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~ APPBBDIX ••• -.
- Brief Notes 011 Daport&ll't Yarsoa -
Importance of D1ama - __ " ___ .' ___ •• _. _III
Q (FoU01Ebg) a atezulard. ~ ot lUe, is the tirst ~(ClCl tho
others are) those that are c1escribed 111 'the SNti. aDd 'the ~s.
'lhefefol'e, .11. twice-bom man, • is dert about the uplift of his
BOul, • abould ewr be amploJed in the same.-
III this ftl"S8, three things m'8 1qlortaut, the uaDilJ,g ot the 1IOJ'dl
W-~ • and ~-'\\t~~-and tM iIl'terpl'Otatioll of 'lhe firat l.i.=.
V\\"iJ\'~ - -ua. word is DOt to be exp1.e.inGd merely as 'l'Ul.es ot conductl
q S Buhlear doe.. b wol'd caD be Pl'Operlr explained by aBeoc1atiDg ~
the wrse .. i:iIl 1.109 uui 110. Acara I'8fere to that bJ which IDazt
atta:l.ns to the full spiritual nward, ill it lies the root"
end it is said to be the root of all Tapas. It is thus,
'ft7 ot life,here end berG altar.'
~~~- 'DeB1J'1Dg the _ltan of bis soul.' (Uadh), 'bell.viDa
1I111te attGr deatbt '(Bqb..>, 'who 1»0813OS88S regard fOl" himself,'
(Bull.). '.dond wlth t1::nmeS8, '(SaI'.), 'ot exaa1lOllt disposltlon,'
"' t\ h~.'YJ:fl' d~ (00.,.). I .... ,. Ii •• te w-teqlm*e it as 'alert about the upl.1ft a
his SeU.'
'!he tint 1.iJ1e is ezpla1u4 ill two -7&- '-'he 1cara that i8 cpoted
ill the SzuU and the ~. is the first. Dhoma,( "f ~ ~', ~\ ~
~I..f~ W-~~', '}.~ ~~ ) and ' Aoara is tbe first Dhama end-ua.
others are those that are manUoned in the ~l'Ut1 and the &Drtis •. '
" • _f. ~ r~'~"'~~', ~~ ~\ ~'~~1~ ~~ ~l.\-t...\ t.~~ ~'~)
I acoept the secolld interpretation because, U. first states that
Acara is the best of Dharmase But that is not the only Dharma. All Dharmas f
are explained in Sruti and the Smrtis. 'Ibis vlill also explain away the' ~-
in i2h, tirst interpretatione Buhler becomes rather phantastic with 'whether'
tor ' ~ '.
II.l.Know that to be the Dharma vmch is ever 'NzQ'rbrplxiCI practised by the
learned 'Who are noblo, end devoid ot likes end dislikes, and that 1s
granted (as true ) by the heart.
The purpose ot the verse is to give a very much general detinition ot lc-\ - .
as Vir. rightly notes. Its evidence is twofold. (i) What learned men strictly follow and (ii) what the noble ones tollow vr.i.thout hatred or
attachment as a result of genuine inspiration ot the heart.
'!be second explanation does !lot go against the tirst or against the
authority ot the Vedas because the inspiration of a noble man's heart
will ,due to the heritage of religion and cult;.;.re, be in accord with the
word of the Veda.a. It is not 'that which noble men glorify' as ~'"
will explain with ~12-4"~->l ,'Dharma is that which when tIone is praised
by good men learned in the Scriptures.'
11.6. DlIuzuxfimt "'!he whole of the Vedic literature is the root ot Dh8l'll18.t
(vmile the other sources are) the Smrtis and the character ot thone who ~
know them, in addition Co the conduct of the noble ones and the genuine
satisfaction of the inner Selt."
Dharma finds its flllthority in the mole of the Veda,(~~Co\~·' ~.,) I
which should naturally mean the Vedas end 5astras all together. It « is
interesting to note that the ~~~ are nowhere mentioned as an
authority. 'lbey are, it seems, included in the Sm~i.s becaus~ they are
the works of individuals on independent topics. The word is nicely tranf
lated as'tradition' by Bub. liut, under the word he gives no ·explanation.
It should mean the compositions of the sutras and the Sm~is that follol
the Vedas and come as a great heritage by tradition.
~~ and W-cn,need to be clearly distinguished. Bub. is not cp1.te
satisfactory when he translate. the 1'iOrd as 'conduct' and 'customs,' (2) ~
I I
....
tollonng .t1ar. quoted by Kull., should better mean '1deal of lite,' and
11\-61, should mean 'custom&.ry conduct,' where • customary', 17.1.11 mean
that wlu.ch folloVls the Vedas 'the Jhrtis etc. ,
w,~: ~ ~-, In these mrde, M. is rather rewluticanary emd bold
in this statement. "lhe genuine sat1af'a:!9tion of the Inner Self', being
classed as an authority, gives a challenge to men to kll:O" what ones
satisfaction of· the Self is and also reveals his confidence in the tac~
that the inner Self' never m1sleads men. 'lhis 1S a good proof os J[. t 8
inherent f'uth in the goodness ot mem.
11.8. "A wise man, atter properly examining allthis by his eye of knowledge j
should stay within (the limits of) Ius own duty in accordanoe with the •
I:)ruti and 'the Smrti."
~ 'the s.istras t (-edh., Gov., Ku1l.), 'Institutes 01' M&nU,{Nar.)
'!heBe different authorities,{Nan.)Really the 'lOrds should mean the
'nlrious authorities or Dhanna that are mentioned so far, inoludJ.ng the
genuine satisfaction of the inner Self. In this Terse, M. explains to
man how he should f'ix hi s own Dha.rma..
• '!his is wrongly understood by Medh. and &111. as
'with the help of gnmmar,mimansa, etc,'. In reality, M. wants to
emphasise the necessity of real knowledge whi.oh is iobe h.i.e;hest purpose
or Dharma.~.,"f ~s thus u8ed 1n i'&s philosophical sense here.
It should be noted i;hai; knowledge of 'the Self is gree;cly emphasises
-ai; several places and eo, for cons:tiltency, we uneeretand it thus.
U.9. "Only ui iO.4J.ow~ng the Dharma that rises from ~~ and '~'~5"~ J
man attains to tame in this world and unpanlleled haPl'inese
Emphasis is laid on the twotold reward ot Dharma. It is the
, succesS and glory 01' -;;h.::,s life and unique happiness in the life
hereafter. ' ~,1>.. ~,~ ~. does not mean only ;.~.e attain
ment ot Swarga etc., as Kull. etc., lay down. It can mean'rnd
(3)
11.11.
11.12.
11.13.
and it should mean ~"1'')..~,::r , which is the reward that at M.
promises for kta the religious actions and righteousness •
I' That tWice-born man 'Whet dl.sregards these! sources by eliherence to
logic , should be outsted from their company by the wise as an atheist
and abuser or the Vedas."
The word ~~ meand • lacking in fai~h • in the revelation
of God through "&he Vedic 1i "&erature or , lacking in tal. ~h in the
existence of God. 'Ibis is directed agianst the ]Sauddhas it seems.
