Verse 8.25

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

बाह्यैर्विभावयेत्लिङ्गैर्भावमन्तर्गतं नृणाम् ।
स्वरवर्णैङ्गिताकारैश्चक्षुषा चेष्टितेन च ॥ २५ ॥

bāhyairvibhāvayetliṅgairbhāvamantargataṃ nṛṇām |
svaravarṇaiṅgitākāraiścakṣuṣā ceṣṭitena ca || 25 ||

He shall discover the internal disposition of men by external signs: by variations in their voice, colour and aspect, as also by means of the eye and by gestures.—(25)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

What the verse means is that in course of the investigations the veracity or otherwise of witnesses should he found out by means of Inference also;—and the mention of ‘voice,’ etc., is only by way of illustration; what the meaning therefore is, is that it shall be ascertained by means of such sure indiations as may be possible, and not necessarily only by ‘voice’ and other things mentioned here; for the simple reason that these latter are not always infallible; e.g., in many cases persons who are not used to the presence of great men become flurried, even though they be quite truthful; while those that are pert manage to hide their real feelings.

The compound ‘svaravarṇeṅgitākāraiḥ’ is to be expounded as—by the ākāra—variations in—their ‘svara,’ ‘voice’—‘varṇa’ ‘colour’—and ‘iṅgita,’ ‘aspect’;—the ‘change’ referred to being modifications undergone by men’s ordinary ‘voice’ and the rest

By means of these he shall ‘discover’—ascertain—the ‘internal disposition’— intention—‘of men’— of suitors and witnesses.

The ‘change of voice’ occurs in the form of faltering, being choked with tears and so forth;—that of ‘colour’ in the form of sudden changes of complexion and so forth;—that of ‘aspect’ in the shape of perspiration, trembling, thrilling of hairs and so forth.

‘By means of the eye’;—i.e., by suddenly casting on them an angry look.

‘By gestures,’—i.e., by the movement of the hands, the eye-brows and so forth.

It is a fact of common experience that voice and the rest, if carefully watched, disclose the most hidden feelings;—the fact of these being indicative of hidden feelings being well known among men, as we find in ordinary experience.—(25)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

‘Iṅgita’—‘Perspiring, trembling, horripilation and so forth’ (Medhātithi, Govindarāja and Rāghavānanda);—‘casting down the eyes &c,’ (Kullūka);—‘aimlessly moving about the arms &c.’ (Nārāyaṇa).

‘Ākāra’—‘Manner’ compounded with ‘svara-varṇa-iṅgita’ collectively, (Medhātithi and Rāghavānanda);—‘aspect, e.g., pallor, horripilation, sweating’ (Govindarāja, Kullūka, and Nārāyaṇa) who take the term independently—copulatively compounded with ‘svara’ &c.

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 620);—in Smṛtitattva (p. II, 218),... which adds the following notes:—‘Svara,’ such as choking voice,—‘varṇa,’ abnormal pallor and so forth,—‘iṅgita,’ i. e., sweating, trembling and horripilation—‘ākāra,’ disfigurement,—‘cakṣuṣ,’ timid, or piteous look,—‘ceṣṭita,’ the manner of standing and moving. It adds that all these, being uncertain indications, have to be regarded as inferior to witnesses and other kinds of direct evidence;—in

Kṛtykalpataru, (21b), which has the following notes:—‘Vibhāvayet,’ determine, ascertain,—‘bhāvam,’ motive, intention, ‘nṛṇām,’ of the two parties and of the witnesses,—‘ākāra’ transformation in the natural voice and other things,—that of ‘svara’ appears in the form of trembling and so forth, that of ‘varṇa’ in the shape of paleness and so forth;—and in Vīramitrodaya (Vyavahāra, p. 30a), which adds the following notes:—‘Svara’ stands for the choking of the voice and so forth,—‘varṇa’ for the ‘darkness of complexion,’ and so forth,—‘iṅgita’ for perspiration, trembling and the like,—‘ākāra’ for the raising of the eye-brows and so forth—‘cakṣu’ for the timid look,—‘ceṣṭita’ for the listless changing of position.—(25)

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 8.25-26)

Nārada (6.10-11).—‘When the face changes colour, or the voice falters, or the features look suspicious, when they do not give evidence in public, when they make impossible statements as to place and time, when there are doubts regarding their place of residence, when they indulge in expense for bad purposes, when they have been previously convicted of larceny, when they keep bad company, or when documents speak against them,—they may be convicted as thieves,—not by the possession of stolen goods alone.’

Yājñavalkya (2.13-15).—‘If he shifts his position, licks the ends of his mouth, perspires in his forehead, his face becomes pale, speech is dry and halting, talks much and inconsistently, is not pleasant in the eye or in his speech, twists his lips, the natural condition of his mind, speech and body becomes changed,—such a person, whether he be a complainant or a witness, should be regarded as at fault or wicked.’

Rāmāyaṇa (Vyavahāratattva, p. 31).—‘The man cannot hide his internal feelings entirely, without showing some slight shadow of it in his external appearance; it becomes exposed even against his will.’