Verse 2.202

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

दूरस्थो नार्चयेदेनं न क्रुद्धो नान्तिके स्त्रियाः ।
यानासनस्थश्चैवैनमवरुह्याभिवादयेत् ॥ २०२ ॥

dūrastho nārcayedenaṃ na kruddho nāntike striyāḥ |
yānāsanasthaścaivainamavaruhyābhivādayet || 202 ||

He should not offer his worship to the teacher while at a distance from him; nor when angry, nor near a woman. If seated upon a conveyance or a seat, he should come down and then salute him.—(202)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

What is prohibited here is the act of sending sandal-paint, garlands and other articles of worship through a messenger. It being found possible that one might be prompted to offer such worship by the consideration that ‘whether one does an act himself or gets it done by another, he is equally the doer in both cases, since the prompter also has been regarded as the agent,’—the present verse prohibits such offering of worship through other persons. There is no harm in doing this, either when one is himself incapacitated, or when h e happens to be in a different village; for we find people adopting such usage as—when the Teacher has gone to another village, the pupil tells some one who happens to be going to the same village ‘please offer my salutations to my Teacher,’ and this other person goes and salutes him.

‘Nor when angry’;—it being impossible for any one to be angry with his Teacher, the meaning is that if one happens to be angry with some one, he should, at the time of offering hi s obeisance, give up the anger and keep his mind calm. Some people read ‘kruddham,’ (making ‘angry’ qualify the Teacher).

‘Nor near’—in proximity to—‘a woman’—his loving wife; i.e., not while the Teacher is seated near her. The entire process of service of the Teacher being meant for winning his favour, anything likely to displease him has been prohibited. It is in view of this that the term ‘woman’ has been explained as above.

‘Conveyance’—such as the cart and the rest.

‘Seat’—small or large wooden platforms.

From these one should come down and then salute the Teacher.

Under verse 119 what was laid down was simply rising from the seat; while here it is coming down from it that is enjoined. When one is seated upon a wooden platform, it is possible for him to rise without coming down from it.

“But coming down from the seat is not possible without rising; so that the rising being already implied in the present injunction, whàt is laid down in 119 becomes superfluous.”

It is not superfluous; what is meant by it is that when it so happens that the pupil is seated with his face towards one side, and the Teacher approaches from behind him,—as soon tvs the pupil becomes cognisant of his approach, he should turn his face towards the Teacher and then rise; and be should not rise and then turn round; as in so doing the act of turning towards the Teacher becomes intervened by that of rising; and this might displease the Teacher, who would think that ‘he was rising for some other reason, not for honouring me.’

Thus the mention of the ‘seat’ has its use in both places (here and in 119).—(202)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Madanapārijāta (p. 107);—and in Vīramitrodaya (Saṃskāra, p. 461).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Āpastamba Dharmasūtra (1.14.16-17).—‘He should salute him after descending;—in every case, one should stand up and then salute.’

Āpastamba Dharmasūtra (Vīramitrodaya-Saṃskāra, p. 464).—‘The Teacher should not be saluted while he is in a difficult situation; one should come down before saluting the Teacher; one should be calm and collected when saluting, the Teacher also being calm and collected; nor should he salute him with shoes on, or with head covered.’

Gautama (2.30).—‘One should leave off his seat or bed before answering the Teacher.’

Gautama (Vīramitrodaya-Saṃskāra, p. 464).—‘While one is wearing shoes, one should not eat or salute or address (a superior).’

Baudhāyana (1.2. 29).—‘When the Teacher is seated, the pupil, while addressing him, should not remain seated; when the Teacher is lying down, the pupil addressing him should not remain lying down.’

Śaṅkha-Likhita (Vīramitrodaya-Saṃskāra, p. 461).—‘One should not offer salutation while carrying the water-jar, or begging alms, or carrying flowers and such things, or while impure, or while repeating Mantras, or performing rites in honour of Gods or Pitṛs; or in an assembly in an inaudible tone.’

Viṣṇu (Vīramitrodaya-Saṃskāra, p. 464).—‘In assemblies, at a sacrificial session, or in a King’s palace, one should simply bow down to the Brāhmaṇas, and not offer salutation with the formula prescribed.’

Baudhāyana (Vīramitrodaya-Saṃskāra, p. 464).—‘While carrying fuel, or water-jar, or flowers, or food or such things, one should not offer salutation; nor in an assemblage of people.’

Laghu-Hārīta (Vīramitrodaya-Saṃskāra, p. 465).—‘A person who is repeating Mantras, or attending a sacrificial session, or carrying fuel, flowers, kuśa, fire, water-jar or food should not be saluted.’