Verse 3.208

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

आसनेषूपकॢप्तेषु बर्हिष्मत्सु पृथक्पृथक् ।
उपस्पृष्टौदकान् सम्यग् विप्रांस्तानुपवेशयेत् ॥ २०८ ॥

āsaneṣūpakḷpteṣu barhiṣmatsu pṛthakpṛthak |
upaspṛṣṭaudakān samyag viprāṃstānupaveśayet || 208 ||

Seats with kuśa grass having been separately placed, he should seat the said Brāhmaṇas who have performed their ablutions.—(208)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Placed’—i.e., prepared and duly arranged.

‘Separately’—with proper partition. He shall not provide for all a single seat, in the form of a long piece of cloth or wooden plank. They shall be seated in such a manner that they should not touch one another. It is in this sense that ‘separately’ has been added.

‘With kuśa grass’— with bundles of Kuśa spread over them.

‘Who have performed their ablutions’—i.e., who have bathed and rinsed their mouth in the prescribed manner.

‘The said’—those previously invited—‘he should seat.’—(208)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Nṛsiṃhaprasāda (Śrāddha, p. 24b).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Viṣṇu (73.2).—‘On the second day, in the forenoon during the brighter fortnight,—and in the afternoon during the darker fortnight,—he shall seat on seats covered with kuśa-grass, the Brāhmaṇas who have bathed and rinsed their mouths, in the order of their learning.’

Yājñavalkya (1.226).—‘During the afternoon, having respectfully welcomed the Brāhmaṇas that have come and have rinsed their mouth, he, with clean hands, shall seat them on seats.’

Āśvalāyana-Gṛhyasūtra (4.7.2).—‘The Brāhmaṇas equipped with learning, character, and excellent conduct, who may have arrived at the same time and have washed their feet and rinsed their mouths,—these he shall seat, as if they were his forefathers, with faces turned towards the north.’