'.Lbe word ~"\~~-u...\~ is directed against the metarialists known to
him. The compoatte meaning given by Medh. is not fully em:p1a1nat ory,
though ~he best in the commentators •
" '!be Vedas , the Sm~is , good conduct in life and tho genuine
good of once 8e1t- '!bese four are the direct indicatJ.ons or sources
Dhanna • I'
the semel as ~-\ \,,~'" -; ~'CL"
be almost a repeti"&ion of II. 6.
should be understo04 tOfe the
in II. 6. '!ben "&he verse will
"jor -':;ho1*e who a.o \levoiu of a .... acnmen1. to Arth and !Cama the
knowledge of Duenna is laid down. And for tnose who anxiously
enqUJ.re J.nto wha~ Dhanna J.s, "&he greatest authour~ty ~s "&he Vedas."
The verse is Claim&lfo explain more than i"& actually does.
UJhen 3.t 3.S 1aJ.d Soml 'that co;;~\<i\~_ is only for those 'who
not attached to ( ~"'\'"C"" ) Ar"&ha and lCama , it does no"&
mean l.ha1i • the exhorta~ion "&0 learn "&he secred iIae law apphes tc
those only who do not p+rsue WORldly objects t • as Gov.,Kul1.,
Sar. etc,. belJ.eve •
, ')J,c....$.-J. t 3.S no"& -y,'-'\O"\
(4)
PursUJ.ng the worldly objec"&s J.S n01i bad,
"" , Wba1i 1.-1; means is l.ha"& man should p,rsue
11.16.
r.hase T.WO , buT. BOt as "&ha final or T.he only aim l.n life. rus
explanation comes in accord with 11.9, laying down a twofold pUl'pose,s
. of Dharma. Rel!Hling 'I1.I.I,h IV. 170, we co~e "&0 T.he seme conclusion.
" Only 'lihln man for whom are laid down the S~skaras beginning wJ."&h
the 'a\~~ ~\""' ~ ~ and ending in the funerol rites, toge1;her nth
I
Uan-tras , hes a rJ..ght i"or 1;he study of .. hJ.s S~asl1tra and no one else. t
I
Thl.S verse keeps women and Sudras away from the s-tudy and knowledge of
(
the Slasijtl'as. Tile j,':"gu" of viomen ;"5, we must admit t a little doubt·
ful. Both are not pr.:.venteu lrom "he Sluu.iujaaxlt SemSKaras • ihe empn·
asis claimea by Euh. about the admisBibility of Samskaras to women . withoutiihe t.ian;;ras is not the purpose of this verse t because then
II.ub ana. .x..12'7 wili be only spurious. lue main pu:..pose of th'J.s
ve. se it5iio lay {.lown 'i.he .l-l.ghr. 0:[ r.he suuay of this Sastra for those
males only on whom the Samskaras can be ped'oimeei •
lV.170-1'l5---
"'S:i-'; ve.l"l:les empua8~:'one I act, .. ha .. 'will give 8. goou let:lt:lon ~o "ne
moaern m81iel'iaJ..J.sliwo;;: lei. Dhm.ma J.S ... IAPV:" .. an .. one 'tIay 10 ... .i.'t.e ovm
~ak.e. '!.l"O sv:rio .. 0 Adha ... ma because Dharma fails man in the world ...
and Adharma b.'ings succesl:I, • is no"" argumcni. lor adhe,'ence 1.0 ~
Aoha:.:ma because I.he rti'.v<i..l'u 01. lma ... ma is not merely material and this·
worldly. Again, 'i;he 1ruH.1:I 01' 1)nanlla aud Auualma come 1i0 ~he -
uescanaan~5 as a na .. ..i. iiage. Dna.ma~;; i:lUre to succeed in the end and
Adharma sure -to ;;:~uin man , and eo t man should not run ar1;er mere
~t"" ,~ immediate gain. Here M. shows hi s great £tl1rl:1eB the wiml oJ.' ;'~.e man
of the world. (5)
..
I'.239.
VIII. 12.
VIII.15.
It In the other world I'athel" , mo ~htH', :,On anu wite or even the
caste-brothers will not be of any help • t)n1y Dha:::'J.Ua .. i:!..i stana by
G~e ';;;;'ue of man in the world. It
While in the previous s;;'x ver'ges ,Dhaj;ma is discussed from the
view point of reward in this l1fe, hel'e, the necessity of gradual
accumalation of Dharma from view point or the life hereUter is lai< .,/~
down. This 1a in accord with II.6, lating uo .. n ~ouble reward.
But it 1s not quite necossary to translate the 'WOrd Dharma as
'Spiri'tual merit, here as Bub. does, in so far as actually, Dharma
is to be followed-in this world in ordor to gain 'the higher -
sp1ri'tual mori'\; thali resul'ts from it. lIB
If Where in the court of justl.ce) truth stands obstmrcted by false
-hood, and its dart is not extracted, there the judgerare a failu~
The word Dharma is here transls'ted as • Justice ' by Bub. It is
better explained as ' born of the declars'tion or truth', as Kuli.
says. I would prefer 'to translate the worl as ' Truth' because,
in n COU~Of law tru'th and un'tvu'th approach facing each o'ther.
Out of these truth is 'to be detected. When it is not detected,
all blaim falls on 'the judges,. Jus'tice is vma'ttihey bring in'to a...
being as a resul't of lihe det;ctlon of truth. This does not nean
that the word cannot mean justl.CO • That meanl.ng is applied 'to it
in VIII. 14. In VIII. 12 however it must mean truth because
than only Wl.ll :.a. t be in accord with VIII. 13.
II When Dharma is d'stroyed it destroys us , when l.ti is protedted a...
it protects. La'\; not '\;herefore Dharma be dtstroyed and let it no't
destroy us by it'ts dastruct:.l. on. II
• 6 )
\~C\~ It is cmntended by Gov., Kull.,' and Ragh., that I thi s[ admonition by
assessors to a judge who acts against the law, I and ~"an. follom.ng the
slUlle reads c{0. in place of "': • However, the better meaning seems to \, It ~(.\ '-' ~e....
be that this is an address by the judge to the assessors or jurors, l being
on the same judgement deat, he -is bound .X*lgJC&lRJiHRliP4~_~I8IIgU
1l111pa!:SX~w_~J1U_lIIIIlmare:Ux by justice, while the assossors must
be bound so~ ._-
Duties of the Brabmacarin and llanu's 1ibeorp: of Education _--. _____ ~ _____ ~ _____ ~ ______ m~ ________ ~ __ ~ __ ~ ____ _
Dutie s of the Brahmacarin
11.186.
''On the initiation of the Sacred thread, he should be given the
vow, and also the Vedaa in due order and according to the fmxed rules.'
All commentators expl~n the word ~~ as 'of the Veda,' am the
meaning is popular with almost all the Sm~is. Still, in 14., it can e,n<
should mean a little more than the word is made to- mean by them. It
will better mean, 'the Vedas whose study finally leads to Brahman,' 0]
'the knowledge of Brahman that ~ is derived from the Vedas.'
lhis will be a. consistent meaning because, as we ha.ve already seen, th.
highest purpose of the study of the present Sastra is , the knowledge
of OCld, and naturally that is the knowledge that we get from the Vedas,
'Ibis word should mean the same in all the similar contexts.
" Bringing fuel from a distance, le"C him arrange it on a spot bighlJr
than the ground. He should ofi'er oblations to fire, without 8XlY slack-
-ness, in the mornings and thex0Gvenings."
'l'he tilm education of the ·student meant the education 01' the mind,
body, heart and soul. Here we get an idea as to how there was the
natural chance and scope pt "the dewlopaent ot "lobe physique. Fuel i8 -
to be brought from a dis"tance. l't is fhysiCal exertion and regular
exercise, and a. part of hiB education. Do co~llt<:.~.r 38-;e8 this I
(7)
fairly olear idea. Again, the regular oblations have c. spiritual purpose end
in addition to that, it has the oapaoity to bring about perfect regularity in
the life of the student, and this is also a pert of his education. q
1I.l'S.
11-207-
~CL~ " He should almys l his (right) hand uncovered, he should be good
of conduct, end well controlled, he should sit facing the teacher, on
when asked by the teacher to sit down."
Here, the word ~~-q-~, has three readings.
~~',
.... ~~~ ....... '~f~i'~
, Tl'8ll cO"l8red (Medb., Kull., Ragh., Bub.) . 5,
, well controlled ( ~ar., GOv.)
, nlert ( Nan.)
On the face of it, the first reading is to be rejected. 'Ibis is
because, the verse refers to certein parts of good conduct, and not to
the covering of the body etc •• ~&~ ~ 'concenttatiig hie mind,' is to
be rejected because the other two are the external fonns 0 f behaviour
and BO, the third one,~,,: is correct.
II With all those Vlho are superior to him (in knowledge,) he should
always behave as he behaves with h~s teabher, 60 with his teacher's son
who acts lor the teacher(for some tine) and all the relations of the
teacher."
'lhis verse evidently preaches the respect of superiority of knowlec:l
and humble recogru. tion of the same. But in the interpretation of the
verse, commentators have made a lot of confusion, particularly by the
acceptance of the reading ~~ --Q\i\~ • Asking ell the sons of the
teacher to be respected kJ as the teacher is too much and again, it
seems that the next verse eln-borates -the view of this verse and 60 it
is necessary that the reading accepted by Medh. should be accepted as __ ~c...
the prope.r .one. The two ~e.ding3 o.re,~~ ~ ~ (Kull.,Gov. ~\~~~ ,c., () dd d
Medh.,NeJr., Sar.,) anal ~~ lledh. which is a e
by him and preferred. The explanation of the first is threefold.
'Born by wives of the same class,1.e.Bralm1ana(lredh., Kull., Gov.)
(8)
'Who are virtuous,' (Bar., Nell.)
'Who are Aryas,i.e. born of the wives of the three upper castes,(Buh.)
Out of these, the first is useless. The second is a mere repetition
of the st.ement in the first line.1he third is in conflict with M.' 5
theory of education which "has included the Sudras under the Aryas.
It is therefore, qui te reasonable to accept the reading that Medh.
takes as the second one.
"'lhe son of the teacher, whether younger in age, of equal age, or
even a pupil in matters of sacrifice, dese~s the respect of the
teacher when he himself becomes a teacher (in place of the teacher for
sometime or in the As'rama himself as an assistant to his father.)
Two interpretations are given here. It(Vv'h1le the teacher is engaged
elsewhere,) the son of the teacher imparting instruction etc.( Medh ••
Gov., Ser., Nen., Bub.) and' '.lite son of the teacher deserves the
same honour as the teacher if he be able to teach etc., •• when he is
present at a sacrifice etc.( Kull., Ragh.,) Both the interpretations are rather inexact. I interprete the line
differently on the following groundu of' the correct interpretation of
the words of the line. which seems to be tho more natural prose order.
~X~~~" ~=\,.,(:U\,,~~ ~-su.~_ ~,~_ ~~ ~ . 'When the son of a teacher teaches as an assistant to hisi father or
teaches vice the teacher, he deserves to be hOllQured whether he be of l\
the same age or younger. Here the emphasis is on the natural
inheritance of learning and not so much on his being in his father's
place.
11.213-214- Perhaps later additions.
Manu's 'll1eory of bducation
~---~~~--~--~-----~-----~
11.107. l1()ne who reads or studies, according to rules, his own studies,
being pure and regular. hes for him ever' flowing da curds, clarified
butter and honey.1I
hr. and Non. state here that ~~~
indicative or symbolical of the jour objects of human existence, merit,
wealth, pleasure JDlIi etc. without explaining how. 'lbe axp1anation is rathe: .
difficult to be accepted. We c8\t, hOVl8ver state that it is indicative of
all material and spiritual prosperity with which man will be blessed.
~~ is explained by XUl1., follOwing J'aj., II.41 as ~~ M
but that is not exactly in the context. The main purpose of the
verse seems to be to lay down the great material and spiritual merit
that man derives by daily study according to rules.
II.110. I/(A learned man) should not speak without asking or when he is aaked
simply out of in an improper manner. A learned man remo.ins silent in
the ~rld even when he knows. II
'lhe purpose of this verse is to lo.y down the fact tho.t that the student
should be given higher knowledge only according to his capacity end
grasping power. 'lh6" e should be no teaching or advice without inquiry or
when the inquiry is insi.ncere ot improper. 'Dlere is no ground therefore
for the acceptance of Kull. ' s opinion that I A student should be taught
even V11thout inqu~ry.' lhe opinion goes agoinst the very spirit of Vidya
which was to be imparted only on the deserving. We may in this context
note one of the methods of' Up8l'll.shadic "each~ng mentioned by Ra%lade in hil
I Constructi ve SUrvey of the UpaniShads. I We mo.y elso remember the -~ .<.
wherein Indra persists in his dissatisfaction till the last.
II.113. " It is betterfor a knower of Bralmla to die With his knowledge rathe:
than 1mpert lit on a men like a bar~·en soil even in the midst 01 the
greate st diffi cuI "y. " '!be verse lays down the necessity of preserving the glol"J of Vidyo. even
in times of distress, Naturally therefore in ordinary times the learned
(10)
man teaches only one who really deserves. '!he ~pinion therec.re of Medh. and
Gov. that under ordl.nary circumstances, e leBmled man must teach, what he know -
contradicts the very spirit of the verse and M.· s opinions on the golry of
Vidya.
11.114-117. 'lhe verses, glorifying the greatness of the treasures of VidYa
prove a universal fact that under all circumstances, Vidye, is bound
to remain en aristocracy and there can be no democracy in it.
II.f44-147- Interesting contradictions are found in these. verses. lI.l44
11.114.
t"lls us that one wno fills tne ears with the knowledge of God is th
real father en'he mother. 11.145 states that father end mother are
superior to the AcUya while II.l46 states that the father vmo teacb
abou'& Brahman is superior to the geneti ve father, -No explanation ot the commentators satisfiesus. E""n Bub. eJPlaill
not quite satisfactorilj.
