Verse 2.190

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

ब्राह्मणस्यैव कर्मैतदुपदिष्टं मनीषिभिः ।
राजन्यवैश्ययोस्त्वेवं नैतत् कर्म विधीयते ॥ १९० ॥

brāhmaṇasyaiva karmaitadupadiṣṭaṃ manīṣibhiḥ |
rājanyavaiśyayostvevaṃ naitat karma vidhīyate || 190 ||

This duty has been prescribed by the sages for the Brāhmaṇa only; this duty has not been so ordained for the Kṣatriya and the Vaiśya.—(190)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The duty—tbat one should eat the food given by one person only under certain circumstances—that has just been prescribed, is meant for the Brāhmaṇa only;—it has been so ordained ‘by the sages’—by the learned, after having learnt it from the Veda. They do not intend this to apply to the Kṣatriya and the Vaiśya; which means that students belonging to these two castes should not eat any food except what they get as alms.

Objection.—“As a matter of fact, it is only the Brāhmaṇa that is entitled to eat at Śrāddhas; as is clear from such declarations as—‘Which Brahmaṇas are to be fed at Śrāddhaa, and which to be avoided?’—‘To the most deserving Brāhamaṇa etc.’ and so forth; from which it is clear that the Brāhmaṇa alone is entitled to receive gifts. Further, what we have here is a counter-exception, not an original Injunction; and all denials are dependent upon possibility [and in the present case there is, as just pointed out, no possibility of the feeding pertaining to any non-Brāhmaṇa].”

To the above we make the following reply:—It has been ordained that after the Brāhmaṇas have eaten, the remnant should be disposed of by being made over to ‘relations’; and in this there is no restriction as to caste; the man thus would feed any one who may happen to be his ‘relation’; and in this the recipients are indicated, not by the caste-names ‘Kṣatriya’ etc., but simply by the general name ‘relation.’ It is in view of this possibility of non-Brāhmaṇas partaking of the food at Śrāddhas that we have the prohibition in the Text.—(190)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

Medhātithi (P. 166, 1. 20)—‘Na tatra jātyapekṣā’—A better instance than the one cited by Medhātithi is found in Manu 3. 234—‘Vṛatasṭhamapi dauhitram śrāddhe yatnena bhojayet,’ by which ‘feeding at Śrāddha’ is applicable to the Kṣatriya Brahmacārī also.