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 7.114
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
द्वयोस्त्रयाणां पञ्चानां मध्ये गुल्ममधिष्ठितम् ।
तथा ग्रामशतानां च कुर्याद् राष्ट्रस्य सङ्ग्रहम् ॥ ११४ ॥dvayostrayāṇāṃ pañcānāṃ madhye gulmamadhiṣṭhitam |
tathā grāmaśatānāṃ ca kuryād rāṣṭrasya saṅgraham || 114 ||In the midst of two, three, five or hundred villages he shall appoint an administrator of state supplied with a picket of guards.—(114)
Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
In the midst of two villages he shall establish a ‘picket of guards’,—i. e., a police-outpost;—and he shall appoint an ‘administrator’ supplied with such guards. The term ‘saṅgraha’ stands for the administrating officer.
Similarly in the midst of three or fire villages.
Or ‘Saṅgraha’ may be taken as standing for the place for collecting of monies due to the king.—(114)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti, p. 248), which supplies the following explanation:—In the midst of two hundred, or three hundred, of five hundred villages, he should establish an outpost, containing a detachment of infantry and others;—if we read ‘rāṣṭrasya saṅgraham’ (in place of ‘rāṣṭrasya guptaye) the meaning would be that he should establish a saṅgraha, i.e., a ‘guard’ consisting of a ‘gulma’ an outpost, and ‘avasthita’ supervised by honest officers.—The option regarding the extent of each charge is based upon the diversity in the strength of robbers and other mischief-makers in varying areas.