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...

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

परित्यजेदर्थकामौ यौ स्यातां धर्मवर्जितौ ।
धर्मं चाप्यसुखोदर्कं लोकसङ्क्रुष्टमेव च ॥ १७६ ॥

parityajedarthakāmau yau syātāṃ dharmavarjitau |
dharmaṃ cāpyasukhodarkaṃ lokasaṅkruṣṭameva ca || 176 ||

He shall, avoid such wealth and pleasures as are opposed to righteousness, as also righteousness if it be conducive to unhappiness, or disapproved by the people.—(176)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

It has been said above that the ‘group of three’ constitutes the ‘ends of man.’ Some people might think that all the three are equally important, and argue as follows and act accordingly Righteous acts, like the Jyotiṣṭoma, &c., are found to be performed at the cost of wealth and pleasure. Such acts lead to loss of wealth by the giving away of the sacrificial fee and other gifts; and they are opposed to pleasure, inasmuch as it has been laid down that the person initiated for sacrifices shall remain continent, and so forth. Exactly in the same manner, it would be right to have recourse to the acquisition of wealth and pleasure at the cost of righteousness, so that the prohibition, ‘One shall not injure any living beings,’ forbids only such injury as one might inflect upon others simply on account of enmity, and not that which brings to the person wealth or pleasure.”

It is with a view to preclude such ideas that the text declares that—‘He shall avoid such wealth and pleasure’ as involve opposition to righteousness.

Having thus emphasized the superior importance of Righteousness, he proceeds to add that, in some cases, righteous acts also have to be avoided—‘also righteousness if it be conducive to unhappiness.’ ‘Udarka’ means sequence; that whose sequence is unhappy is ‘asukhodarka.’ For instance, some people give away their entire property, and obtain the fame of being an ‘extremely righteous and charitable person;’—or, when, even on solitary river-banks, where many ordinary persons see what is being done, people bathe, not so much for acquiring spiritual merit, but for winning the praise of the populace;—or, again, when large gifts are made to the ‘crows of sacred places’ (the Brāhmaṇas, at these places, who hanker after gifts), for the purpose of advertising their, powers of giving. All such acts are deprecated.

Or, again (one should avoid), such acts as are ‘disapproved by the people,’ as being blameworthy; e.g., the killing (at sacrifices) of the bull, which should not be killed; and the act of eating its flesh is more blameworthy than that of eating other kinds of flesh.

This prohibition is with a view to perceptible results, just like the prohibition of touching a snake. Ordinary men, being ignorant, would not know that the killing of the bull is permitted (under special conditions), and would therefore make it known that the sacrificer of the bull is an unrighteous person; and, as a large majority of men are illiterate, even cultured persons, not caring to investigate the source of the popular opinion, would avoid the person (as unrighteous). This is what has been said in the passage—‘the king being righteous,’ etc., etc..

What we have said above, is in accordance with the explanation provided by older writers. As a matter of fact, however, it can never be right to reject, on the strength of Smṛti, what has been enjoined by the Veda. The right example of the act aimed at by the Text is as follows: The custom of ‘niyoga’ (‘begetting of a child on the widowed sister-in-law’) is sanctioned by Smṛtis; but it is not performed, because it is ‘deprecated by the people;’ or, again, when one is supporting an unprotected young woman, entirely through pity,—if people show their disapproval by giving out that ‘she appeals to hiś generosity because she is a woman,’—then the said righteous act of supporting would be one that is ‘deprecated by the people.’—(176)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 159);—and in Vīramitrodaya (Āhnika, p. 11), which would restrict the rule to only such ‘dharma’ as is ‘dṛṣṭārtha’, ‘prescribed for the purpose of perceptible worldly results.’

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Viṣṇu (71.84.85).—‘Wealth and Pleasure, opposed to Righteousness (he shall avoid);—also such Righteousness as may be disapproved by the people.’

Āpastamba (7.20.22).—‘He shall enjoy such pleasures as are not incompatible with righteousness.’

Yājñavalkya (1.156).—‘In act, mind and speech he shall carefully do what is right; and he shall not do what is right if it happens to he such as is not conducive to heaven, or disapproved by the people.’

Gautama (9.47).—‘While wearing shoes, he shall avoid eating, sitting, accosting and saluting.’

Śukranīti (3.4-5).—‘He shall not try to attain liberation without trying to attain the other three purposes, and he shall follow the path of liberation without disregarding the other three. This is the golden mean.’

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