Verse 7.48

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

पैशुन्यं साहसं द्रोह ईर्ष्याऽसूयाऽर्थदूषणम् ।
वाग्दण्डजं च पारुष्यं क्रोधजोऽपि गणोऽष्टकः ॥ ४८ ॥

paiśunyaṃ sāhasaṃ droha īrṣyā'sūyā'rthadūṣaṇam |
vāgdaṇḍajaṃ ca pāruṣyaṃ krodhajo'pi gaṇo'ṣṭakaḥ || 48 ||

Tale-bearing, Treachery, Envy, Slandering, Misappropriation of property, Cruelty of speech and of Assault;—these constitute the eightfold set born of Anger.—(48).

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Tale-bearing’—the disclosing of such secrets as are to be kept from monitors and other official relatives.

‘Violence’—the employing of superior men in derogatory acts; or hand-cutting or imprisoning men for slight offences.

‘Treachery’—killing secretly.

‘Envy’—desire to strike or even take away the life.

‘Slandering’—not brooking the good qualities of men, and exposing their weak points.

‘Misappropriation of property’.—not giving;—in fact taking away what belongs to others; also the depriving from public use of what is public property.

‘Cruelty of speech and assault’—are well known.

‘Anger’—hate. Those mentioned partake of the nature of Hate.—(48).

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 413);—in Mitākṣarā (on 1.308);—in Smṛtitattva (p. 717), which explains ‘paiśunya’ as ‘proclaiming the unknown faults of others, malice,’—‘sāhasa’ as ‘punishing the guiltless with imprisonment and so forth,’—‘droha’ as ‘desire to injure others,’ ‘īrṣyā’ as ‘not brooking the good of others,’—‘asūyā’ as ‘finding fault with the good quality in others,’—and ‘arthadūṣaṇam’ as ‘seizing of property and witholding of what is due’;—again on p. 742, where the same explanations are repeated.

It is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti, p. 148), which notes that the number ‘eight’ is made up by ‘vākpāruṣyam’ and ‘daṇḍajam pāruṣyam and goes on to explain ‘paiśunyam’ as ‘malice, proclaiming such faults of others as are not generally known,’—‘sāhasa’ as ‘punishing of the innocent with imprisonment and so forth,’—‘droha’ as ‘injuring the Brāhmaṇa,’—‘īrṣyā’ as ‘not bearing the good of others,’—‘asūyā’ as ‘picking faults in the good qualities of others,’—‘arthadūṣaṇa’ as ‘seizing the property of others and witholding what is due to others,’—‘vākpāruṣya’ as ‘reviling and so forth,’—and ‘daṇḍapāruṣya’ as ‘harshness of punishment, i.e., the imposing of heavy fines or corporal punishment, for slight offences.’

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 7.45-53)

See Comparative notes for Verse 7.45.