I am of opi!ll.on tha~ the real OOllt11ct is not between 145 and 146
as the commentators and Bub. op1no. lhe real confiict is between ,
144 end 145 and 144 and 146. It can be uplained by understanding
the word '}\ 'l&\ ?\ __ as tby the knowledge ot Brahm8n,' instead ot ~ :
a.s we do. 'lben 144 will 11 not be referring to~"[l;"1.:\but to a
superior teacher, and the conflict will be no more.
We say then that while the one who teaches about Brahman is supe·
rior to both the parents, father and mother are superior are SUperiOl
evan to the Acarya. 'lhis will naturally suggest the greatness of th4
father who teaches his son about the knowledge of Brahman.
" Vidya approached a learned man and tGld him that • I am your gree:
treasure, protect me. Do not impart me on the undeserving so that I
may yield the best fruit."
'lhis verse Blld the follning one lay down that there can be no
democracy in higher education. higher education will always remain \
(11)
a. matter of al"Ilstocracy because II does not want it to be misused or . '
exploited by its going in improper hands. He does not want Vidya to be
prostituted by its going in the hands of those who cannot tolerate its
lustre, vmo do not know its great value and so Vlho are liltely to misuse
it. Vidya increases by its goin~ to the cieserVl.ng who will-add something
of his own to it.
It A student who wants to learn three Vedas should stay with the teachel
for thirtys~x year,s or its half or a quarter of it or upto the time that
it is fully grasped."
According to M. the outstanding f"eature of" education of the higher type
was , instruction according to the capacity and the qpin t of" inquiry in
the student. It is interesting to note thafven the period of" instruction
is made dependent on the capacity of" the student to grasp. M. gives a
masterly challenge to the student When he stateSfhat the period of" the
study may last till the time that the student has mastered the Vedas.
" A man DaY study all the 'three Vedas, or tm or one in proper order,
while his Vrata /. of Brabmacarya is not soiled. 1ben should he enter the
stage of" the Householder. II
'!he word~~ in the Verse naturally means that the student studying .
one Veda, should study only his faihily Veda. stidy of" ~reet two or obe . .,/'
Veda, again is dependent on the keenns.ss and the grasping capaCity of" the
student. 'lbere is enough of option and scope for specialization as we can
see here. Much is malie to depend :t upon the will and the leaning of" the
student.
(12)
vanastha and S8IpnYtLsin ----------------------VI.2- " When the G:hastha. sees that body going weak, his hair grey end the
son of his son, or the ch1ldern of his children, he should then r retire to the forest • .,
This verse mentions, as a practical guide, the tim~ when the
householder can-retire to the forest. It denotes a time when man has
worked enough in the wbrld, and has done his part of the work well ano
more or less complete. COtlI'lontators create quite an interesting sort
ot confusion here. '!bey interprete the time thus,
(i) A man may retire to the forest on seeinB/tho son's son.(Medh.)
(ii)A1l the three conditions must exist together.(Medh., Kull., Bub.)
(iii) Three separate grounds are given(Sar.) I
(iv) 'lhese give a general description of the approach of old age.
(others mentioned by Medh.)
The fB:DrBrT first two are· not acceptable beC8l1se a men may have only
grand daughters at an advanced age, or he may become flo grand-father
too early in life and the three condi tiona ma.y not exist at a t;une in
the life of a man. He may become old and yet have no sons. '!he third
is a wise explanation and the tourth is th{oest. '!he emphasis is only
illustrati ve and 1. t lays down an appmximate time when men may retire
to the forest. Ohe thing is certain that as flo rule, U. is opposed to
premature retirement.
" He should gjRe up all the food of the village and all the retinue
and go to the forest either leaving the wife VJith the sons or taking
her together with him."
ThiS verse has not found proper explanation from the commentators.
(13)
J
iI.B.
Aiedh. state s that he should take ~ his wife With him if she eo
wills and adds as an opinion of others the fact that t But others s8¥ that
he is to leave his wife behind if OOe is young in age, but shall take her
with him if she is aged.' Kull. leaves her gping or otherwise with him,
entirely on her will. ralaviveka states that this verse shows that the~
was scope for even the hermit to have sex intercourse. All the opimions
are unnecessary. '!he fact that this verse proves is that the eife is not , .,
to be forced for one or the other decision. She Should of her own will
decide whether to go with him or not. '!here is no question of sex contact
for the hermit Who is expected to be fully controlled. It ~s left as a
test for the couple to decide on one or the other course, whether the wife
is young o'b old. Here it is that M. allows woman her full freedom alld asks
.Iil. -her to strive after her own uplift, like Maitreyi with her husBand the ... graat f-aJ'navalkya.
The emphasis II is on man's confidence in his self-cOntrol (VI.1) and his
wife's wi she
"He should ever engross himself in his self-study, he should be of
patient spirits, friendly and of a controlled mind. He should always give
gifts but never take any, and he should form a spirit of compassion on all
the living beings."
Study, spirit of helpfulness and liberality and non-aaceptance and the
heart expanding in love for ell the beings, ofcourse by slow degrees. is
all that expects of the personality of the hermit. Study id for co~ng I
nearer to God, helpfulness is for service of hoDOurary kin!, expansion
of the heart is for giving up bu slow degrees the bonds of the earth and
widening of man's vision. ~atural.ly it shows that theheI'll1t sevens his .. Self from the mrld by slow degrees and comes nearer to God that way.
(14)
VI.23-26.
VI.32.
~s.eening of ones needs, simple food, drying up of the bidy and
a gradual increase in Tapas are the most important things stated It '\ . . . about the hermit in these verses and so it is proved that the stage
is that of slow but sure breaking rilf. all the worldly ties, and a slow
but sure appeoach towards the Divine. as the first stage i. that of
prepara.tisn for the second and the last stages. The practices of 'the
stage of the Householder are to be given up only in a slow process.
'lhe hermit should observe these and other rules while he stays in I
the forest and he should read the 8rutis of the various types like
the Up.anisads for the realization of his own Self. It
'lhis verse lays down the great importence of the Upanishads for he
the hermit where M. grants the fa.ct tha.t '\"\,~S\~fu~comes by the
study of these philosophies. Naturally this must refer to a time
when the sutras of evon i%.dara~a are not very much pupolar.
"Or he should walk in the north~western quarter with sure end firm
steps end continue to do so till the body falls down while he is
bent upon the reali zation of God and he eats only wind and water."
'Dlis verse lays diwn another and It more difficult way of the
acceptance of the life of the hwrmit. Naturally it will apply only
to those who have realiaed Uoksa as the highest purpose of the life
of man. '!he 'WON~~ need not therefore be taken in the sense of
'intent upon the practice of Yoga as Gov., Kull., Sara and iiagh. dOe .,. .. A Srehmana who abandons his body by one of these modes gets above
sorrow and pain and is glorified in the '\'9Orld .f BraJmnan."
'!he main purpose of the life ofa hermit is ~ attain to the state
of liberation and in that ma.tter 14. has shown t~ ways of ending one!
life. '!he first is death coming by slow degrees when the body dries
up by ~low degrees and the other invmich the body dries up in no
time. The second stage is applicable to that man only whose developnent is so
very high that he need not come by slow degrees to the last stage. So, all the
. discussion of Medh. to the effect that 'the 1JOrld of Brabman is not the real
complete liberation.' is futile and out of CI:Jl point.
