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:

सर्वं वापि चरेद् ग्रामं पूर्वौक्तानामसम्भवे ।
नियम्य प्रयतो वाचमभिशस्तांस्तु वर्जयेत् ॥ १८५ ॥

sarvaṃ vāpi cared grāmaṃ pūrvauktānāmasambhave |
niyamya prayato vācamabhiśastāṃstu varjayet || 185 ||

In the event of al the afouesaid being not available, he may wander over the whole village, remaining pure and having his speech well-controlled; but he should avoid persons of ill-repute.—(185)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

All the aforesaid’—i.e., those not devoid of the Veda and sacrifices and so forth—‘being unavailable’;—‘wander over the whole village’;—he may go over the whole village, irrespectively of caste and other distinctions, for the purpose of obtaining his means of subsistence. Only ‘he should avoid persons of ill-repute’—i.e., those who are known to have committed serious sins, even though they may never have been seen to commit them; Says Gautama (2-35)—‘The begging of alms may be done from all castes, save the disreputable and the fallen.’

Having his speech well-controlled’;—i.e., till he obtains the alms, he should not utter any words save those used in the actual begging.—(186)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Saṃskāramayūkha (p. 60), which adds that the prohibition of the ‘abhiśasṭa’ naturally implies that of the ‘patita’ ‘outcast’, also;—and in Smṛticandrikā (Saṃskāra p. 110), which says that this does not sanction begging from a Śūdra.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Gautama (2.42).—‘Food should be begged from all castes, except from the outcasts and persons of ill-repute.’

Āpastamba-Dharmasūtra (1.3.25).—‘Pot in hand, one should beg for food from qualified Brāhmaṇas, excepting the Teacher’s house; and avoiding those unfit and of ill-repute.’

Bhaviṣya Purāṇa (see under 183).

Aṅgiras (Parāśaramādhava, p. 453).—‘From the Śūdra he shall accept only raw food, that also just enough for one night.’

Like what you read? Consider supporting this website: