Verse 2.36 [Initiation (upanayana)]

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

गर्भाष्टमेऽब्दे कुर्वीत ब्राह्मणस्यौपनायनम् ।
गर्भादेकादशे राज्ञो गर्भात् तु द्वादशे विशः ॥ ३६ ॥

garbhāṣṭame'bde kurvīta brāhmaṇasyaupanāyanam |
garbhādekādaśe rājño garbhāt tu dvādaśe viśaḥ || 36 ||

In the eighth year from conception one should perform the initiation of the Brāhmaṇa; of the king in the eleventh year from conception; and of the Vaiśya in the twelfth.—(36)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

Counting from the year that one spends in the mother’s womb, when the child reaches the eighth year;—the term ‘garbha’ stands for the year spent in the womb; this indication being due to the presence of the term ‘year,’ ‘abda’; certainly the ‘year’ could never be the ‘eighth’ from ‘garbha,’ if this latter were taken in its direct sense;—in this year one should perform the Initiation of the Brāhmaṇa.

The term ‘aupanāyanam’ stands for ‘upamyanam,’ the ‘aṇ’ affix having the reflexive sense; and the lengthening of the vowel in the latter term (‘nayanam’) being in accordance with (Pāṇini 6.3.198); or the lengthening of the vowels of both terms (‘upa’ and ‘nayanam’) may be regarded as a Vedic anomaly.

‘Upanayana,’ ‘Initiation,’ is the name of a sacrament described in the Gṛhyasūtras and well-known to Vedic scholars, its other name is ‘Mauñjī-bandha,’ ‘Girdle-Investiture.’ That ceremony in which the child is taken over to—made over to—(upanīyate)—the teacher, for the purposes of teaching—and not for any such other purpose as the building of a Avail, or the making of a mat—is what is called ‘Upanayana.’ It is the name of a particular sacramental rite.

‘Of the King in the eleventh year from conception’;—for the Kṣatṭriya the ceremony should be performed in the eleventh year ‘from conception,’—i.e., ‘beginning from conception,’ or ‘after conception.’

The term ‘king’ ‘rājan’ (in ‘rājñaḥ’) should he taken as standing for the Kṣatriya caste; and does not necessarily mean one who is a duly anointed king; firstly because such is the sense in which the word is generally used in books; secondly because in the present context it occurs along with the terms ‘Brāhmaṇa’ and the rest (which are all denotative of castes); and thirdly because we find the term ‘Kṣatriya’ used in the rules that follow regarding the details of the ceremony; e.g., it is raid that ‘the girdle of the Kṣatriya should consist of the bow-string’ (below, Verse 12). It is true that the term ‘king’ is sometimes used in the sense of the ‘rulers’ of ‘countries,’ and as such applied to Vaiśyas and other castes also; but such usage is purely figurative and indirect. And the figurative meaning of a word can be accepted only when the original direct meaning is found inapplicable. That the term ‘king’ in the text stands for the Kṣatriya is shown by the following words of the author of the Gṛhya-sutra—‘One should initiate the Brāhmaṇa in the eighth year, the Kṣatriya in the eleventh and the Vaiśya in the twefth.’ It is on this understanding that the revered Pāṇini derives the word ‘rājya’ (‘Kingship’) from the word ‘rājan’ (King), explaining it as ‘the function the King,’ and hence used in the ordinary sense of ‘lord of country’ [ i.e., the ‘function of ruling a country’ really belongs to the Kṣatriya caste, and when persons of other castes arc called ‘King’ their title is based upon their doing ‘the work of the King’].

Of the Vaiśya, the ceremony should be performed in the twelfth year from conception.—(86)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Hemādri (Pariśeṣa, p. 745);—in Gadādharapaddhati (Kālasāra, p. 220), which explains that “Upanayana is to be derived as ‘Nayanam evanāyanam’ and then the prefix ‘Upa’ added;—in Saṃskāramayūkha (p. 32);—and in Smṛticandrikā (Saṃskāra, p. 68), which adds that in the case of the Kṣatriya and the Vaiśya also the years are to be counted from the one spent in the womb.

It has been quoted in Madanapārijāta (p. 17); and in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 446).

