Verse 8.378

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

सहस्रं ब्राह्मणो दण्ड्यो गुप्तां विप्रां बलाद् व्रजन् ।
शतानि पञ्च दण्ड्यः स्यादिच्छन्त्या सह सङ्गतः ॥ ३७८ ॥

sahasraṃ brāhmaṇo daṇḍyo guptāṃ viprāṃ balād vrajan |
śatāni pañca daṇḍyaḥ syādicchantyā saha saṅgataḥ || 378 ||

The Brāhmaṇa who has intercourse with a protected Brāhmaṇa woman by force should be fined one thousand; he who has connection with a willing one, should be fined five hundred.—(378)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

Even though one has lost her chastity, if the woman continues to be protected by her father, brother or relatives,—and a Brāhmaṇa has intercourse with her by force, he should be made to pay one thousand.

If however the woman is protected and still chaste, then the man is to be banished and branded, in addition to the fine.

Even if the word ‘protected’ be taken to mean chaste, the Brāhmaṇa would be absolved by paying a thousand ‘banishment’ and ‘branding’ being the general punishment laid down for all cases of immoral intercourse with other women.—(378)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Vyavahāra, p. 317), which remarks that this refers to cases where the woman is not the wife of one’s teacher or friend;—in Vivādaratnākara (p. 393);—in Vyavahāramayūkha (p. 105), as laying down the penalty for forcible intercourse with a chaste Brāhmaṇa woman;—in Mitākṣarā (p. 256) where Bālambhaṭṭī notes that inasmuch as the latter half contains the epithet ‘icchantyā,’ ‘willing,’—which is in contradistinction to ‘balāt,’ ‘by force,’ of the former half,—it follows that in case the first half refers to the guarded woman, the second half must refer to the unguarded one; the meaning being that if a Brāhmaṇa has connection only once with a willing woman of the same caste, he should be fined 500;—in Smṛtisāroddhāra (p. 330);—and in Vīramitrodaya (Vyavahāra, 144b and 155b), which explains ‘guptam’ as ‘properly guarded’; and adds that this refers to cases of adultery other than those with the wife of the guru or the friend, for which latter other penalties have been prescribed.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 8.374-378)

See Comparative notes for Verse 8.374.