Verse 8.370

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

या तु कन्यां प्रकुर्यात् स्त्री सा सद्यो मौण्ड्यमर्हति ।
अङ्गुल्योरेव वा छेदं खरेणोद्वहनं तथा ॥ ३७० ॥

yā tu kanyāṃ prakuryāt strī sā sadyo mauṇḍyamarhati |
aṅgulyoreva vā chedaṃ khareṇodvahanaṃ tathā || 370 ||

But if a woman pollutes a maiden, she deserves immediate shaving off, or the amputation of two fingers, and also being carried by a donkey.—(370)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

If a woman destroys the virginity of a maiden, she shall have her head shaven off; or undergo amputation of her fingers.

‘Being carried by a donkey’—in the case of shaving. Some people hold that the different penalties are laid down in view of the caste of the girl, and the caste of the polluter;—the three penalties applying to the three castes Brāhmaṇa and the rest:

But there being no authority for such a view, it should be ignored.—(370)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

According to ‘others’ in Medhātithi and Nārāyaṇa, the verse describes three distinct penalties for women of the three distinct castes. Govindarāja and Kullūka hold that in any one case, whether one or the other of the three penalties shall be inflicted will depend upon the circumstances of that case.

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Vyavahāra, p. 321;—in Vivādaratnākara (p. 403), which explains ‘strī’ as a woman who is herself not a maiden;—in Aparārka (p. 859), which says strī meant here is ‘other than a maiden’, the ‘maiden’ having been already dealt with in the preceding verse;—in Mitākṣarā (2.288), which, explains ‘strī’as ‘a grown up experienced woman’;—and in Vīramitrodaya (Vyavahāra, 157a), which explains ‘prakuryāt’ as ‘causes penetration.’