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:

पीडनानि च सर्वाणि व्यसनानि तथैव च ।
आरभेत ततः कार्यं सञ्चिन्त्य गुरुलाघवम् ॥ २९९ ॥

pīḍanāni ca sarvāṇi vyasanāni tathaiva ca |
ārabheta tataḥ kāryaṃ sañcintya gurulāghavam || 299 ||

The king shall begin operations after having taken into consideration all calamities and vices, and their relative importance.—(299)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

Calamities’—such as famine, drought, rats, locusts, thunderstorms and so forth.

Vices’—due to lust, anger and so forth.

In addition to this, he shall take into consideration also the doings of his sons;—he shall not always display energy; nor always show discontent; he shall also take into consideration the ‘six accessories’ of kingship, his daily income and expenditure, and all that may be going on in his kingdom, which he may have learnt from his spies.

The actions of men may also be ascertained by noting their tendencies towards dancing, music and such entertainments.—(299)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti, p. 328).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 9.298-300)

See Comparative notes for Verse 9.298.

Like what you read? Consider supporting this website: