Verse 3.190

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

केतितस्तु यथान्यायं हव्ये कव्ये द्विजोत्तमः ।
कथं चिदप्यतिक्रामन् पापः सूकरतां व्रजेत् ॥ १९० ॥

ketitastu yathānyāyaṃ havye kavye dvijottamaḥ |
kathaṃ cidapyatikrāman pāpaḥ sūkaratāṃ vrajet || 190 ||

The rest of Brāhmaṇas, who, when duly invited at the rite in honour of Gods and Pitṛs, happens, somehow, to neglect it, incurs sin and becomes a hog.’—(190)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Ketitaḥ’ means invited.

‘Havye kavye’—at the rite in honour of Gods, and at the rite in honour of the Pitṛs. Having accepted the invitation and promised to eat,—if ‘somehow he neglects it,’—i.e., does not present himself at the time of eating, or, if he does not maintain continence,—then such a Brāhmaṇa ‘becomes a hog.’

‘Somehow’—i.e., either intentionally, or through lapse of memory.

‘Duly’—this has been added for the purpose of filling up the verse.

Others have held that the ‘neglect’ here stands for non-acceptance of the invitation; according to what has been said in the Śrāddhakalpa—‘one should not fail to accept the invitation of a man free from all blame.’

This, however, is not right; it is through desire to eat that men become prone to go to śrāddhas; and if a man happens to have no such desire, and hence refuses the invitation, what sin could there be in this?—(190.)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

‘Atikrāman’—‘Does not present himself at the time of eating, and does not maintain continence’ (Medhātithi, who is slightly misrepresented by Buhler, who attributes to him only the latter part of the explanation);—‘breaks the appointment’ (Govindarāja, Kullūka, Nārāyaṇa and Rāghavānanda);—‘who does not accept the invitation’ (‘others’ in Medhātithi, who rejects this explanation).

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 701) in support of the view that the man ‘who having accepted the invitation, subsequently refuses it, even though quite fit to respond to it, incurs a sin.’ It explains ‘ketitaḥ’ as ‘being invited.’

Madanapārijāta (p. 565) quotes the verse;—also Aparārka, (p. 457), which adds that this refers to the person who has accepted the invitation;—and Hemādri (Śrāddha, p. 1002), which adds the following notes;—‘Ketitaḥ,’ invited;—the meaning is that if, on an invitation, the invited fails to keep the restrictions, he becomes a pig;—‘Kathañcit,’ intentionally or through forgetfulness; others hold that ‘atikrāman’ means ‘not accepting the invitation,’ but this view has been criticised and rejected by Medhātithi.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Yama (Parāśaramādhava, p. 701).—‘Having been invited, if the Brāhmaṇa goes elsewhere to take his food, he goes to a hundred hells and is born among Cāṇḍālas.’

Ādipurāṇa (Do.).—‘Being invited, the Brāhmaṇa should not be late; one who is late... falls into hell.’