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...

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

विड्वराहखरोष्ट्राणां गोमायोः कपिकाकयोः ।
प्राश्य मूत्रपुरीषाणि द्विजश्चान्द्रायणं चरेत् ॥ १५४ ॥

viḍvarāhakharoṣṭrāṇāṃ gomāyoḥ kapikākayoḥ |
prāśya mūtrapurīṣāṇi dvijaścāndrāyaṇaṃ caret || 154 ||

If a twice-born person swallows the ordure or urine of the village-pig, of an ass, of a camel, of a jackal, of a monkey, or of a crow—he shall perform the Cāndrāyaṇa.—(154)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

Since nothing has been specially mentioned, this should be understood to apply to a case where the swallowing is done unintentionally. Or, both intentional and unintentional swallowing may be regarded as being on the same footing; as such an assumption would be better than any reduction in the expiation (in eases of unintentional swallowing).—(154)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 1164);—and in Parāśaramādhava (Prāyaścitta p. 296).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Saṃvarta (Parāsaramādhava-Prāyaścitta, p. 296).—‘On eating the urine or excreta of the dog, the cat, the ass, the camel, the monkey, the jackal or the crow,—one should perform the Cāndrāyaṇa penance.’

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