Verse 3.236

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

अत्युष्णं सर्वमन्नं स्याद् भुञ्जीरंस्ते च वाग्यताः ।
न च द्विजातयो ब्रूयुर्दात्रा पृष्टा हविर्गुणान् ॥ २३६ ॥

atyuṣṇaṃ sarvamannaṃ syād bhuñjīraṃste ca vāgyatāḥ |
na ca dvijātayo brūyurdātrā pṛṣṭā havirguṇān || 236 ||

All the food should be very hot, and they should eat with controlled speech; when asked by the giver, the Brāhmaṇas should not describe the qualities of the sacrificial food.—(236)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Atyuṣṇa,’ ‘very hot,’ stands for ‘hot;’ the term being expounded as ‘atigatam uṣṇam,’ ‘with heat developed;’ just as ‘praparṇa’ stands for ‘prapatitaparṇa,’ ‘that of which the leaves have fallen.’

‘All’—i.e., the food as well as the seasonings.

This injunction regarding ‘being hot’ applies to only those things which ought to be eaten hot, and not to rice cooked in curd and such things, which, when eaten hot, are disagreeable and harmful; and this would be contrary to what has been said before regarding ‘bringing delight to the Brāhmaṇas.’

In view of the injunction of eating hot food, the entire quantity should not be served at once; as, in that case, for persons who eat much, it would become cold. Hence, as the food is eaten little by little, more should be given. It will not be right to argue that “the food out of which a part has been served becomes a ‘remnant,’ and it would not be right to serve it as such;” because the rule regarding feeding is that the action of the eater extends till his complete satisfaction. Further, the Rice and other things do not come in, in the act of feeding, as ‘gifts to be received;’ that is why there is no reciting of mantras connected with the receiving of gifts, over the Rice and other articles of food.

‘With controlled speech’—i.e., having their speech under full control; the reversed order of the two terms of the compound is an archaism. Or, the compound ‘vāgyatāḥ’ may be expounded as ‘vacā yatāḥ,’ ‘controlled of speech;’ the compound in this case being in accordance with Pāṇini’s aphorism, ‘Sādhanam kṛtā’; and, in this sense, the term ‘yataḥ’ would have the sense of the active past-participle. ‘Control’ means stopping of operation; and the ‘operation’ of ‘speech’ is uttering of words; and it is this latter that is prohibited; the meaning being that no words, distinct or indistinct, shall be uttered.

Nor are the qualities of the food to be described. It has been declared that ‘excellent and well-behaved people, while taking food, shall not speak to the giver.’

“This injunction is already implied by that relating to the control of speech.”

True; what is meant by the second injunction is that it should not be done by gestures even; the root ‘brū’ denotes describing; so that the word ‘brūyuḥ’ does not necessarily mean articulate utterance.—(236)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 748), which explains that the addition of the particle ‘eva’ is meant to emphasise that ‘they should not give up eating, even though they may happen to touch one another.’

The second half of the verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 497);—in Śrāddhakriyākaumudī (p. 170), which says that this verse forbids the praising of the food even by means of gestures;—and in Gadādharapaddhati (Kāla, p. 553), which adds the same note.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 3.236-237)

Viṣṇu (71.19).—[Reproduces Manu.]

Vaśiṣṭha (11.29).—[Do.]

But in both the reading is ‘uṣṇam’ for ‘uṣmā.’

Śāṅkha (Parāśaramādhava, p. 749).—‘If he describes the excellences of the food...he destroys the Śrāddha and becomes degraded.’

Śāṅkha-Likhita (Aparārka, p. 497).—‘The Brāhmaṇas shall not describe, praise or decry the food. They should say nothing except by the gesture of the hand. The Pitṛs partake of the food only so long as it is on the ground, until it is praised, and so long as it is hot, except in the case of fruits, roots and drinks.’