Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi
by Ganganatha Jha | 1920 | 1,381,940 words | ISBN-10: 8120811550 | ISBN-13: 9788120811553
This is the English translation of the Manusmriti, which is a collection of Sanskrit verses dealing with ‘Dharma’, a collective name for human purpose, their duties and the law. Various topics will be dealt with, but this volume of the series includes 12 discourses (adhyaya). The commentary on this text by Medhatithi elaborately explains various t...
Verse 4.48
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
वायुअग्निविप्रमादित्यमपः पश्यंस्तथैव गाः ।
न कदा चन कुर्वीत विण्मूत्रस्य विसर्जनम् ॥ ४८ ॥vāyuagnivipramādityamapaḥ paśyaṃstathaiva gāḥ |
na kadā cana kurvīta viṇmūtrasya visarjanam || 48 ||One should never pass faeces or urine, while looking at the wind or fire, or a Brāhmaṇa, or the sun, or water, or cows.—(48)
Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
What is meant is that one shall not do the act facing the wind; and the other things he shall not look at, while urinating, even by turning his body towards them. Since wind is colourless, its seeing can only he ascertained by seeing the flight of leaves, hits of earth and other things waft
ed by the wind. This prohibition would be incongruous if it applied to the entire air-circle (atmosphere); since wind is blowing everywhere.—(48)
As a commendatory supplement to this we have the next verse.
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
This verse is quoted in Madanapārijāta (p. 43), which explains ‘paśyan’ as ‘before’, ‘sammukhaḥ’;—and in Vīramitrodaya (Āhnika, p. 37), which explains ‘paśyan’ as ‘looking at, in front of’, in order to make it applicable to the wind, which is not ‘visible’ with the eye.
Comparative notes by various authors
(verses 4.45-49)
See Comparative notes for Verse 4.45.