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 4.242
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
तस्माद् धर्मं सहायार्थं नित्यं सञ्चिनुयात्शनैः ।
धर्मेण हि सहायेन तमस्तरति दुस्तरम् ॥ २४२ ॥tasmād dharmaṃ sahāyārthaṃ nityaṃ sañcinuyātśanaiḥ |
dharmeṇa hi sahāyena tamastarati dustaram || 242 ||He shall, therefore, slowly accumulate Spiritual Merit, for the purpose of securing a companion; for, with Merit as his companion, the man crosses over unfordable darkness.—(242)
Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
This is a recapitulation.
‘Unfordable darkness’—i.e., that which is crossed over with difficulty.
‘Darkness’ stands for suffering. Even such ‘unfordable darkness’ becomes easily fordable with the aid of Merit as a companion; i.e., the man does not become submerged in the darkness.—(242)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 232);—in Hemādri (Vrata, p. 14);—in Vīramitrodaya (Paribhāṣā, p. 64), which explains ‘tamas’ as ‘sin’;—and in Nṛsiṃhaprasāda (Saṃskāra, pp. 17a and b).
Comparative notes by various authors
(verses 4.241-242)
See Comparative notes for Verse 4.241.