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...

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

कूष्माण्डैर्वाऽपि जुहुयाद् घृतमग्नौ यथाविधि ।
उदित्य् ऋचा वा वारुण्या तृचेनाब्दैवतेन वा ॥ १०६ ॥

kūṣmāṇḍairvā'pi juhuyād ghṛtamagnau yathāvidhi |
udity ṛcā vā vāruṇyā tṛcenābdaivatena vā || 106 ||

Or he shall offer according to rule, clarified butter into the fire, with the ‘kuṣmāṇḍa’-texts or with the verse ‘ut, etc.’ sacred to varuṇa, or with the three verses sacred to the waters.—(106)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The mantras called ‘kūṣmāṇḍā’ are found in the Yajurveda; with these he shall offer clarified butter into the fire. The root ‘hu’ (in ‘juhuyāt’) signifies the act of giving away to a certain deity; and as the term ‘agnau’ mentions Agni only as the receptacle into which the offering is to be poured, the deity of the offering should be deduced from the words of these Mantras themselves. In those cases where the words of the mantras are not found to be indicative of any deity,—e.g., in the mantradevakṛtasyainasovayanamasi, etc.’ (Yājurvedā, 8.13) Prajāpati is to be accepted as the required deity,—so say the people learned in sacrificial lore. The other alternative view is that the offering in such cases is to be associated with those that have already been found to be the ‘deity’ of other offerings. The author of the Nirukta also has declared—‘what others could be the deity?’ Though there is no deity common to all offerings in general, each sacrifice has its own materials as well as deity clearly indicated, sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly through mantras.

What we say however is that the mantradevakṛtasyainasovayajanamasi,’ itself contains the term ‘yajana’; and as ‘yajana’ is the same as ‘yājana,’ it is the latter that is the required deity; and as in the case of every mantra, there is hound to be something that is denoted by it, there will always be some words of the mantra that would indicate the required deity.

The verse ‘ut, etc.,’ refers to the verse ‘Uduttamam varuṇa pāśamasmat, etc.’ (Ṛgveda, 1.24.15); and the epithet ‘sacred to Varuṇa’ has been added in order to exclude the other verse beginning with ‘ut’,—vis., “Ut-tvā madantu stomā,’ etc. (Ṛgveda, 8.64.1).

With the three verses sacred to the waters.’—The term ‘daivata’ is synonymous with ‘devatā’; and the three verses of which the Waters are the deity are ‘Āpohiṣṭhā mayobhuvaḥ, etc’ (Ṛgveda, 10.9.1). In this case there is one oblation with each of these three verses and one with all the three collectively.

The terms ‘clarified butter’ and ‘into the fire’ have to be construed with every clause.

According to rule,’—i.e., in accordance with the practice of cultured people. Hence, in as much as the offering being that of butter, all the details of the primary sacrifices could not be transferred to it,—this phrase sanctions the adopting of only such details as the brushing of the place, sprinkling it with water, examining of the butter, pouring the oblations with the sruva and so forth.

The particle ‘’ shows that all the offerings mentioned are to be regarded as optional alternatives.—(106)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

Kūṣmaṇḍaiḥ’—i.e ., Vājasaneya Saṃhitā, 20.14-16, or Taittirīya Āraṇyaka, 10.3-5.

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 682), which adds that ‘uditi’ refers to the opening word of the mantra ‘Uduttamamvaruṇa pāśamasmat &c.’ (Ṛgveda, 1.24.15);—in Parāśaramādhava (Prāyaścitta, p. 390);—in Smṛticandrikā (Vyavahāra, p. 207);—and in Kṛtyakalpataru (38b).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 8.105-106)

See Comparative notes for Verse 8.105.

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