Verse 4.91

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

एतद् विदन्तो विद्वांसो ब्राह्मणा ब्रह्मवादिनः ।
न राज्ञः प्रतिगृह्णन्ति प्रेत्य श्रेयोऽभिकाङ्क्षिणः ॥ ९१ ॥

etad vidanto vidvāṃso brāhmaṇā brahmavādinaḥ |
na rājñaḥ pratigṛhṇanti pretya śreyo'bhikāṅkṣiṇaḥ || 91 ||

Knowing this, the learned Brāhmaṇas reading the Vedas do not accept gifts from a king, if they desire to secure welfare after death.—(91)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

This is the final summing up of the foregoing rules forbidding the acceptance of gifts.

Knowing that the accepting of gifts from kings is the source of various forms of suffering, learned Brāhmaṇas should not accept gifts from kings.

‘After death’—i.e., in the next birth;—‘welfare’— good;—those who desire. The term ‘pretya,’ which has the form of a participle, is a totally different word.

‘Brahma’ is Veda; those who ‘read,’ study it.

The epithets, ‘learned’ and ‘reading the Vedas,’ have been added with a view to indicate the excessive character of the suffering. Such persons suffer the greatest pains, resulting from the said acceptance of gifts; as it is going to be declared—‘the learned man should fight shy of that.’—(91).

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 185).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 4.87-91)

See Comparative notes for Verse 4.87.