Verse 6.48

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

क्रुद्ध्यन्तं न प्रतिक्रुध्येदाक्रुष्टः कुशलं वदेत् ।
सप्तद्वारावकीर्णां च न वाचमनृतां वदेत् ॥ ४८ ॥

kruddhyantaṃ na pratikrudhyedākruṣṭaḥ kuśalaṃ vadet |
saptadvārāvakīrṇāṃ ca na vācamanṛtāṃ vadet || 48 ||

Towards an angry man he shall not retort in anger; when he is cursed, he shall pronounce a blessing; and he shall not utter an untrue word, spreading over the seven openings.—(48).

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Seven openings’—(1) Duty and wealth, (2) duty and pleasure, (3) wealth and pleasure, (4) pleasure and wealth, (5) pleasure and duty, (6) wealth and duty, and (7) wealth—pleasure—duty. He shall not utter an untrue word spreading over all these. All these are based upon notions of diversity; and all diversity is untrue; hence the word relating to these is called ‘untrue’.

The sense is that the man shall speak only such words as pertain to Liberation.

Or, the ‘seven openings’ may stand for the seven breaths in the head; and these are the ‘openings’ of speech. Or, it may stand for the six sense-organs and Intellect as the seventh. It is only when objects have been perceived by means of these that words speak of them. Others explain that the ‘seven openings’ stand for the seven declensional terminations.—(48).

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

‘Saptadvāra’—(a) (1) Dharma-Artha, (2) Dharma-Kāma, (3) Artha-Kama, (4) Kāma-Artha, (5) Kāma-Dharma, (6) Artha-Dharma, (7) Dharma-Artha-Kāma;—or (b) The seven life-breath in the head;—or (d) ‘the six sense-organs and Buddhi’ (Medhātithi);—Kullūka has only (c);—‘the five senses, mind and Ahaṅkāra’ (Nārāyaṇa);—Govindarāja has (a) only;—‘seven worlds’ (mentioned by Kullūka).

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 954), which, reading na vācam samudīrayet (for na vācamanṛtam vadet) explains this much misunderstood second line as—he should not utter words vitiated by (1) desire, (2) anger, (3) greed, (4) delusion, (5) arrogance, (6) jealousy and (7) vanity.

This verse is quoted also in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 569).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Mahābhārata (12.278.6).—(See under 47.)

Baudhāyana (2.18, 3).—‘There are five minor vows—to abstain from anger, to obey the teacher, to avoid rashness, to observe cleanliness and to observe purity in eating.’