VI... " A twice-born uan who desires{to embrace Samnyasa )for liberation, , without studying the Vedas, creating soms, and sacrificing in the
fires, goes to hell."
'Ihe verse is to be treated as a general rule for all m en in •
general, men of average intellect who do not and cannot easily bring
tbe~r senses 1n control wi tlx>ut enjoying and experiencing the joys amI
hardships of life. It is likely that M. has in mind men embracing
Samnyasa at an unripe age. Otherwise, lil, has seen to the possibility
of men ombracing ~nyasa directly from the stage car Brahmacarya. But
he ad does not want it to become a general rule. This is a good a:tbk
attack on the Buddhists.
VI.48. It Man should not get angry in reply to one getting aug ry with him,
he should wish the welfare of the one who abuses him. He should never
utter a false speech that is scattered at seven gate s. It
111e word ~C\"h\~\t\ ~\J'\ i1 - has fi va different interpre.
tat10ns from the commentators.
c. c: ~ ~<: (1)~ ,~"\.\ ,~ ,~,
and ~'\5: q:>\m ., • (Medh., and Gov.)
(ii) Mind, intellect andthe 1'l. ve senses.( Medh., Kull.)
(iii) )'ive senses, mind and Ahainkara (Sar.)
(iv) elhe sewn l'I'Orlds' (KUll.)
( v) lhe seven vital airs located in the bead. (Medh.)
(16)
VI.50.
'!be first and the fourth are useless am on the very faoe of them.The
third brings in Ahamkara in an unhappy combination. 1.he firth is better , .
bat the second is the most natural because the seven mentioned here refer
best to worldly matters as intended here.
"He should not seek to obtain his food by (revealing) prodigies or
omens, nor by skill in astrology and Palmistry, and not even by the
giving of arnce or teaohing (the Sastras)."
Bub. has failcici to note the exact significance of this verse when he
states that ''Ibis verse which occurs in Vas,X.21, is historically
important,lpll!J;nu as it shows that in anoient times as in modern times,
B.ljlcetics followed worldly pursuits or were teachers and advisers to the
people." 'the emphasis should be placed on the opinion of flt. end not on
what seems to be a ~storica1 fact. Even if there were hennits mo were
used to follow the pursuits laid down above, M.'s emphasiS is on the
fact that this should be )IX purely and clearly honoprary end not for
getting any food or remuneration and so on. '!he main duty is to be awa:y
from the worldly ways and helping the people of the world simply out of
nobility of spirits is a personal matter which should in no way disturb
his ooncentration.
VI.61 to 64. These verses lay down several important facts. ihe most
important duty of the ascetic is to ponder over life and souli on the
attractions of the ~rld and thr pain that men suffer in the world due
to their own illusion. '.Lhe uplift of the soul comes last and the final
goal is superior to the· first purpose of life, i.e. the attainment of
success in the world. The ascetic has to attain to the state of absolute
desirelessness and he has to go nbove far above the illusion of the
vrorld and hence these recommendations to him •
. (17)
VI.82.
VI.8S.
"All this, that has been described above, is dependent on meditation
No man in the world reaps any fruit ~S'" B:et19n-without meditation."
and knowledge. tI
It should be noted as to .mat is referred to by the \'lOrdS' '~1-\~-W:~
Medh., Gthve,Sar., Nan., and Bub. explain this in the sense of all that
is stated in the earlier verses.
Ku11. states that it refers to what has been stated in the pre'rious ~ ,
verse.{~~~~~'~f.s\cu.:'O\~~~'\l\~ *.). Ragh. understands it as 'what can be expressed by ~rds.'
On the face of it, the last is a useless interpretation. The second first
is not quite satisfactorily Vihi1e the i:i:icD is far from the point.
Actually, i t must refer to the highest goal of the life of the
ascetic that is described in the verses of this chapter. So, I VlOu1d
interprete it as referring to the present chapter.
"'lhese arc the Dharmas of the ascetics that I have revealed to you.
Listen now, to the karmayoga of the vedas~yasikas."
here, tho real di1'ficu1ty lies with the explanation of the 'word ~mf~~S
~~~~\e\\. H. states that he refers to the duties of the ~"-m\~,,", ~
but then he proceeds to give a general discussion on the D:lill_x the
rel8,ti ve superrori ty of one over the other, 'Asramas. Commentators
with Buhler also try to find the discussion on the 2-\\~~~ S in tB
verses that follow, but their efforts are not conVincing. It seems thl
was a separate type of S~yasin and the verses
referring to him are perhaps 10 st, perhaps omitted by later editir
as he found them unneces;~ after all this dioauss1o~.
""Having given up the performance of ell actions, throw.i.ng off the
guilt of his sinful acto, becoming self-controlled, end studYing the
Veda to the full, he may stay in real spiritual happiness in the
prosperity of his son." (18)
This verse gives an option to a man to stay a,s en ascetic in the house of his
son and this is necessary in view of the fact that all men mo.y not be able to
gp away to the forest or may not have the capacity or the health to face the
-hardships of rorest-lire. But such a man should not be called a Grhastha as , ~ ..
Gov. tells. He should be an ascetic for all practical purposes and w.i.thout any
attachment to' anything. He should pass his life in peace of mind and meditation.
This is en importm t option allowed by M. and even when he allows the aso.tic
to stay with his son, there is no laxity allowed in anything.
Vivaha ------III.5.
~' ...
".' " One who is not of the some Gotra end not IIf ilTe sapinda of the
father and the mother, is the proper (girl) tor marriage (and all the
rites to be performed by the ~asthat) and for the married life."
Unlike Bub., we have to read the first line as followsa- m ~., ~" ~ ~~~\l~ ~~~\\->" ~ ""-
and the V1Ords~"\TST and ~~ apply to~,~ ~
and ~ ~., to- both, as the simplest explanation will guide us~ It is
not clear how Buh. traces double meaning of the word[ ~\\~ as ~2\~ '\\
and tm~ and mentions separate rules for .drnbmana.s 8l1il the
othew twice-born.
_ 'for conjugal union,' It is better to keep the v-ord
in its limited sense of • sex union,' rather than interprets it with
Kull., Ragh.,etc., as • tor the holy iKtJ rites to be performed by the
husband and the wife together, because the sense will be implied in
~ c~ ~ ~ , . ~<\'~~~, • ~'en. reads~~ere. ~.ut this is unnecessary 111 uew
of repeated statements about the vit'gini ty of girls at several place e
and again the fact that there were cases in which the sacrament could
be performed on girls vmose virginity IIfxsrctw was lost, end who
were even pregnant as the defl.nition of the ~, Kenina and. sallod}:
sons ( IX.122,123.) proves.
(19)
III. 7 to 11. In these verses are laid down the qualifica"[;ions about girls
in the nature of the prohibitions about the selection of certain
type of girls. '!be detai~ed prohibitions are, Social (5), fsmily(7),
medical (8) superstitious(9), practical(11) while the ideal sort of a
\ \ girl is described l.n 10
111.10. A separate interpretation of the present verse is necessary. 'lhe verse
I is very much complicated nnd commentators haw sla red no pains in
inventing fantastic explonations.
