Verse 4.172

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

नाधर्मश्चरितो लोके सद्यः फलति गौरिव ।
शनैरावर्त्यमानस्तु कर्तुर्मूलानि कृन्तति ॥ १७२ ॥

nādharmaścarito loke sadyaḥ phalati gauriva |
śanairāvartyamānastu karturmūlāni kṛntati || 172 ||

Unrighteousness, practised in this world, does not, like the Earth (or the Cow) bring its fruit immediately; but, accumulating gradually, it outs off the roots of the perpetrator.—(172)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The Author now proceeds to describe the sense of the scriptures.

What is said here is in view of the fact that the acts mentioned in the Vedas as leading to good and evil results, are uncertain in regard to the time of their fruition.

‘Unrighteousness, practised, does not bring its fruit immediately.’

All that is mentioned in the Veda is that the acts prescribed bring good results, and those forbidden bring evil results; the exact time of fruition is not mentioned. Even though the verbal operation of the Vedic texts rests with indicating that a certain act shall be done, yet it ends in indicating the relation between an act and the results accruing therefrom; but it does not say anything regarding the time of the fruition of the acts done, with a view to obtaining certain results; as for the obligatory acts, that they shall be done follows from their very nature;—lastly, in regard to the avoiding of the forbidden act also, the persons entitled to this are not only those who are desirous of avoiding the sufferings of hell, etc., but all those who are desirous of abiding by the scriptures. And what the scriptural prohibition does is to intimate that the doing of the forbidden act results in suffering. A full discussion of this subject will prolong our work to an undue length. Hence we stop here.

‘Gauriva’—‘like the Earth (or the Cow).’—The example cited here is meant to be both (a) ‘similar’ and (b) ‘dissimilar.’ (a) The Earth, on having the seed sown in it, does not immediately bring forth the sheaves of corn; in fact, it requires gradual development; similar is the case with the Vedic act; this is the similarity (between the act and the Earth). (b) Through dissimilarity also—the animal, cow, on being milked, brings its fruit (milk) immediately; not so Virtue and Vice.

Though the text mentions ‘unrighteousness’ only, yet what is meant is to show the uncertainty of time regarding the fruition of ‘righteousness’ also.

‘Accumulating’—gaining strength in time;—‘of the actor’—of the perpetrator of the act—‘cuts off’— destroys—‘the roots.’

The cutting off of the root indicates total annihilation. Just as when the roots are cut off, trees do not grow again; similarly, the practice of unrighteousness also.—(172)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

‘Gauḥ’—Buhler is again unfair to Medhātithi. Both Medhātithi and Kullūka take this term ‘gauḥ’ precisely as Buhler says ‘it is not impossible’. (See Translation.) From what Buhler says, Govindarāja, Nārāyaṇa and Nandana take ‘gauḥ’ only as ‘the Cow, which at once yields its benefits by its milk &c.’ This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Paribhāṣā, p. 68), which says that, if the ‘gauḥ’ is taken as an example per similarity, then it means ‘earth’,—the earth does not produce the harvest immediately after sowing of seeds; if it is taken as ‘cow’, then it is an example per dissimilarity, the meaning being ‘the cow gives its products, in the shape of milk &c. immediately, not so sin, which takes time to fructify.’