Verse 3.163

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

स्रोतसां भेदको यश्च तेषां चावरणे रतः ।
गृहसंवेशको दूतो वृक्षारोपक एव च ॥ १६३ ॥

srotasāṃ bhedako yaśca teṣāṃ cāvaraṇe rataḥ |
gṛhasaṃveśako dūto vṛkṣāropaka eva ca || 163 ||

He who diverts water-courses, he who is addicted to obstructing them, the house-planner, the messenger and

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Water-courses’—the sources of water;—‘he who diverts’ these; i.e., having cut the embankments, takes the water to irrigate his field, &c.

‘He who is addicted to obstructing them’—i.e, the water-courses.

‘Obstructing’ means covering up; hence the meaning is that^‘he who closes the source from which the water flows.’

The person who advises regarding the position of houses;—one who lives by the science of architecture; i.e., the architect, the mason, and so forth. One who plans his own houses is not meant here.

‘Messenger,’—the king’s servant; who is employed by him as a slave. He is one who is employed in business relating to peace and war.

He who plants trees for payment. Planting them as a righteous act is not reprehensible; because such an act would not be ‘reprehensible practice;’ in fact, the planting of trees has been actually enjoined, as we learn from such assertions as^‘he who has planted ten mango-trees goes not to hell.’—(163)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 688), which explains (on p. 694) ‘gṛhasaṃveśakaḥ’ as ‘one who makes a living by carpentry’;—in Hemādri (Śrāddha, p. 482);—and in Nṛsiṃhaprasāda (Śrāddha, p. 9a).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 3.150-166)

See Comparative notes for Verse 3.150.