Verse 9.224

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

द्यूतं समाह्वयं चैव यः कुर्यात् कारयेत वा ।
तान् सर्वान् घातयेद् राजा शूद्रांश्च द्विजलिङ्गिनः ॥ २२४ ॥

dyūtaṃ samāhvayaṃ caiva yaḥ kuryāt kārayeta vā |
tān sarvān ghātayed rājā śūdrāṃśca dvijaliṅginaḥ || 224 ||

He who either does the gambling or betting himself, or helps others to do them,—all these the King shall strike; as also those Śūdras who assume the guise of twice-born men.—(224)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

(verses 9.220-227)

(No Bāṣhya)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

‘Ghātayet.’—‘Shall cause to be flogged’ (Nārāyaṇa);—‘shall cause their hands and feet to be cut off and so forth according to the gravity of the offence’ (Kullūka and Rāghavānanda).

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 804), which notes that this refers to such gambling as is not done under the supervision of the King’s Officers;—in Parāśaramādhava (Vyavahāra, p. 392);—in, Mitākṣarā (2.202), which notes that all these rules pertain to such gambling as is accompanied by fraudulent practices, or is conducted without the guidance of game-house-keepers appointed by the king;—in Vivādaratnākara (p. 611);—and in Vyavahāramayūkha (p. 109), which explains ‘dvijaliṅga’ as consisting of the wearing of the sacred thread, the reciting of the Veda and so forth.

It is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti, p. 153), which explains the meaning to be that the king should inflict such corporeal punishment as the cutting off of the hands and feet, in accordance with the nature of the act actually committed, on those who themselves do the gambling and the betting, as also on those who as keepers of gaming houses, abet others to do it;—‘dvijaliṅginaḥ’ are men who wear the marks of the twice-born, such as the sacred thread, the sandal-paint and so forth;—in Nṛsiṃhaprasāda (Vyavahāra 44b);—in Vivādacintāmaṇi (Calcutta, p. 166);—and in Smṛtisāroddhāra, (p. 334).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Yājñavalkya (2.304).—‘Those playing with loaded dice, or in a deceitful manner, should be branded and then banished.’

Viṣṇu (Aparārka, p. 804).—‘Those playing with loaded dice should have their hands cut off.’