Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi
by Ganganatha Jha | 1920 | 1,381,940 words | ISBN-10: 8120811550 | ISBN-13: 9788120811553
This is the English translation of the Manusmriti, which is a collection of Sanskrit verses dealing with ‘Dharma’, a collective name for human purpose, their duties and the law. Various topics will be dealt with, but this volume of the series includes 12 discourses (adhyaya). The commentary on this text by Medhatithi elaborately explains various t...
Verse 9.320
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
क्षत्रस्यातिप्रवृद्धस्य ब्राह्मणान् प्रति सर्वशः ।
ब्रह्मैव संनियन्तृ स्यात् क्षत्रं हि ब्रह्मसम्भवम् ॥ ३२० ॥kṣatrasyātipravṛddhasya brāhmaṇān prati sarvaśaḥ |
brahmaiva saṃniyantṛ syāt kṣatraṃ hi brahmasambhavam || 320 ||When the Kṣatriya shall become too over-bearing in every way towards Brāhmaṇas, the Brāhmaṇa himself shall be their restraining influence; as the Kṣatriya has his source in the Brāhmaṇa.—320
Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
When a Kṣatriya tries to injure a Brāhmaṇa, ho shall be restrained by the Brāhmaṇas themselves. Being puffed up through wealth-born arrogance, when Kṣatriyas are apt to overstep all bounds of propriety, they are brought back to the right path by Brāhmaṇas, through prayers, offerings and curses.
The reason is—‘Because the Kṣatriya has his source in the Brāhmaṇa.’ The Kṣatriyas were born from the Brāhmaṇa caste.
The question arising—“How can one who is the source of another become his destroyer?”—the answer is supplied by the next verse.—(320)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
This verse is found in the Mahābhārata 12.78.28.
This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Rājantti, p. 152).
Comparative notes by various authors
(verses 9.313-322)
See Comparative notes for Verse 9.313.