(i) A prudent man should not marry a maiden who has no brother, if
her father is not known, through i'ear lest she be an appointed daughi
daughter. (Uedh.)
(ii) A prudent man should not marry a maiden who has no brother or
whose father is not known through fear lest she be an 9.ppointed J.
daughter. (Gov.)
(iii) But a prudent man should not marry (a maiden) mo has no
brother, nor whose father is not knoVitl, through fear lest (in the
former case sh~~e be made) an appointed daughter (an in the katter
lest 6he should commit)sin • (Kull., Sar., Ragh., Bub.)
The firnt rendering is confusing ~nd devoid of clarity. 'Ihe second
has thi s peculiarity that 1 t seek s safety,~ the greate st extent
"" " about an appointed daughter in that she should not be married lest
she be the appointed daughter of even her genetflve father who might " . -- c::
be his 8agotra. The third very nicely splits up the ~rd~f:J\q:))~
as~ \-~~ • But even the last is not satisfactory because
it will not be quite happy to applY\f~' to the first clause and ~'U
to the second because they are in a compound. In ract,~~, an:1~~ aptlY to both the clauses.
• J\,dh to the f--'; ly because, if she i Marrying a ~~ l. S an.n arma W4U-
(20)
bO"lf'(") e. ~~ , the son ~ to her goes to her ratherfmd thai; much loss to
the family of the man. Uarrying a maiDd '\'Those father is not known ~
is sn Adharma because she might be his Sapinda 011 born or a low father.
Sle might be a~~, SVEll
avoidance of a ~:::\~
of her geneti va gather. Naturally all this ,.-. ~ suggests the 1'8,ct that the rich Dre in a
verp: good position in the society and the daughters of rich men bho had
no eon 'WOuld exert very great influence that M. is not prepared tp allow.
'!he inner meaning therefore is that for all practical purposes, a man
should avoid the marriage with thedaughter of eman whos~ .. is richer, more
when she has no brother.
I there for tr~slate the verse as follows.
II But a prudent man should not marry ( a ma1ien) who hEl,s no brother and
-whose real father 1s not known, bx with fear lest she be an appointed
daughter and he commit sin.
II1.23 to 26. Evedenr.ly enough, thiese give rules 'thali are confhc-~ing Vlillh
each other, and Buh.is right when he contents that when the commenta-
tors try to reconcile these yerses, theil'S al'e ' v~;ious t:ricks 01' -
l.nl.el'pret.ai.ion.' But'it is possible to interprete them without tricks
01' inlieI'pl'e lia .. ~on. It is very much likely: that through the various custpms and tradi-~ions, M. lil'..i.es liO t'~nd out; l.he besi. Vos~~ble cou.&. see
He, acuo:a.u ... ng.Ly, gJ.ves these four verses together. 'Verse ~3 seems -~o
.Lay aovm a general rule abou:t lihe propri-t.iY of '. nOli legali.liY , as Huh.
iil'ent>lat.es, .. he JlXX me:..:d,ages. Accordingly, the first six are proper
for Brahmins, '"he lasi; fal r for ~~a~ -:i.-ias and .. he l~I .. h s~x .. h and -
eighth for the Vai~yas end Sudras. Out of "hese again, accord..i.ng .. 0
c. "he vwenllY IOUl' .. h verse, .. he r..i.rsi ];'(1tr al'e good 1.01' lhanm ... ns ,~~,~i~.\~
~\\6'i\q- :
(.;.1)
, (-"lle t)Uu:l'!3.S •
for the KSattiyas nna ~-\\~
Va, tie .... ~ leys aovm M.' s }Ie:. ;;:;onal o!'.l.r ..... on ebo:..-~ vIle goodnes
01' ... he va.!. .i.OUB i',l.. ~Ills. 1ue 1..1.. .. s" "nree a,,'e I.ne be s" ana ~n lIne .Las.. 1,,-ve
line a ... 'e bad. Verse 26 gives a
practicl1 concession ~o line K:='6 ~:ri.1ab , in "na'1. '"he illin4·va , I#ue ~~
ana .. neil' L,X,,,ures are se'j, to be gooa 1"0, tue k~u".;',)'as. ntese vIas a.i.L01 ,.,-
eviutfnuJ..Y Decaus~ 01 the romantiC and adventer;i.ous spin t ofilue llsa'1iri~
lIl.~~. " 'lbat is called the Gahdharvo t"Ol.-a vi' mal ~iage in v/hich the g..i.d
anJ. he,' lover w.i.l ... ·~e O.l.l.LY wh.cougn mU,,;ia.i. des ... re. Iii is Voj,-¥ or pas~~on:
anu ,has gOli the sex instincts at its root... Commen"to..ilol'a have been veL',
much inllex'es"eu ~ll en .. e:.:..i.ng .i..nl#o d.l.scuss ... on wne .. ile:a: marriage-ceremony
is necessary to grant ane s"a·\.ous ot' a valid marriage to the Gandnal'a
form. We have entel''':::u in .. o a discUtH!.i.on of IIhe same ~nou~ cnav .. er on
V~vaha pa~i;~. Willi:! ".ue 1'irth L .. ve the writer has mentioned the gift 0
the g:rl ( ) and n~ura11Y lot is a very importan'iI
var~ vI' ~he lIlal·riage-cel'amony. No such ~L:ngs e.x1sl#s in .. ,he las .... hrae
and .. 0 in the G8ndha~'" fonn. As far as M. is conce ... ·neu therefore, no
say ;'ilat the neCe88.4. to" 01 "ue cel'ellOny i;s left to the ~e.rties concerne~
ine uendnanm fOllll iu 'i;huts aefined By H. ~,-;. ~ ~-; ~~~~
" ...... ,~"'-. ----.. L "l=\~'t\., ~~<T\~~. ~"<r~,\~', -A more union of a v~ with a
man for sex contect is enough te consti tu'e this maJ·riage. The same
argument applies to the ~\ ~~ and the ~ ~~~ forms.
Even if ~he taking t~ther of seven s~eps constitu~as the mos~ 1mP-
prtant of the marriage ceremony, may be called
more important because, at 1ea*t froll the view point of M. the ~
J
, b I mOS1i ~nvarl.a ly precede Ghe ceremony. That perhaps expllUns whyt;he
1 Mantras of lihe marnage ceremony are allowed only lon case of prgUlS.
(VIII. 226.). Here also the Gandharaa. form 1S val~d only iflihe girl
vergin , i.e. not marry to anyone else. t
III.145. " ('!'he husbaild)lilould a}Jp:&.'oach his Wl.fe only ali 'lohe proper iJ.X -
III.51.
