Verse 4.64

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

न नृत्येदथ वा गायेन्न वादित्राणि वादयेत् ।
नास्फोटयेन्न च क्ष्वेडेन्न च रक्तो विरावयेत् ॥ ६४ ॥

na nṛtyedatha vā gāyenna vāditrāṇi vādayet |
nāsphoṭayenna ca kṣveḍenna ca rakto virāvayet || 64 ||

He shall not dance, nor sing, nor play upon musical instruments, nor clap, nor grind his teeth, nor, when satisfied, shall he create enmity.—(64)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Dancing’—Throwing about of the limbs in a particular manner, as is well known among people.

‘Singing’—is the producing of sound in the ‘Ṣadja’ and other notes of music. What is forbidden here is ordinary temporal, not Vedic, singing; the latter being actually enjoined.

‘Musical instruments’—such as, the lute, the flute, the drum, and so forth. What is forbidden is the man himself playing upon these; and not making other people play upon them; as there is nothing to justify the construing of the verb ‘vādayet’ as containing a two-fold causal affix ‘ṇich’—which alone could afford the meaning of ‘making to play.’

‘Clapping’—the sound made by the clapping of the hands, or by striking the ground with the hand, and so forth.

‘Grinding o f teeth’—the indistinct sound made by the teeth is what is known by the name of ‘Kṣveḍanika.’

If the man happens to be satisfied with anpther person, he shall not create enmity with him. The prohibition does not apply to the case where the man is harassed by the other person. The term ‘virodhayet’ is to be explained as ‘virodham’ (this noun being found by the addition of the nominal affix ‘ghan (?)’) ‘kuryāt’ (this being the connotation of the ‘ṇich’ affix).—(64)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Saṃskāramyūkha (p. 71).

‘Kṣveḍet’—‘Grind his teeth’ (Medhātithi);—‘roar like a lion’ (Nārāyaṇa);—‘snap his fingers’ (Nandana).

‘Sphoṭayet—‘slap’ (Medhātithi);—‘make his fingers crack’ (Nandana).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Gautama (9.51).—[See above.]

Āpastamba Dharmasūtra (2.20.16).—‘Clappings—without reason (should be avoided).’

Viṣṇu (71.70-71).—‘Not dancing or singing;—nor clapping.’

Pāraskara (2.7.3-4).—‘He shall not do, nor go to, any dancing or singing or playing of musical instruments. Singing he may do; but being captivated by the singing of some one else is a totally different thing.’