Verse 4.63

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

न कुर्वीत वृथाचेष्टां न वार्यञ्जलिना पिबेत् ।
नोत्सङ्गे भक्षयेद् भक्ष्यान्न जातु स्यात् कुतूहली ॥ ६३ ॥

na kurvīta vṛthāceṣṭāṃ na vāryañjalinā pibet |
notsaṅge bhakṣayed bhakṣyānna jātu syāt kutūhalī || 63 ||

He shall not put forth any exertion without a purpose. He shall not drink water with joined hands. He shall not eat articles of food in his lap. He shall never be too curious.—(63)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Exertion without a purpose’—i.e., that which does not bring any benefit, preceptible or imperceptible; e.g., hankering after news of other countries, and so forth.

‘Añjali’ is joined palms;—with this ‘he shall not drink water.’ Since water is mentioned by name, the prohibition does not apply to milk and other liquids.

‘Articles of food in his lap’—fried grains and cakes, &c., he shall not eat, while they are on his thighs. The term ‘articles of food’ extends the prohibition to fruits also. As for rice, the mixture of fried Hour with water and such other semi-liquid things as cannot be eaten without mixing water,—there is no possibility of their being eaten on the lap.

‘Curiosity’—is over-eagerness for information about things, without any purpose.

‘Na jātu’—never.—(63).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Gautama (9.9, 51, 56).—‘He shall not drink with joined hands. He shall not do such acts as cutting, breaking, scratching, crushing, clapping, without reason. He shall not eat articles of food on his lap.’

Baudhāyana (2.3.26).—‘He shall not eat food on his lap.’

Viṣṇu (68.21).—‘Not in his lap.’

Viṣṇu (62.69).—‘He shall not do any purposeless act.’