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 7.219
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
परीक्षिताः स्त्रियश्चैनं व्यजनोदकधूपनैः ।
वेषाभरणसंशुद्धाः स्पृशेयुः सुसमाहिताः ॥ २१९ ॥parīkṣitāḥ striyaścainaṃ vyajanodakadhūpanaiḥ |
veṣābharaṇasaṃśuddhāḥ spṛśeyuḥ susamāhitāḥ || 219 ||Thoroughly tested women, whose toilet and ornaments have been examined, shall serve him attentively with fans, water and incense.—(219)
Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
‘Thoroughly tested’—examined by means of tests, as regards their character, honesty and behaviour;—‘women’—maids, maid-servants ‘with fans, water and incense’—by means of these,—‘shall serve him’—attend upon him; and they shall have taken, their baths and performed toilets carefully;—‘attentively’—not having their minds diverted elsewhere.
‘Toilet and ornaments examined’,— every possibility of tricks of toilet in regard to nails, hairs and the like being thoroughly examined; sometimes weapons may be concealed, in these, by means of which they might strike the king without the least hindrance. The ‘ornaments’ have to be examined, because these may be besmeared with poison, and with these they might touch the king’s person.—(219)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti, p. 161);—and in Nītimayūkha (p. 51).
Comparative notes by various authors
Kāmandaka (7.43).—‘When the king is in the harem, the guards of the harem, whose honesty has been commended by the virtuous, and who are skilful in guard-duty, should guard him, with weapons ready for use.’