1iime, he should always be fai'lihfull,o (1ihe bed of) h~s m.fe, he -
should approach her for sex on the days except the secred ones, ever
try to p~ease her and ( apPl'oach her ) only when she des1res the pleas'
res of sex. " , ~ interesting nonsense is here crea1ied by Kull. elic,. as also
many olihers. It is in the ~nterpreta1i.l.on 01rhe word ~~""'&~
Kull. states liha1i even ~n the uays o1iner "than line ~~\~ ,
man should approach hJ..s wife if she is, dilsirious. We will become mor
fai1ihful liO M. COnCep1i10n of 1deal relations be1iween husband and wlofe \'\~~: ~ ~~ '-
it' we put lohe verse lihus.t (",fu ~)L~~ mm.~~ c..~~") ~C\ ~ '71
~\7:\O:~\¥UL\,- ~~U\~~) %"~~\~~d\\d-~\ ~U\~_\ ~ '!his wHI mean
that dur .... ng her '7~ .... ~~ man must app~oach hlos mfe never
aga1nS1i her deslore bu'" only if and when she desl.res copulal,J.,on. ThJ.S
J.Inpl.loes one J.Inpor'iiant fact thDt M. expects man to, become fully fa:u.h-
ful 'IiO hJ.s mfe and ho expecli6 hw, nOli her liO become self controlled.
" Slle also ,",\\c-~~T- ~ T-~U\,!i,-\ ~, Sata Br.~
" Tne' vrise fat.her of 'i;rle glorl shoulo no Ii excep'l" even a small bI'lodE
prl.8e. S1i~ll it' he e,)('ceplis lihrough ml.serllaless 'Gh~s bI'J.de pr~ce, he i .. 1''/ II ~.
1S aCliually sellJ.ng h~s cb..Lld. ~ Xtxit ,
'!'tus verse red.lfJ.lih 111 ;0::3, 44,31 and IX • 98, proves lihat while
the ~~\~ fonn is sonc~ioned by h~m, M. 19 ~everely opposed
even lilving on woman's pl'operliY is a
moral cr~me. Here thore 1S no question O!' property oHtained by se111
(23)
women as· Sar. and lJan. p0l.nli out.
III.56 to 59. In these verses , M. recomenus to man liO be V1ise,pl'aCli.Lcal,
IV. ~.
IV.7.
affec1iJ.onalie, fei lihfu1, moral and restral.ned in hls re1a1;1.0n 1;0 ·i>he
wife. '.'[omen in the house are to be kep"ti l.n pleasure and satl. si'aCli.LOn
Tllel.l' curse can destroyiihe whole fanu.1y. Tne nobles-I. l.deal of -,
marned hi'e .L8 h)l.d dovm l.n extreme bnef l.n tile nerc verse (60)
where M. emphas.Lses the perfec"ti mutual SD.1;.&. s!ac-uon. Women are no-I.
chal.1.1e or pl.eces of property and ll. pays -iihe great-est regard to "tihel.
sen1iJ.ments and sacriiJ.ces. This is one oit the proofs to S1iate tha"ti
M. l.S not a farmc.Lous puriton about women and l.ncl.denliil1y also lihat
ll.'s·l.d~al of marr.Lage l.S monogomy •
" In normal hmes lihe Brahvl.Ln S:lould selec" and ~ live on
that occupatl.on vhl.ch .L8 no-~ prejudJ.cl.d or the leos"ti prejuo.1.cl.nl 'to
)1 O1ihers. 1li seems "tihat here M. records his opposit1.on "tiO undue and
unfal.r compe1iitl.on. He pays equally regard 110 the 11.ve1(hOod of
all. '!be ','10 rds Droha and Adroha are wrongly l.nterpre1ied by iihe ------ ~ commenliators. Accord.Lng to Nan. ,:m ~ r- 0
means ~,
And aCt;ordl.ng to all commen-lial.OrS excep" hl.m, ;a.1. .&.6 ' pel.n caused by
importunate begging .' '.".'e cannot unders1iand hOVI Nan.' s l.nlierpl-etaliic
l.S supported by the verses thali follow as Buh. opJ.nes. In fac1i it-
m11 be better 'to undersl.and l."ti as a general st.a"temen1i linel1i ask man CS\\\L"O _
nOli iiO exploi1;~. The gcin of one man shou~d no"t ordinan~v be
l.he .LOSS of ano1;her.
':;bo-tever be -the COl'J:ec"G rendering of u the 'words
etc,. one tm.ng .i.s cer't8l.n "tinat tr.' s l.deal 1.S grealiost exer"li ... on lor
the socJ.o"ty and also T.a!t.:l.ng as less from "tihe SOCi9liY asposs~b&e
f"or IIhe greai.eSli effor't. For anJ. idoal house-holder, hOtlrding ,
o:xplui-ii8 .. ~on ~ue ploh.1.oi-ioeu. He.i.s a ,"&X'Ue soc..i.alJ.sli ~n the full
sense of the term. (24)
IV.9.
,
IV.234.·
II ane of the four lives by six occupations, the other by three, the
third by tVJO and the last one by Brahma sat ra. ".
Whnteve; be the details of the six, three, two and one Karmas, M.
\\ , ~ here further guides the , nnd , by allowing them six, three, two and one occupati!l
ionrf>f all that are mentioned in IV.5-5, not 1.88 as Sar. and Non.
opine. The occupation selected should be in accordance with the
caste, because these apply to all the householders who are twice-~
and not only to the Brehmanas as GoV., Kul1., Nan., lti ta., Apar., Mad8.4
etc" opine, because M. has written these ge»tta1 laws with reference
to Brahmanas only and they in their turn apply to all.
itA man who desires real happiness should become fully controlled wit1
resort to full satisfaction, because all happiness has its root in
sa.tisfaction while the rewrse of it ha.s its root in sorrow. 1I
M. seems to know well man's m.ture with dissatisfaction at its root.
Happiness comes, not from. competition and running after walth as 118
see in the modern world wi th its mad race for personel power and
prosperi ty. It will be easy for a man who desires happiness and who is
controlled to become moral, decent, wise, in his life and \'tOrlC; not
so otherwise.
'" With whatever sentiment does a man give gifts, he gets them in
return VIi th the seme sentiments. II
The word Da,ma as exp1aijed in this verse, end all will not be JIXQ
properly translated by the word 'charity', end 'giving of gifts' will
be a better lID but not exact translation. Dana is that. which is
guven with love, respect faith and devotion- all of which will be of
use to the giver and the taker.
(25)
V.159-61.
V.162.
IL10.
U. allows remarriage and NiyogD. as measures to be followed in
calmnitous times as \'10 have already seen in our study of the problem
of Viviha. P.are, he emphasisas that, nonnally, the faithful and
noble wife ~\'c...cf\':f-Rr) should completely abet.ain from sex-life, i.e.
should not remarry or copulate by Niyoga and that too even if she .
has no son. Nonnally the pm ple in tho se days were very much in
suspicion about the character of wman as !:Shav. tells us in his Uttt. -. "
( A-' . ~ "' ~"" Uttara. ~~ ~?\' ~ ~ ~-w~x, ~\ ~,~ ~V\ ~ ~""; ), but with all
that, the ideal of VlOmanhood as laid do~_~an, in no way be under
ostimated even when M. allows remarriage, l-!oyoga etc.
