Verse 8.368

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

सकामां दूषयंस्तुल्यो नाङ्गुलिछेदमाप्नुयात् ।
द्विशतं तु दमं दाप्यः प्रसङ्गविनिवृत्तये ॥ ३६८ ॥

sakāmāṃ dūṣayaṃstulyo nāṅgulichedamāpnuyāt |
dviśataṃ tu damaṃ dāpyaḥ prasaṅgavinivṛttaye || 368 ||

A man of equal status defiling a willing maiden shall not suffer amputation of fingers; he should be made to pay the fine of two hundred with a view to prevent repetition.—(368)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

Inasmuch as the foregoing verse also pertains to the case of a willing maiden, the penalty therein laid down applies to the case where the man defiles her through sheer audacity; while in a case where he does it by stealth, secretly like a thief, the punishment shall consist of the fine of two hundred, without the amputation of the fingers.

Or, the text may refer to the following case—

If the maiden happens to be in lore with a certain man, and having had intercourse with him has lost her virginity,—then since the girl was willing, the man, for the crime of defiling her, shall suffer the penalty here laid down.

Or, the ‘defiling’ meant here may be taken as the touching of the hand and some such part of the body; the man’s motive being—‘if people see me touching her hand, they will think that she loves me and then no one else will seek for her baud, and she shall be mine.’—(368)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Vivādaratnākara (p. 403), which adds that this applies to the case where the maiden is of a lower caste;—in Parāśaramādhava (Vyavahāra, p. 321);—in Mitākṣarā (2.288) as providing for a case where the finger-defilement occurs in the case of a willing maiden. Bālambhaṭṭī adds that ‘tulyaḥ’ means a man of the same caste as the girl;—he is to be fined 200 with a view to prevent repetition.

It is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Vyavahāra, 157a).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 8.364-368)

See Comparative notes for Verse 8.364.