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 8.308
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
अरक्षितारं राजानं बलिषड्भागहारिणम् ।
तमाहुः सर्वलोकस्य समग्रमलहारकम् ॥ ३०८ ॥arakṣitāraṃ rājānaṃ baliṣaḍbhāgahāriṇam |
tamāhuḥ sarvalokasya samagramalahārakam || 308 ||He who affords no protection and devours the people, grabbing his tribute of the sixth part of the produce,—him they declare to be the imbiber of the filth of the whole people.—(308)
Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
This verse is a deprecatory supplement to what has gone before.
‘Affords no protection,’ and ‘devours’—i.e., lives upon the people, by taking the royal dues. this same idea is stated more clearly—‘grabbing his tribute.'
Such a king, all cultured men declare to be the ‘imbiber of’—who draws upon himself—‘fifth’— sin—‘of the whole people’—of all his subjects. That is, such a king is befouled by the sins of his people.—(308)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti, p. 255).
Comparative notes by various authors
(verses 8.307-309)
See Comparative notes for Verse 8.308.