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 7.141
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
अमात्यमुख्यं धर्मज्ञं प्राज्ञं दान्तं कुलोद्गतम् ।
स्थापयेदासने तस्मिन् खिन्नः कार्यैक्षणे नृणाम् ॥ १४१ ॥amātyamukhyaṃ dharmajñaṃ prājñaṃ dāntaṃ kulodgatam |
sthāpayedāsane tasmin khinnaḥ kāryaikṣaṇe nṛṇām || 141 ||When tired with looking after the affairs of men, he shall place in that place his chief minister, who is conversant with the law, wise, self-controlled, and born of a noble family.—(141)
Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
When he is tired with looking after the affairs of his subjects, he shall depute to that work of ‘looking after affairs’ a minister who is endowed with the knowledge of law and other qualifications, and is fit for bearing all responsibilities.—(141)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
Buhler attributes the reading ‘Śāntam’, for ‘prājñam’, to Medhātithi; but there is nothing in Bhāṣya itself to justify this conclusion.
Comparative notes by various authors
Viṣṇu (3.73).—‘He shall entrust a Brāhmaṇa with judicial business.’
Yājñavalkya (2.3).—‘If, under pressure of business, the king is unable to look after cases, he shall appoint a Brāhmaṇa versed in all duties, along with the members of the Court.’
Vṛddha-Bṛhaspati (Aparārka, p. 602).—‘The king or the Brāhmaṇa Judge shall look after the cases.’