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...

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

धान्यकुप्यपशुस्तेयं मद्यपस्त्रीनिषेवणम् ।
स्त्रीशूद्रविट्क्षत्रवधो नास्तिक्यं चोपपातकम् ॥ ६६ ॥

dhānyakupyapaśusteyaṃ madyapastrīniṣevaṇam |
strīśūdraviṭkṣatravadho nāstikyaṃ copapātakam || 66 ||

Stealing grain, base metals and cattle,—intercourse with women addicted to drinking wine,—killing women, Śūdras, Vaiśyas and Kṣatriyas,—and heresy,—everyone of these is a ‘minor offence.’—(66)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

Grains’—stands for the seventeen things, ending with ‘hemps.’

Base Metals’—Pans and pots made of iron, copper, eta “‘Stealth’ in general has been already mentioned in the preceding verse.”

This objection has been already answered by as (under 62). Or, ‘stealing’ here may be taken as standing for what is taken on loan but not repaid, or what is taken fraudulently,—and not for what is ordinarily known as ‘stealing.’

Addicted to drinking wine’;—the Brāhmaṇa’s intercourse,—i.e., lying with, or actual congress with Kṣatriya and Vaiśya women.

Killing of women’—of the Brāhmaṇa woman also.

Heresy’— the holding of such opinions as ‘there is no heaven,—there is no virtue in charity’ and so forth.—(66)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Prāyaścittaviveka (p. 192), which has the following notes—‘Kupya,’ articles of copper and so forth,—and the Brāhmaṇa serving a drunkard man or woman.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 11.58-66)

See Comparative notes for Verse 11.58.

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