Verse 8.125

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

उपस्थमुदरं जिह्वा हस्तौ पादौ च पञ्चमम् ।
चक्षुर्नासा च कर्णौ च धनं देहस्तथैव च ॥ १२५ ॥

upasthamudaraṃ jihvā hastau pādau ca pañcamam |
cakṣurnāsā ca karṇau ca dhanaṃ dehastathaiva ca || 125 ||

(1) The genital organ, (2) the stomach, (3) the tongue, (4) the hands, (5) the feet, (6) the eye, (7) the nose, (8) the ears, (9) the property and (10) the body.—(125)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘The genital organ’—male and female. Here the places are only named; the exact form in which the punishment is to be inflicted on each ‘place’ shall be described later on. If, with reference to any ‘place,’ no particular form of punishment has been prescribed, the law is that the culprit shall suffer by that limb whereby he may have committed the wrong. Hence in cases of incest, punishment is inflicted on the genital organ;—in theft it is inflicted upon the stomach, in the form of starvation, etc.;—in the case of defamation, on the tongue, and in that of assault, on the hands;—when he trespasses with his feet, it is to be inflicted on the feet;—if he openly and fearlessly stares at the king’s wife, his punishment is inflicted on the eyes,—by smelling the (forbidden) odour of sandal-paint, he is punished on the nose;—if he should be found listening behind the wall or the curtain, while the king is holding secret council, the punishment should fall on his ears;—punishment regarding ‘property’ is well known;—the killing of the ‘body’ is done only in the case of the gravest offenders.—(125)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Vyavahāra, p. 156);—in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 399);—in Vivādaratnākara (p. 630), which adds that this should not be taken to be an exhaustive list;—and in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti. p. 293), which adds that the punishment should be inflicted upon that part of the body by which the crime might have been committed.

It has been quoted in Mitākṣarā (2.26), which makes the remark that has been reproduced in Vīramitrodaya; —Bālambhaṭṭī adds the following notes:—‘Dhana’ is mentioned among the ‘sthānas’ with a view to indicate that when the crime committed pertains to wealth, the punishment also should pertain to that only; or it may be that the punishment here meant is different from ‘fine’ (which is what has gone before), and may be taken to stand for that physical pain which is caused by the confiscation of some property; in the crime of adultery the punishment should fall on the sexual organ,—in that of eating improper food, on the stomach, such as starvation and so forth,—in defamation, on the tongue, such as cutting it off,—in theft, on the hands,—in misbehaviour with the feet, such as walking ahead of a superior person, on the feet,—in trying to look at the king’s harem, on the eyes,—in stealthily smelling his scents, on the nose,—in eaves-dropping on the king’s councils, on the ears,—in the case of heinous crimes, on the body, i.e., death.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 8.124-125)

See Comparative notes for Verse 8.124.