Vīramitrodaya (Saṃskāra, p. 344) explains the reason for the eighth, eleventh and twelfth years being regarded as the best for the Brāhmaṇa, the Kṣatriya and the Vaiśya respectively. The Gāyatrī mantra is sacred for the Brāhmaṇa and its foot contains eight syllables; the Triṣtup for the Kṣatriya contains a foot of eleven syllables, and the Jagati for the Vaiśya has a foot of twelve syllables.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Gautama-Dharmasūtra, 1-7, 8, 13.—‘For the Brāhmaṇa, the Upanayana daring the eighth year;—for the Kṣatriya and the Vaiśya, during the eleventh and twelfth years, respectively.’

Gautama (Aparārka, p. 32).—‘Initiation during the eighth, fifth or ninth year; the eighth year from conception is the time fixed for all, the ninth or the fifth only for those with distinct motives.’

Baudhāyana-Dharmasūtra, 2.8-10.—‘The years in this connection being computed from conception,—the Upanayana of the Brāhmaṇa should be performed during the eighth year;—three years after the eighth, of the Kṣatriya;—and after one more year, of the Vaiśya.’

Vaśiṣṭha-Smṛti, 11.44.—‘The Upanayana of the Brāhmaṇa should be done during the eighth year from conception, of the Kṣatriya during the eleventh year from conception, and of the Vaiśya during the twelfth year from conception.’ Viṣṇu, 27.15-17.—‘The Upanayana of the Brāhmaṇa during the eighth year from conception; of the Kṣatriya during the eleventh year from conception; of the Vaiśnava during the twelfth year from conception.’

Yājñavalkya, 1.14.—‘The Brāhmaṇa’s Upanayana?s?? be performed either during the eighth year from conception, or during the eighth year (from birth); the Kṣatriya’s during the eleventh year; the Vaiśya’s during the twelfth year; according to some, it is to be done in accordance with the practice prevailing in the family.’

Āśvalāyana - Gṛhyasūtrā, 1.19.1-4.—‘The Brāhmaṇa’s, Upanayana should be done during the eighth year, or during the eighth year from conception; the Kṣatriya’s during the eleventh year; the Vaiśya’s during the twelfth year.’

Pāraskara-Gṛhyasūtrā, 1-2.1-3.—‘The Brāhmaṇa’s Upanayana should be performed during the eighth vear, or during the eighth year from conception; the Kṣatriya’s during the eleventh year; the Vaiśya’s during the twelfth year.’

Gobhila-Gṛhyasūtrā, 1.10.1-3.—‘The Upanayana of the Brāhmaṇa should be done during the eighth year from conception; of the Kṣatriya, during the eleventh year; of the Vaiśya, during the twelfth year.’

Āpastamba-Dharmasūtra, 1.19.—‘The Upanayana of the Brāhmaṇa should be done during the spring, of the Kṣatriya during the summer, and of the Vaiśya, during the autumn. Of the Brāhmaṇa during the eighth year from conception, of the Kṣatriya, during the twelfth year from conception.’

Śruti (Vīramitrodaya, Saṃskāra, p. 339).—‘The Upanayana of the Brāhmaṇa should he performed when he is eight years old.’

Āśvalāyana-Smṛti (Do., p. 340).—‘The Brāhmaṇa should acquire the ‘twice-born’ state during the eighth year from conception, or during the eighth, or the tenth year; the Kṣatriya during the eleventh year: and the Vaiśya during the twelfth year.

Nārada (Do., p. 31-1).—‘For the Brāhmaṇa, the Upanayana should be performed during the eighth year, either from conception or from birth; for Kṣatriyas, during the eleventh year, and for Vaiśyas during the twelfth year.’

Paiṭhīnasi (Do., p. 310).—‘The Upanayana of the Brāhmaṇa should he performed during the fifth year from conception or during the eighth year from conception; of the Kṣatriya during the eleventh year from conception; of the Vaiśya, during the twelfth year.’

Laugākṣi (Do., p. 311'.—‘The Brāhmaṇa’s Upanayana during the seventh year; of the Kṣatriya during the ninth year, and of the Vaiśya, during the eleventh year.’

Budha (Aparārka, p. 31).—‘The Brāhmaṇa should get himself initiated in his eighth year from conception, during the spring.'

Shannaka (Do.).—‘One should initiate the Brāhmaṇa in his eighth year, or in his eighth year from conception; the Kṣattnya in the eleventh and the Vaiśya in the twelfth year.’