Verse 11.91

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

गोमूत्रमग्निवर्णं वा पिबेदुदकमेव वा ।
पयो घृतं वाऽ मरणाद् गोशकृद्रसमेव वा ॥ ९१ ॥

gomūtramagnivarṇaṃ vā pibedudakameva vā |
payo ghṛtaṃ vā' maraṇād gośakṛdrasameva vā || 91 ||

Or, he may drink red-hot cow’s urine, or water, or milk, or butter, or liquid cow-dung, until he dies.—(91)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

In the case of any one of these expiations, the epithet ‘red-hot’ is to be applied.

The cow’s urine and other substances have been specified with a view to predude dying by any other means.

In the present case, the ‘wine’ should be understood as standing for that liquor which is obtained from grains; as it is this liquor to which the term ‘wine’ is held to be directly applicable; its application to other liquors being indirect What is said here is applicable to cases of intentional wine-drinking; sis it is going to be declared later on (11.146)—“If one drinks wine unintentionally, he becomes purified by going through the sacramental rites.’

‘Agnivarna,’ ‘red-hot,’ means that it should be as hot as fire; as is clear from the phrase ‘until he dies.’

Wine is forbidden for women also. It has been declared in the work of Vaśiṣṭha that—‘If a Brāhmaṇa woman drinks wine, the gods do not permit her to go to the regions where her husband has gone; she roams about in this world, and after all her merit has been exhausted, she becomes an amphibious animal.’—(91)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Prāyaścitta, p. 412), which adds that this refers to the same case as the preceding verse; i.e., to the intentional -drinking of liquor distilled from grains;—and in Prāyaścittaviveka (p. 93), which says that the ‘milk’ and ‘clarified butter’ meant are those of the cow only.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 11.90-93)

See Comparative notes for Verse 11.90.