Verse 2.37

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

ब्रह्मवर्चसकामस्य कार्यो विप्रस्य पञ्चमे ।
राज्ञो बलार्थिनः षष्ठे वैश्यस्यैहार्थिनोऽष्टमे ॥ ३७ ॥

brahmavarcasakāmasya kāryo viprasya pañcame |
rājño balārthinaḥ ṣaṣṭhe vaiśyasyaihārthino'ṣṭame || 37 ||

For the Brāhmaṇa desirous of Brahmic glory, it should be done in the fifth year; for the ‘King’ desirous of power, in the sixth; and for the Vaiśya desirous of business, in the eighth.—(37)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

What belongs to the father is here attributed to the child; the desire—‘May my sou attain Brahmic glory!’—resides in the father; and this desire being attributed to the child, the latter is spoken of as ‘desirous of Brahmic glory.’ The child itself is too youug to have the said desire.

“In that case the action done by one person would have its result accruing to a totally different person; and this would involve the absurdity of a man acquiring what he has not earned. And the assertion that the result accrues to the child without his desiring it is one that is contrary to all reason and scriptural authority.”

There is no force in the objection. The case in question is analogous to that of the Śyena sacrifice: the Śyena is performed by a man seekiug to encompass death, and this death falls upon the person against whom the performance is aimed (and not on the performer himself). It might be argued that—“in this case the result actually accrues to the person seekiug for it; it is the sacrificer who desires the death of his enemy; and it is he who obtains this result; so that the result of the act does not accrue to a person that did not perform it.”—But in the present case also, the result, in the shape of ‘having a child with the particular qualification,’ accrues to the performer of the Initiation (the father); just as the good health of the child brings pleasure to the father, so also the Brahmic glory of the son would be a source of pleasure to the father; so that the result here also would accrue to the performer, who had sought for it. Further, it is only from the construction of the actual words used that we can ascertain the meaning of the scriptural texts; and in the present context, the only construction found possible is that the father should perform the ceremony with the desire of a certain result to accrue to his son; and there are no grounds for abandoning this natural construction of the words.

This same explanation applies also to the case of the benefits of the after-death rites accruing to the father (even though performed by the son); as in that case also the performer is the son, and the result is the satisfaction of the father. Further, we have the text—‘Thou art my very self called the. non’—which shows that when the after-death rites are performed by the son, it is the father himself (iṇ the shape of the son) that makes the offerings to himself; specially as it was with a view to this alone that the father begot the son.

Then again, in the Sarvasvāra sacrifice (which is performed by one who wishes to bring about his own death and translation to heaven),—even after the sacrificer himself has died, the subsequent details have got to he performed: and in this performance also the same sacrificer is regarded as the ‘performer,’ in view of the direction that he has given fo the Brāhmaṇas—‘O brāhmaṇas, please complete this sacrifice,’—as also of the sacrificial gifts and appointments made by him; by virtue of which the said sacrificer is regarded as the actual instigator or employer of the officiating priests. In the same manner, in the case in question also, in as much as the son was begotten for the purpose of performing the funeral rites, these rites, though performed (by the son) for the sake of the father, are regarded as performed by the father himself.

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

 

Medhātithi (p. 90, 1. 15)—‘Sarvasvāre’—See Mīmāṃsā Sūtra 10.2.56-57. At the Sarvasvāra sacrifice the sacrificer recites the Ārbhaya hymn just before he enters the fire for self-immolation,

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 27) as laying down the time for the performance of the Upanayaṇa with special ends in view.

It is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 446), which quotes Āpastamba as connecting The seventh year with ‘Brāhmic glory,’ the eighth with ‘longevity,’ the ninth with ‘splendour,’ the tenth with ‘food’, the eleventh with ‘efficiency of organs,’ and the twelfth with ‘cattle’.

Madanapārijāta (p. 17) quotes it mentioning the said assertions.

It is quoted in Hemādri (Pariśeṣa, p. 748);—in Saṃskāramayūkha (p. 12), as mentioning special results to be achieved;—in Nṛsiṃhaprasāda (Saṃskāra, p. 41 b); and in Smṛticandrikā (Saṃskāra, p. 68).

Vīramitrodaya (Saṃskāra, p. 345) quotes it as describing the Kāmya options.

Nirṇayasindhu (p. 184) quotes it without comment.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Gautama-Dharmasūtra, 1.7-8.—‘When special results are desired, during the ninth or the fifth year.’

Āpastamba-Dharmasūtra, 1.21-26.—‘During the seventh year, if Brāhmic glory is desired for the boy; during the eighth year, if longevity is desired; during the ninth year, if brilliance is desired; during the tenth year, if possession of much food is desired; during the eleventh year, if efficiency of sense-organs is desired; during the twelfth year, if possession of cattle is desired.’

Uśanas (Vīramitrodaya-Saṃskāra, p. 315).—‘The Upanayana of the Brāhmaṇa should be done during the fifth year from birth, of the Kṣatriya during the sixth, and of the Vaiśya during the seventh year,—if strength is desired.’

Vaśiṣṭha (Vīra-Saṃskara, p. 345).—‘For the Brāhmaṇa if Brāhmic glory is desired, his Upanayana should be performed during the eighth year (either from conception or from birth); if food is desired, during the ninth year; if intelligence is desired, during the tenth year: if possession of jewels is desired, during the eleventh year; if bodily stoutness is desired, during the twelfth year.’

Aṅgiras (Do., p. 346).—‘For the Kṣatriya desiring prosperity or strength, it should be performed during the sixth or the twelfth year, respectively; for the Vaiśya desiring success in agriculture or longevity, it should be performed during the eighth or fourth year, respectively.’

Baudhāyana (Do., p. 346).—‘During the seventh year, if Brāhmic glory is desired; during the eighth, if longevity is desired; during the ninth, if brilliance is desired; during the tenth, if food is desired; during the eleventh, if efficient sense-organs are desired; during the twelfth, if cattle is desired; during the thirteenth, if intelligence is desired; during the fourteenth, if stoutness is desired; during the fifteenth, if the birth of a brother’s son is desired; and during the sixteenth, if all desirable things are desired.’