Verse 11.133

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

अभ्रिं कार्ष्णायसीं दद्यात् सर्पं हत्वा द्विजोत्तमः ।
पलालभारकं षण्ढे सैसकं चैकमाषकम् ॥ १३३ ॥

abhriṃ kārṣṇāyasīṃ dadyāt sarpaṃ hatvā dvijottamaḥ |
palālabhārakaṃ ṣaṇḍhe saisakaṃ caikamāṣakam || 133 ||

For killing a snake, the Brāhmaṇa should give an iron spade; and in the case of a eunuch, a load of straw and a ‘māsa’ of lead.—(133)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

No stress is meant to be laid on the mention of the. ‘Brāhmaṇa.’

A sharp ‘iron spade’ should be given. The qualification ‘iron’ excludes the spade made of wood and other substances.

‘In the case of a eunuch’—one who is wanting in virility; who is of four kinds—(1) he who has no semen at all, (2) he whose semen is of mere air, (3) who feels no erection of the organ, and (4) who has the signs of both sexes, a hermaphrodite. This expiation regarding the killing of the eunuch is applicable to all animals—Brāhmaṇa, Śūdra, sheep, goat, and so forth.—(133)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Prāyaścitta, p. 67);—in Aparārka (p. 1132), which explains ‘palāla’ as paddy-stalks without grains;—in Mitākṣarā (3. 273);—in Madanapārijāta (p. 950), which adds that the ‘palālabhāra’ and ‘one māṣa of Sīsaka’ are optional alternatives;—and in Prāyaścittaviveka (p. 527), which says that the gift prescribed removes the sin of the killing.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Gautama (22.23, 25).—‘For killing a eunuch, he shall give a load of straw and a māṣa of lead. For killing a snake, a bar of iron.’

Viṣṇu (50.34-35).—‘If he has killed a snake, he must give an iron spade. If he has killed emasculated cattle or birds, he must give a load of straw.’

Yājñavalkya (3.274).—‘For killing serpents, one should give an iron bar; for killing a eunuch, lead and tin; for killing a boar, a jar of clarified butter; for killing a camel, gold weighing one Ratti: and for killing a horse, a cloth.’