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...
Verse 11.84
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
ब्रह्मणः सम्भवेनैव देवानामपि दैवतम् ।
प्रमाणं चैव लोकस्य ब्रह्मात्रैव हि कारणम् ॥ ८४ ॥brahmaṇaḥ sambhavenaiva devānāmapi daivatam |
pramāṇaṃ caiva lokasya brahmātraiva hi kāraṇam || 84 ||By his very birth the Brāhmaṇa is a divinity even for the gods, and an authority for the people; and the Veda itself is the cause of this.—(84)
Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
It behoves the man liable to expiation to present himself before the Congregation or Court, and he should act in accordance with that law which may be honoured by that assembly; the present verse and the next serve to indicate the high qualifications of the assembly.
‘By his very birth the Brāhmaṇa is a divinity even for the gods’—and ‘for the people he is an authority’—trustworthy guide,—people reposing as much trust on his words as upon what they see with their own eyes.
‘The Veda itself is the cause of this.’—The Brāhmaṇa is regarded as an authority on spiritual matters, only because he knows the Veda and what is contained in it—(84)
Comparative notes by various authors
(verses 11.72-86)
See Comparative notes for Verse 11.72.