Verse 8.113

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

सत्येन शापयेद् विप्रं क्षत्रियं वाहनायुधैः ।
गोबीजकाञ्चनैर्वैश्यं शूद्रं सर्वैस्तु पातकैः ॥ ११३ ॥

satyena śāpayed vipraṃ kṣatriyaṃ vāhanāyudhaiḥ |
gobījakāñcanairvaiśyaṃ śūdraṃ sarvaistu pātakaiḥ || 113 ||

The Brāhmaṇa should be made to swear by truth, the Kṣatriya by conveyances and weapons, the Vaiśya by cattle, grains and gold, and the Śūdra by all sins.—(113)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

In as much as the act of ‘swearing’ consists in invoking upon oneself evil consequences,—such as ‘If I do this may such and such an evil befall me,’—when a man is made to say ‘I swear by truth,’ what is meant is—‘may all my merit due to truthfulness become futile.’

‘Conveyances’ and ‘weapons’ also are the means of swearing in this same sense; when one swears by these it means—‘may these be useless for me.’

‘Cattle, grains and gold,’—the Vaiśya should be made to swear by touching these; which would mean ‘may these be useless for me.’

‘The Śūdra by all sins’;—the Śūdra should be made to say—‘may the following sins befall me.’—(113)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Mitākṣarā (on 2.73), which adds the following notes:—To the Brāhmaṇa he should administer the oath—‘If you tell a lie your truthfulness shall perish’; to the Kṣatriya, ‘your conveyances and weapons shall be futile’; to the Vaiśya, ‘your cattle, seeds and gold shall be useless;’ to the Śūdra, ‘if you tell a lie all the sins shall accrue to thee.’ It adds that verse 102 provides an exception to the rule here laid down.

It is quoted in Vyavahāramayūkha (p. 19), and again on p. 38;—in Parāśaramādhava (Vyavahāra, p. 78);—in Smṛtitattva (II, p. 611), which adds the following notes:—The Brāhmaṇa he shall cause to take the oath in the form ‘what I say is quite true,’ and what he says after this should be accepted as true;—in Smṛtisāroddhāra (p. 336);—in Kṛtyakalpataru (62a);—and in Vīramitrodaya (Vyavahāra, 88b).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Viṣṇu (8.20-23).—‘The Brāhmaṇa witness should be asked to declare: the Kṣatriya to declare the truth; the Vaiśya should be addressed thus—“Thy kine, grain and gold shall yield thee no fruit if thou wert to lie”: the Śūdra should be addressed thus—“Thou shall have to atone for all heavy crimes if thou wert to lie.”’

Nārada (1.248).—‘Let him cause the Brāhmaṇa to swear by truth, the Kṣatriya by his conveyance and by his weapons, the Vaiśya by his gold, grains, cows and so forth; or all by venerable deities or deified ancestors, or by their own pious gifts or meritorious deeds.’