Verse 4.217

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

मृष्यन्ति ये चोपपतिं स्त्रीजितानां च सर्वशः ।
अनिर्दशं च प्रेतान्नमतुष्टिकरमेव च ॥ २१७ ॥

mṛṣyanti ye copapatiṃ strījitānāṃ ca sarvaśaḥ |
anirdaśaṃ ca pretānnamatuṣṭikarameva ca || 217 ||

Nor of thos e who bear the presence of the paramour, or of those who are entirely ruled b y women; nor the food of those in whose house death has occurred and the ten days have not passed; nor that which is disagree able.—(217)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The man mentioned in the preceding verse is one who does not know of the presence of his wife’s paramour; while the one mentioned here is one who knows it, and suffers it, and does not check his wife. If the man does not know of the presence of the paramour, who comes from another house, then the food given by such a man is not forbidden.

‘Who are ruled by women,’—those persons in whose house the wife is the sole mistress and dispenser; and who are not master of themselves or of their dependants; who are entirely under the control of their wives.

‘Pretānnam;’—when one is impure, on account of death in his house, the food belonging to the members of his family is forbidden.—‘Ten days have not passed;’—this indicates the period of time.

If the term, ‘anirdaśam’ (of verse 212), is to be taken by itself, as forbidding the food belonging to ‘impure’ persons, then ‘the food belonging to persons in whose house there has been death’ being already included there, the present term would stand for the food of those persons who are directly connected with the impurity; such persons, for instance, as the friends and maternal relations of the dead. Similarly, one shall not eat the food belonging to one who may be engaged in the performance of such rites as the

‘Caturthī-Śrāddha,’ and the like, which is undertaken through sympathy with the person in whose house the death has occurred. Such śrāddhas have been mentioned by the Authors of Gṛhyasūtras, as also in the Rāmāyaṇa, in such passages as—‘The tenth-day Śrāddha, the Ninth-day Śrāddha, the Eighth-day Śrāddha, the Fourth-day Śrāddha, etc.’

‘What is disagreeable;’—by eating which one does not feel happy.—(217)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Mitākṣarā (on 3.190) in Madanapārijāta (p. 945);—and in Vīramitrodaya (Āhnika, p. 496), which adds that one should not eat the food of a person who brooks the presence of a paramour in his house, as also of one who, in all things (sarvaśaḥ) is under the sway of women,—‘anirdaśam pretānnam’ is that food which has been offered to the dead within ten days of the death,—‘atuṣṭikaram’ is that food the taste of which is not agreeable;—in Hemādri (Śrāddha, p. 774);—and in Prāyaścittaviveka (p. 261).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Mahābhārata (Śānti., 35.26, 28).—‘The food belonging to a house where there has been a death or a birth,—until ten days have passed;—those who permit their wife’s paramour, and those who are controlled by their wives.’

Gautama (17.18).—(See above.)

Āpastamba (1.16.18).—‘In a family where there has been a death,—no food should he eaten until ten days have passed.’

Vaśiṣṭha (14.6).—‘The gods do not eat the food belonging to one who is controlled by his wife, or one who permits his wife’s paramour in the house.'

Yājñavalkya (1.163).—(See above.)

Yama (Vīramitrodaya-Āhnika, p. 499).—‘The following are persons whose food should not be eaten:—Actor, dancer, carpenter, cobbler, goldsmith, a brotherless woman, eunuch, prostitute, singer, ironsmith, butcher, weaver, cloth-dealer, dyer, gambler, thief, wine-seller, weigher, Śūdra’s teacher, Śūdra’s sacrificer, potter, painter, usurer, and leather-seller.’

Sumanta (Do.).—‘The accused, outcast, son of a remarried widow, embryo-killer, harlot, weapon-maker, oil-presser, wine-seller, goldsmith, writer, eunuch, loose woman, astrologer, prostitute,—the food of these should not be eaten. The hog-dealer, fowler, vagabond, dyer, stage-maker, bamboo-dealer, cobbler,—of these, the food should not bo eaten, nor gifts accepted.