Verse 2.198

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

नीचं शय्याऽऽसनं चास्य नित्यं स्याद् गुरुसन्निधौ ।
गुरोस्तु चक्षुर्विषये न यथेष्टासनो भवेत् ॥ १९८ ॥

nīcaṃ śayyā''sanaṃ cāsya nityaṃ syād gurusannidhau |
gurostu cakṣurviṣaye na yatheṣṭāsano bhavet || 198 ||

When near his Teacher, his bed or seat should always be low; and within sight op his Teacher, he should not sit at ease.—(198)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Low’—not high; i.e., low in comparison with theTeacher’s.

‘Always’—i.e., also after the period of studentship.

‘Within sight of his Teacher’—i.e., where the Teacher sees—‘he should, not sit at ease’; i.e., he should not spread his legs or throw about his limbs, and so foch. ‘Sit’ stands for action in general; the sense being that he should not do whatever he likes.—(198)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Saṃskāra, p. 491), where it is added that this does not apply to carts and other such conveyances in Madanapārijāta (p. 106);—in Aparārka (p. 56);—in Saṃskāramayūkha (p. 40 ), which explains the last clause to mean that ‘he should not spread out his legs and so forth’;—and in Smṛticandrikā (Saṃskāra, p. 120), which says that this refers to cases other than riding on a bullock and so forth, where sitting together cannot be avoided.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Gautama (2.20, 21, 27).—‘In the presence of the teacher, the pupil should avoid sitting with the knees tied to the neck, spreading of the legs, spitting, laughing, yawning, cracking of fingers; he should sleep on a lower level, always rising before and sleeping after the teacher.’

Āpastamba-Dharmasūtra (1. 2. 21),—‘He should sit and sleep on the ground.’

Āpastamba-Dharmasūtra (1. 3. 15).—‘In the teacher’s presence, he should not be unrestrained in his acts.’

Āpastamba-Dharmasūtra (1. 6. 13).—‘He should worship the teacher as a god, always attentive to him, never talking ill of him, never showing him any disrespect.’

Āpastamba-Dharmasūtra (1. 8. 8-10).—‘He should not sit on a higher seat;—nor on one with several legs;—nor on that which is the most honourable.’

Viṣṇu (28. 23).—‘Within range of the teacher’s vision, he should not sit as he likes.’

Viṣṇu (Vīramitrodaya-Saṃskāra,p. 491).—‘He should not sit on the same seat with the teacher, except on a stone-slab, or on a boat, or on a conveyance.’