Verse 8.214

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

दत्तस्यैषौदिता धर्म्या यथावदनपक्रिया ।
अत ऊर्ध्वं प्रवक्ष्यामि वेतनस्यानपक्रियाम् ॥ २१४ ॥

dattasyaiṣauditā dharmyā yathāvadanapakriyā |
ata ūrdhvaṃ pravakṣyāmi vetanasyānapakriyām || 214 ||

Thus has been fully explained the lawful non-misappropriation of gifts; after this I am going to describe the ‘non-misappropriation of Wages.’—(214)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The first half sums up the foregoing Head of Dispute, and the second introduces the next head.

‘The non-misappropriation of gifts has been explained.’—‘Misappropriation’ is non-fulfilment; and it is the negation of this that is expressed by the negative prefix; the sense being that if the gift is resumed in the manner described above, it does not mean its improper ‘misappropriation’; such is the rule of all gifts.

‘Lawful’—not against law.

“When the gift, after being promised, is not paid,—how does this not militate against law?”

Such a question should not be raised. Since the right and lawful course in the case is that it should not be paid, or if paid, it should be taken hack.

‘Explained’—described.

‘Yathāvat,’ ‘fully’—i.e., in the right manner. The meaning is that ‘it has been expounded in the proper manner.’ Or the term ‘yathā’ may be taken to mean propriety, so that ‘yathāvat’ would mean properly.

‘Wages’— subsistence-allowance; and the ‘non-misappropriation’ of this is going to be described. That is, what I am going to describe now is the behaviour by which there is no improper misappropriation of duty on the part of those who work on wages.—(214)