Verse 9.259

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

असम्यक्कारिणश्चैव महामात्राश्चिकित्सकाः ।
शिल्पोपचारयुक्ताश्च निपुणाः पण्ययोषितः ॥ २५९ ॥

asamyakkāriṇaścaiva mahāmātrāścikitsakāḥ |
śilpopacārayuktāśca nipuṇāḥ paṇyayoṣitaḥ || 259 ||

Misbehaving High officials and physicians, art-exhibitors, and clever harlots.—(259)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘High officials’—Such as ministers, priests and other attendants of the king;—if they ‘misbehave,’ act improperly.

‘Physicians’—Medical practitioners.

‘Art-exhibitors’—Picture-painters, decorators, cooks and so forth; who show before people the product of their arts, and make a living by it.

‘Clever harlots’—Those that can stimulate love. The epithet ‘misbehaving’ goes with all the terms.—(259)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

‘Mahāmātra’.—‘Courtiers’ (Medhātithi);—‘Ministers’ (Nārāyaṇa);—‘elephant-drivers’ (Kullūka).

‘Śilpopacārayuktāḥ’.—‘Men living by such arts as painting and the like’ (Medhātithi and Kullūka);—Nārāyaṇa and Nandana, read ‘śilpopakārayuktāḥ’ and explain it as people living by śilpa, the arte of painting and the rest, and by upakāra, hairdressing and other arts of the toilet; Nandana explains it as ‘umbrella and fanmakers’.

This verse is quoted in Vivādaratnākara, (p. 291), which adds the following notes:—‘Asamyak-kāriṇaḥ,’ who obtained their wages without honestly working for it;—‘mahāmātrāḥ,’ chief officers of the king who act dishonestly (asamyak-kāriṇaḥ) through avarice.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 9.256-260)

See Comparative notes for Verse 9.256.