what is meant by the phrase ‘Kṣatriyayā grāhyaḥ’ is that ‘the Kṣatriya girl should catch hold of the arrow already held by the bridegroom,’ and so on with the rest also.
It is quoted also in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 496);—and in Smṛtitattva (II, page 107).
Comparative notes by various authors
Viṣṇu (24.6-8).—‘In the marriage of girls of different castes, the Kṣatriya maiden should hold an arrow; the Vaiśya maiden, a goad; and the Śūdra maiden, the hem of the garment.’
Yājñavalkya (1.62).—‘The Kṣatriya maiden should hold the arrow; and Vaiśya maiden the goad, when they are being married to the Brāhmaṇa.’
Śaṅkha (Parāśaramādhava, p. 496).—‘The Kṣatriya girl holds an arrow; the Vaiśya girl holds a goad; the Śūdra girl, the hem of the garment; the Brāhmaṇa should hold the hand of the girl of the same caste as himself.’
Paiṭhīnasi (Parāśaramādhava, p. 490).—‘The Brāhmaṇa should hold the hand including the thumb; the Kṣatriya girl should hold an arrow, the Vaiśya girl, a goad; and the Śūdra girl, the hem of the garment.’