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 1.41
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
एवमेतैरिदं सर्वं मन्नियोगान् महात्मभिः ।
यथाकर्म तपोयोगात् सृष्टं स्थावरजङ्गमम् ॥ ४१ ॥evametairidaṃ sarvaṃ manniyogān mahātmabhiḥ |
yathākarma tapoyogāt sṛṣṭaṃ sthāvarajaṅgamam || 41 ||In this manner was all this, movable and immovable, called into being, through the force of austerities, by these high-souled sages, under my direction,—in accordance with their actions.—(11)
Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
‘In this manner,’—refers to the manner discribed above;—‘by these high-souled sages,’—Marīci and the rest;—‘all this, movable and immovable, teas called into their actions,’—the creation of each being was in keeping with the nature of the action done by it during other lives; that is, each being was made to be born in that family of animals which was the right one for it, in view of its past acts;—‘under my direction’—by my order;—‘through the force of austerities,’—having performed severe austerities; what this is meant to show is that any kind of great power can be acquired only by means of austerities.—(41)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
‘Yathākarma’—Here we have a distinct enunciation of the Law of Karma.