Verse 11.175

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

चण्डालान्त्यस्त्रियो गत्वा भुक्त्वा च प्रतिगृह्य च ।
पतत्यज्ञानतो विप्रो ज्ञानात् साम्यं तु गच्छति ॥ १७५ ॥

caṇḍālāntyastriyo gatvā bhuktvā ca pratigṛhya ca |
patatyajñānato vipro jñānāt sāmyaṃ tu gacchati || 175 ||

If a Brāhmaṇa unintentionally approaches a woman of the Caṇḍāla or other lowest-born castes,—or eats her food, or receives her presents,—he becomes an outcast; but if he does it intentionally, he becomes her equal.—(175)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

There is expiation for approaching, for eating the food of, and accepting gifts from, women of the ‘Caṇḍāla’ caste, as also of the ‘Mleccha’ tribes inhabiting the boundaries of the land.

‘Becomes an outcast.’—All that this means is that the expiation shall be heavier than the ‘performance of the Kṛcchra for one year,’—and not that the man actually becomes an outcast.

The partaking of the ‘food’ has been mentioned here for the purpose of indicating that the expiation in this case shall be the ‘performance of the Kṛcchra for one year,’ and not that which has been laid down in connection with ‘the eating of the food of persons whose food should not be eaten’ (Verse 152).

Similarly the ‘receiving of gifts’ also has been mentioned here for the purpose of indicating the said Kṛcchra as the expiation, and not ‘the drinking of milk in a cow-pen for a month’ (which is going to be prescribed in Verse 194 below).

‘If he does it intentionally, he becomes her equal.’—This is only a declamatory assertion intended to lay down an expiation. What has been asserted in another Smṛti text regarding the expiation for the intentional and unintentional act, has already been explained; how then could it be taken as meant to imply a heavier expiation?

‘Saving taken food.’—“With what is this to be construed?”

With the term ‘Caṇḍāla or other lowest-born caste!

“But this term is the subordinate factor in the compound (‘Caṇḍalāntyastriyaḥ,’ where ‘strī,’ ‘woman,’ is the predominant factor).”

It has been often shown that a subordinate factor also may be construed with other words, when the sense demands it. The text having said ‘having taken the food,’—and the question arising as to whose food is meant,—as no one else is mentioned in the text, it naturally follows that it has to be taken with^‘the Caṇḍāla and other lowest-born castes.’ The sense thus comes to be this—‘If one eats the food of the Caṇḍāla and the Mleccha,—and if he receives gifts from them,—and approaches their women, etc., etc.’

The expiation here laid down is for approaching the woman only once. In the event of the act being repeated, the offender must become ‘equal’ to the woman, on account of his being disqualified (from all the privileges of his own caste). The sin of the repeated acts could not be atoned for by means of expiations; for every cause would have its effect; and all the expiatory rites—necessary for the atoning of the sin of the repeated acts—could not be performed during a single life-time.’—(175)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Madanapārijāta (p. 348), which adds the following notes:—By doing the act unintentionally the man ‘falls’, ‘patati’, i.e., becomes sinful; hence the repetition of the act involves the ‘Twelve Years’ Penance—when done intentionally, the act makes the man turn into the same caste; hence the repetition of this would involve expiation by death; which however applies only to the act repeated during a long period of time.

It is quoted in Aparārka (p. 1121), which notes that the said ‘equality’ involves expiation by death;—in Smṛtitattva (p. 543);—in Parāśaramādhava (Prāyaścitta, p. 88), as referring to eases of intentional continuation of the act for a long time;—and in Prāyaścittaviveka (pp. 160, 187, 258, 412), which says that this prescribes the ‘Twelve Years’ Penance’ for the unintentional eating of the Caṇḍāla’s food;—that the accepting of gifts also that is meant is twenty-four unintentional repetitions of the acceptance.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Viṣṇu (53.5, 6).—‘By intentional intercourse with a Caṇḍāla woman, he becomes her equal in caste; for intercourse unawares with such, he must perform the Cāndrāyaṇa twice.’

Do. (53.9).—‘That guilt which a Brāhmaṇa incurs by intercourse with a Caṇḍāla woman for one night he can remove only by subsisting on alms and constantly repeating the Gāyatrī for three years.’

Baudhāyana (2.4.14).—‘They quote the following:—“A Brāhmaṇa who unintentionally approaches a female of the Caṇḍāla caste, eats food given by a Caṇḍāla, or receives presents from him, becomes an outcast. But if he does it intentionally, he becomes equal to a Caṇḍāla.”’

Do. (2.4.13).—‘The rule regarding intercourse with a woman of the Caṇḍāla caste is that the man should perform the penance of Atikṛcchra and Cāndrāyaṇa.’

Vaśiṣṭha (23.41).—‘The penance for intercourse with a woman of the Caṇḍāla caste is that he shall subsist during a -month on water only and constantly repeat the Śuddhavatī verses;—or he may go to bathe with the priests at the conclusion of the Aśvamedha sacrifice.’