Verse 3.50

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

निन्द्यास्वष्टासु चान्यासु स्त्रियो रात्रिषु वर्जयन् ।
ब्रह्मचार्येव भवति यत्र तत्राश्रमे वसन् ॥ ५० ॥

nindyāsvaṣṭāsu cānyāsu striyo rātriṣu varjayan |
brahmacāryeva bhavati yatra tatrāśrame vasan || 50 ||

‘By avoiding women on the forbidden days and also on the eight other days, one remains a “religious student” (observing the vow of continence), in whatever stage of life he may happen to be.”—(50)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Forbidden days’—i.e., the six mentioned above.

‘Other eight days’—which have not been forbidden.

He who avoids women on these days, and has recourse to her on the remaining two days—avoiding the sacred days—then ‘he remains a religious student etc.’—i.e., he obtains the fruits of continence.

‘In whatever stage of life he may happen to be,’—this is an exaggeration. Certainly, intercourse with women on two days could never be permitted for the Recluse; for the simple reason that it has been strictly enjoined that one should keep one’s sexual organs in complete check, in all stages of life, except that.of the Religious Student. As for the repetition (in the phrase, ‘yatra tatra’), this is explicable as occurring in an exaggerated statement.

The text does not menu that the fourteen days are to be avoided in the order in which they are mentioned; all that is meant is that one should not think that one may have intercourse whenever one chooses, only leaving off the sacred days; and it is in this sense that only two days have been permitted.

“What is the fruit of continence?”

Since we do not find any particular fruit mentioned (as resulting from continence), it must be taken to be Heaven. But in some places we find it asserted that ‘the student observing the vow of continence never incurs sin;’ which means that he is not tainted by sins accruing from minor transgressions.

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

‘Yatra tatrāśrame vasan’—‘In whatever life-stage he may be’; i.e., ‘whether he be a householder or a hermit Vānaprastha’ (Kullūka and Nārāyaṇa).—According to Medhātithi, this is a mere arthavāda, and what is said does not apply to any one except the householder;—Govindarāja does not, like Kullūka, restrict the extension to the Hermit (Vānaprastha) only, he includes the Renunciate (Yati) also. Buhler remarks that ‘Kullūka justly ridicules the last opinion’; but Kullūka’s own opinion is only a shade less ridiculous than Govindarāja’s. (See the following note, for a good explanation).

This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Āhnika, p. 559), where the foilwing notes are added:—‘Nindyāsu rātriṣu’—on the first four days, the, eleventh day and the thirteeenth day;—‘anyāsu ratriṣu—on any other eight days from among those not forbidden;—if one avoids women,—i.e, approaching them only on two days,—the man remains ‘a continent religious Student’;—i.e., he derives the results obtainable by continence;—‘Yatra tatrāśrame’—i.e., even though he is a Householder, he gets all that is obtainable by the chaste Student.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 3.45-50)

See Comparative notes for Verse 3.45.