Verse 10.112

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

शिलौञ्छमप्याददीत विप्रोऽजीवन् यतस्ततः ।
प्रतिग्रहात् शिलः श्रेयांस्ततोऽप्युञ्छः प्रशस्यते ॥ ११२ ॥

śilauñchamapyādadīta vipro'jīvan yatastataḥ |
pratigrahāt śilaḥ śreyāṃstato'pyuñchaḥ praśasyate || 112 ||

The Brāhmaṇa, unable to maintain himself, may take to gleaning ears of corn and picking up grains, even from stray places. Gleaning ears of corn is better than receiving gifts; and better even than picking up of grains.—(112)

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The reiteration of this also is stated in the form of a declamatory statement.

In reality the taking of something belonging to another is very wrong; but some form of it may be less wrong than another. Thus both the receiving of gifts and the gleaning of ears of corn, belonging to the same category (of taking what belongs to another), the latter is said to be ‘better’ than the former. It is only between two bad things belonging to the same category that one is regarded as the ‘better’ of the two; no one says that ‘the Brāhmaṇa is better than the Caṇḍāla.’ Thus then even though the gleaning of ears and picking of grains also involve the taking of what belongs to another, yet these are ‘better.’

Though living by ‘gleaning ears’ and ‘picking grains’ has been described as the best form of living, yet it does bear some resemblance to the ‘receiving of gifts.’ So that in the case of both these—‘gleaning ears’ and ‘receiving gifts’—one should exercise a certain amount of check over himself. Thus it is that living by ‘gleaning ears’ and ‘picking grains’ also is not entirely free from blame; hence it is that we have the declaration that—‘gleaning ears is better than receiving gifts.’—(112)