Verse 8.330

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

पुष्पेषु हरिते धान्ये गुल्मवल्लीनगेषु च ।
अन्येष्वपरिपूतेषु दण्डः स्यात् पञ्चकृष्णलः ॥ ३३० ॥

puṣpeṣu harite dhānye gulmavallīnageṣu ca |
anyeṣvaparipūteṣu daṇḍaḥ syāt pañcakṛṣṇalaḥ || 330 ||

For flowers, green corns, shrubs, creepers, trees and other unhusked (grains), the fine shall consist of five ‘kṛṣṇalas.’—(330)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Flowers’—The navamallikā and the rest.

‘Green com’—while still in the field.

‘Other unhusked,’—‘anyesu aparipūteṣu’;—in as much as this has the plural form, and ‘husking,’—which consists in the removing of chaff and husks—is possible only in the case of ‘grains,’ we construe this along with the term ‘dhānyesu,’ ‘grains,’ of the next verse. As for ‘shrubs, creepers and trees’ and (‘flowers’ which are expressed by the only other words in the verse with the plural ending), though the former have leaves, and the latter also are generally mixed up with leaves, yet they are never spoken of as ‘husked.’

The Locative ending refers to the ‘stealing,’ mentioned in the preceding verse, from where it is construed here also.

In the case of these, there shall be a fine of ‘five kṛṣṇalas’;—the ‘kṛṣṇalas’ meant being of various metals, to be determined in accordance with the greater or less utility of the things stolen. The ancients have held that it refers to gold only.—(330)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

‘Anyeṣu’—Medhātithi does not read ‘alpeṣu’ as asserted by Hopkins.

‘Pañcakṛṣṇalaḥ’—‘Medhātithi says that the kṛṣṇalas meant may be gold or silver, in accordance with the gravity of the offence’—that ‘it is meant to be gold only’ is the view that he quotes as held by the ‘ancients.’ Buhler therefore is not right in attributing this latter view to Medhātithi himself.

This verse is quoted in Vivādaratnākara (p. 325) which adds the following notes:—‘Harite dhānye’, which is still lying unripe in the field; on this being stolen for purposes of fodder ,—‘ naga’, tree,—‘alpeṣu’ (which is its reading for ‘anyeṣu’), quantity even less than what can be carried by a man,—‘aparipūteṣu’, unhusked,—‘dhānye’, in construing the sentence the number is to be changed into the plural, ‘dhānyeṣu.’

 

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 8.326-331)

See Comparative notes for Verse 8.326-329.