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 3.243
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
ब्राह्मणं भिक्षुकं वाऽपि भोजनार्थमुपस्थितम् ।
ब्राह्मणैरभ्यनुज्ञातः शक्तितः प्रतिपूजयेत् ॥ २४३ ॥brāhmaṇaṃ bhikṣukaṃ vā'pi bhojanārthamupasthitam |
brāhmaṇairabhyanujñātaḥ śaktitaḥ pratipūjayet || 243 ||The Brāhmaṇa or the mendicant who comes seeking for food, he shall entertain, to the best of his ability, on being permitted by the Brāhmaṇas.—(243)
Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
‘The Brāhmaṇa’—who may arrive as a guest.
‘The mendicant’—the Brāhmaṇa that may come begging for alms.
‘On being permitted by the Brāhmaṇas,’ busy with eating,
‘he shall entertain,’ according to his ability, i.e., he shall honour them by offering food, or by giving alms in the proper manner. [The permission of the invited Brāhmaṇas is essential, because] on that day, the food has been cooked specially for them.—(243)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
‘Brāhmaṇam bhikṣukam’—‘The Brāhmaṇa that arrives as a guest, and the Brāhmaṇa that comes begging for alms’ (Medhātithi, Govindarāja and Kullūka);—‘the Brāhmaṇa householder, and the ascetic that begs for food’ (Nārāyaṇa and Rāghavānanda).
This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 728) in support of the view that ‘after the invited Brāhmaṇas have been seated, if a Religious Student or an Ascetic should happen to turn up, he also should be fed at the Śrāddha’;—in Aparārka (p. 500);—in Nṛsiṃhaprasāda (Śrāddha, p. 246);—in Gadādharapaddhati (Kāla, p. 521);—and in Hemādri (Śrāddha, p. 439).
Comparative notes by various authors
Viṣṇu (81.18).—‘At the time, he shall feed a Brāhmaṇa or a mendicant, with the permission of the Brāhmaṇas (invited).’
Yama (Caturvargacintāmaṇi-Śrāddha, p. 439).—‘If a mendicant or a Religious Student happen to arrive seeking for food,—after the Brāhmaṇas have been seated, he also should be fed.’
Varāhapurāṇa (Do.).—‘If at that time an excellent Brāhmaṇa seeking for food, or a guest, should arrive, he shall, on being permitted by the Brāhmaṇas, freely feed him also.’
Chāgaleya (Parāśaramādhava, p. 728).—‘At the time of the Śrāddha also one shall welcome the Ascetic and the Religious Student.’