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:

कितवान् कुशीलवान् क्रूरान् पाषण्डस्थांश्च मानवान् ।
विकर्मस्थान् शौण्डिकांश्च क्षिप्रं निर्वासयेत् पुरात् ॥ २२५ ॥

kitavān kuśīlavān krūrān pāṣaṇḍasthāṃśca mānavān |
vikarmasthān śauṇḍikāṃśca kṣipraṃ nirvāsayet purāt || 225 ||

Gamblers, dancers, cruel men, men belonging to heretical sects, men addicted to evil deeds, dealers in wine,—these the King shall instantly banish from his town.—(225)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

(verses 9.220-227)

(No Bāṣhya)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

Krūrān’.—Nārāyaṇa and Rāghavānanda read ‘kerān’ and explain it as ‘men of crooked behaviour.’—Nandana reads ‘kailān’ and explains it as ‘men addicted to sporting.’

Śauṇḍikān’.—‘Liquor-vendors’ (Nārāyaṇa and Kūlluka);—‘Drunkards’ (Nandana).

This verse is quoted in Vivādaratnākara (p. 315), which adds the following notes:—‘Kitavān’, fraudulent gamblers;—‘kuśīlavān’, here stands for those men who are sharp enough to entrap even unwilling people;—‘kerān’, ‘go-betweens between strange couples’;—‘pāṣaṇḍasthān’, men belonging to the Kṣapaṇaka and other heretical sects;—‘Vikarmasthān’, men addicted to entirely forbidden occupations ‘śauṇḍikān’, men addicted to excessive drinking.

It is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti, p. 153);—and in Vyavahāra-Bālambhaṭṭī (p. 880).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 9.225-226)

Bṛhsapati (Vivādaratnākara, p. 315).—‘Those who cheat men through incantations or medicinal herbs, and those who perform malevolent rites, should he banished by the King.’

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