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:

वेदप्रदानादाचार्यं पितरं परिचक्षते ।
न ह्यस्मिन् युज्यते कर्म किञ्चिदा मौञ्जिबन्धनात् ॥ १७१ ॥

vedapradānādācāryaṃ pitaraṃ paricakṣate |
na hyasmin yujyate karma kiñcidā mauñjibandhanāt || 171 ||

They call the Teacher “father,” on account of his imparting the Veda. Before the tying of the girdle, the performance of no religious act is proper for him.—(171)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

They call the teacherFather,” on account of his imparting the Veda,’—i.e., On account of his teaching the entire Veda, not merely of expounding the Sāvitrī. ‘Imparting’ stands for making the boy agree to pronounce the words of the Veda.

“If it be as described here, then, until the teacher has acquired the position of the father, the boy cannot obtain his second birth; and until he has become ‘twice-born,’ he would be as unrestrained in his conduct as he is prior to the Upanayana.”

In view of this difficulty the text adds—‘before the tying of the girdle for him’—no religious act—any act, Śrauta, or Smārta or conventional, for the acquiring of transcendental results,—is performed; i.e., he is not entitled to perform any such act. In fact it is only after his Upanayana that the boy becomes entitled to the performance of the duties of his caste and of humanity.

“How could there be any question of the boy being entitled to the performance of any such acts, when he is lacking in the requisite knowledge (prior to Initiation and Vedic Study)?”

It is in view of this that it has been declared that “the pupil is to his teacher both pupil to be taught and person to he helped in the performance of sacrifices”; [and while he is himself kicking in the requisite knowledge] he should be taught by his teacher (how to perform the acts); as it has been said above (2.69)—‘The teacher should teach him the rules of cleanliness and right conduct.’ Says Gautama also (2.6)—‘The restraints begin with the Upanayana.’ The business of the teacher extends up to the completion of Vedic Study.—(171)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

The second half of this verse is quoted along with the next verse in Vīramitrodaya (Saṃskāra, p. 348);—in Vyāvahāra Bālambhaṭṭi (p. G55);—and in Smṛticandrikā (Saṃskāra, pp. 66 and 69).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Vaśiṣṭha (2.5).—‘By reason of his imparting the Veda, they call the Teacher father.’

Āpastamba-Dharmasūtra (1.1.16).—‘He gives him birth through knowledge.’

Gautama (1.10-11).—‘This is his second birth; he from whom this is obtained is the Teacher.’

Gautama (2.1).—‘Before the Upanayana, the boy may do what he likes, say what he likes and eat what he likes.’

Baudhāyana (2.7).—‘Till the Upanayana, they lay no restriction on the actions of the boy.’

Vaśiṣṭha (2)—(reproduces the second half of Manu).

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