Verse 11.70

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

कृमिकीटवयोहत्या मद्यानुगतभोजनम् ।
फलेधः।कुसुमस्तेयमधैर्यं च मलावहम् ॥ ७० ॥

kṛmikīṭavayohatyā madyānugatabhojanam |
phaledhaḥ|kusumasteyamadhairyaṃ ca malāvaham || 70 ||

The killing of insects, worms and birds,—the eating of things touched by wine,—the stealing of fruits, fuel or flowers—and inconstancy—are conducive to impurity.—(76)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Insects’—small beings living underground.

‘Worms’—the same, with better-formed bodies, winged as well as unwinged; e.g., flies, locusts and so forth.

‘Birds’—winged animals; e.g., the parrot, the ‘Sārikā’ and so forth.

‘Touched by wine’—that which has been in contact with wine and has imbibed its flavour.

‘Inconstancy’—want of firmness of mind; being perturbed on the slightest occasion.—(70)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 1129), which adds that this refers to such ‘insects’ as have no bones;—in Mitākṣarā (3.242);—in Madanapārijāta (p. 924);—in Nṛsiṃhaprasāda (Prāyaścitta 30a);—and in Prāyaścittaviveka (pp. 42, 238 and 465), which explains ‘madyānugatabhojanam’ as ‘such fruits and roots and other things as are brought up at the time of drinking wine’,—and ‘adhairyam,’ as ‘being too much perturbed at even a very slight loss.’

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Baudhāyana (2.2.15, 16).—‘The following offences make men impure:—gambling, performing incantations, subsisting on corn-gleaning while not performing Agnihotra, subsisting on alms after studentship, living at the teacher’s house longer than four months after finishing study and teaching a person like the last, making a living by astrology and so forth.’

Āpastamba (1.21.12-18).—‘Now follows the enumeration of offences that make men impure: cohabitation of Ārya women with Śūdras, eating forbidden flesh, as of a dog, a man, etc., eating human excreta, eating a Śūdra’s leavings, and the cohabitation of Āryas with apapātra women;—some people declare that these also cause loss of caste.’

Viṣṇu (41.1-4).—‘Killing birds, amphibious animals, and aquatic animals, and worms or insects, eating herbs resembling intoxicants,—such are the crimes causing defilement.’