Verse 8.379

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

मौण्ड्यं प्राणान्तिकं दण्डो ब्राह्मणस्य विधीयते ।
इतरेषां तु वर्णानां दण्डः प्राणान्तिको भवेत् ॥ ३७९ ॥

mauṇḍyaṃ prāṇāntikaṃ daṇḍo brāhmaṇasya vidhīyate |
itareṣāṃ tu varṇānāṃ daṇḍaḥ prāṇāntiko bhavet || 379 ||

Tonsure has been prescribed as the death-penalty for the Brāhmaṇa; for other castes the penalty would be actual death.—(379)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

In cases where ‘death’ has been laid down for the Kṣatriya and other castes, it is to be ‘tonsure’ for the Brāhmaṇa. For instance, for adultery, the non-Brāhmaṇa deserves the death-penalty,—the general rule being that ‘the male shall be flayed.’

The term ‘prāṇāntaka’ is to be explained as prāṇānām antam gacchati or ‘prāṇānāmant?m karoti,’—that which brings about the end of life; the form being formed with the ‘ṇvul’ affix.

Others read ‘prāṇāntika’;—in which case the affix is ‘ṭhañ,’—the meaning being ‘relating to death.’

‘For the other castes’—the Kṣatriya and others, except the Brāhmaṇa,—‘it is to be actual death.’

Putting to death having already been prescribed before, the present text has been taken as serving the purpose of putting forward the injunction of tonsure and the fine of one thousand, as supplementary to the former injunction. Otherwise, in as much as the death penalty has not been prescribed for the Brāhmaṇa, what would be the occasion for declaring that ‘Tonsure is the death-penalty for the Brāhmaṇa?’

It might be argued that the possibility of death-penalty for the Brāhmaṇa is indicated by the general law that ‘the man should be flayed.’”

But in that case the substitute should have been put forward in that same connection; so that the connection of the two could be clearly perceived.—(379).

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Vivādaratnākara (p. 393), which adds the explanation that ‘for an offence in connection with which death penalty has been prescribed, the Brāhmaṇa shall only have his head shaved’;—in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 399);—in Parāśaramādhava (Vyavahāra, p. 159);—in Aparārka (p. 681), which adds that banishment from the city and such other penalties are equal to the death-penalty, so far as the Brāhmaṇa is concerned;—in Vyavahāra-Bālambhaṭṭī (p. 115);—and in Vīramitrodaya (Vyavahāra, 58b).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 8.379-381)

Gautama (8.13).—‘The Brāhmaṇa who is well-versed in his dharma must not be subjected to corporal punishment; he must not be imprisoned; he must not be fined; he must not be exiled; he must not be reviled; he must not be excluded.’

Baudhāyana (1.18.17).—‘A Brāhmaṇa, forsooth, shall not suffer corporal punishment for any offence.’

Viṣṇu (5.2-3).—‘In the case of a Brāhmaṇa, no corporal punishment must be inflicted; a Brāhmaṇa must be banished from the country, his body having been branded.’

Nārada (Theft, 41, 42).—‘On no account shall the King kill a Brāhmaṇa, though convicted of all possible crimes. He may be banished. The King shall confiscate his entire wealth or leave him a fourth part for himself.’

Bṛhaspati (27.11, 12).—‘A Brāhmaṇa, though a mortal sinner, shall not suffer capital punishment; the King shall banish him and cause him to be branded and shaved; the Brāhmaṇa who deserves capital punishment shall be compelled to pay one hundred Suvarṇas; one deserving to have a limb cut off, half as much; and one deserving to have the thumb and index finger cut off, half of that.’

Śaṅkha-Likhita (Vivādaratnākara, p. 634).—‘Even if he has committed heinous crimes, the Brāhmaṇa may be banished, branded, or made to undergo expiations; for the Brāhmaṇa should not be made to suffer bodily pain.’

Hārīta (Do., p. 631).—‘For the Brāhmaṇa, there is no cutting off of limbs; the Brāhmaṇa is always purified by penances and austerities.’

Yama (Do., p. 636).—‘For crimes committed by the Brāhmaṇa, the following punishments have been ordained: shaving of the head, banishment from the city, proclamation of his sin, parading on an ass, branding on the forehead.’