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...

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

न मित्रकारणाद् राजा विपुलाद् वा धनागमात् ।
समुत्सृजेत् साहसिकान् सर्वभूतभयावहान् ॥ ३४७ ॥

na mitrakāraṇād rājā vipulād vā dhanāgamāt |
samutsṛjet sāhasikān sarvabhūtabhayāvahān || 347 ||

Neither for the sake of friendship, nor for the sake of a large gain of money, should the king let off the perpetrators of violence, who cause terror to all living beings.—(347)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

For the reasons explained above, it is added—on account of his own friendship with the criminal,—or at the request of the minister or some other officer—or with the idea that the criminal himself is giving him a large amount of money,—the king shall not condone him; since perpetrators of violence cause terror to all creatures.

This also is purely declamatory.—(317)

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 8.345-347)

See Comparative notes for Verse 8.345.

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