" ~ret in this world, for a noble woman, there is no issue born ot
another man, no second acceptance, and. never do any (Sastrakaras)
refer to a second husband for her."
'Ibis verse, with some cbthers, l~s down that marriage of a girl
can be with orieman only and nnrrlage can be solemnized with sacred
mant":as onee only. • For noble 'WOmen, no sastra recommends a second
husband I can be indirectly interpreted to prove that Just as man ,
is allowed through lust, to marry a girl from the lower caste,
ordinary women, mo seek malo-protection and future support and
who are not seli'-controlled may marry oncemore when m. scarded or
''When the wife dies first, he should give to her fire in the final
rites and he should then IIIttrry once more and once more propitiate
fire."
Me specifically suggests here that his ideal of marriage is
monogamy. This becomes furtber clear when the verse is associated wiJ
!
It It is never possible for man to restrain the wife forcubly, wbile
t.hese are the -.ys by which she can be kept in p~er restraiJ1."
(26)
M. here gins a practical advice to men to behave properly and wisely
with their wmen. M. is not one of those who \1111 allow man all the rightl
o ver the body of the wiee. Woman is not the pro;erty ot manin his Opi.n101
Here, he states that all atteJapts at keeping the wife under restrain by
force or under suspicion, nIl be unhappy ani foolish. It will not be
enough with Vir. to state that she will mentally become degraded. She may
find out any way to gratif'y her sex instinct if she is kept under ,o,rce
. or suspicion. She requires a tully human treatment, love, sympathy, lI'armti
ani she should be given an opportunity by man to find her own secure,
honourable place in the house. 'lbe ways of' that are shown in the next x
verse that make the 'WOman the queen of her house with all the confidence
and love of her hUsband, and in the next verse tothat, M. states that a
mman is protected only if she is self-ptotected,i.e. her mind is pure and
secure. lhat shows again to us that M. is not a conservative . about \'IOmn
he does not hate her, he does not make of her an insignificant creature.
'Ibis will.be the Jroper co~tention even :m when M. statesthat mmon is
falsehood , in verse IX.1B.
IX.64-65. 'lhese verses .indicate M.' s personal opposition to Niyoga, which is
is not thus rejected by Y. M. lays down that he do~s nclt find anywhere
in the ~astra.s,znremarriage of' Vlidows and Niyoga. It is enima1 Dhanna, it
is iJIlq»ral. The vetses should beread with 57 and 58 to understand fully
M. t s contention in tm matte~. He finds that the very idea of the sex
contacs of the elder brother with the wife of the younger brother and the
copulation of' the younger brother Vii th the Wfeof' the elder brOther,
stilhks with immorality. It is extremely unhappy and ~.we in the modem
days will feel that regular marriage is better than this. Still, as a
sociologist, M. has shown his personal opposition to it and at the same
time stUlctions it.
(27)
IX.'76.
II 'When the husband of a girl dies before he has approached her,
the gLrl sl~uld be marr1ed to the younger brother of her husband by
tlu.s me~hod • "
nU.s verse is unemmously -liro..nsbted as reffenng to a belihrothe-d
husband d¥J.ng and she bel.ng approached by the youngijr brother of the
dead man for Njyoga. On the very :face of :..t , lijlJ.S seems liO be a
'" '" rnonsens1cal propasal. Actually, q\~ ~~ ~ "\~.,
Should mean the husband vmo J..B married bu1i has not copulated mth
his ,;ii'e. This should naturo.~ly refer liO ch1ld marr.l.a.ges. In lihis
circumsliance ~ t seems (.hat 1n normal cases M. allows only N1yogo. to
ch1ld w1dows marrJ.ed in the f:..rst four forms ,- whJ.le, for girls -
married Jon the lo\"!er forms regular remmarJ.age J.S allowed as \7e have
already seen. So, all (.he 8utempliS of the Hita. , 8mrt., Ap"ar. etc,.
to prove lihat to glorIa bethrothed thus only N¥yoga J.S open on the
dea-.. h ot'i.nC1r husbands, are 1nv~n.
II( '!'he wife tilould 'iJui li fa:!' husband) for eieht years if' he l.S
a.'\lay on a religJ.ous msslon, for Sl.X years 1i' on a ml.ssJ.on 01" s1iudy
and 1"ol'''hreo 1.1' he 1S ou" for fome or a love afta1r, ."
T111.s versa creates a real headache for -i#ne conmentators. 'the
real dJ.1'1"J.culty c'mes J.nlih:Ls ques"J.on, \,]110.(. she should do after lile
f- xed period :..s over? i-.1edh. sl.otes that She slould remain chasteas
before and she shOUld become self' supporli.1.ng. Kull., 5ar ., end )
Ro.gh. soy \.ho,; she should go in search of her ilusband attero3rds.
BOlin ,;he proposals ore foolish. But u. does no Ii man"loon~n "he
fo~~owJ.ng verses as 110 vlha" she should do after-wards. The natural
corro1aL'y J.S tha-(;slie loS free \.0 choose anoc.her husband. Han. gives
till. S VJ..6W and 11. loS -qt,n,~e r .i..gh1i. I-Ii seems "nali some 1a lier VI.i..::;T.er
(28)
IX. 89.
IX. 172.
IX.l'l3.
has onmriilled a verse 1'01'ej,'j, .Lns ,,0 lih~l~ • \'Ie eeli such a verse
ascLl.bea tjo f.!. ou ... JlQ~ i'uunti ..I.n line preSOn"li book, l.n lihe Smrli ....
house 1'01' her VIhole l.d:'e "han be S.1.ven to a wor"hless person."
~.'·!e have elaboralieCl "h.1.s verse 1'ullY ..Ln luI' cnap tjer on V~ vaha
and herre we have jus" ... 0 Sl.aue ... hali no other Smriti \1i':i.ter Give I
this vnse , just and reasonaOle idea.
" 'lba.t is called 'line Konina son whom the unmarried dough'Coer
creates secretly l.n the hOuse of iler :raline:.· and' ne becomes lihe
tjhe son 01' lIne man who I:l8Li..l.eS (;he &i-rl. "
'lhl.S yerse 'is :...npor"an'j, .:OJ,' one Sl.3"'OIDen ... :..n .Lt. It sho\/s
that even XI
IX. 175. It '1'ha~ ~ ti called line whom 0
\lOman C.1'ea..,es oy .['ema':'.L ... a.ge , be she "he one tiLl::iCa,Uea oy her
ilUl::ibaml 0 .. ' 1:1 Vi~OoW. II
'1'n.l.8 vet'se lays dovm ;'ne ex.i.sllence 01' ¥i~\lOVJ mal.L~aee ana
.. emtL, J. ~age in U.' s days M. seems to -ilole ... a..,e -"hem. He
rel'ej.'st.o 'lihe Samskara 01' rerlol'l'iage in~Lle nex.., Jlor~e •
----------------------X. 2 &3 In~llese verses M. l~lers 110 "ne supremacy 01 ... ne jjrlWIIlana
caslle bu~ i~ shoulu De nailed l.ilall any and every Hra.nnti.n ~ti no ...
SU,Pl'eme J.n .. Ucill benBe. Only lone leal'ned , ,"[.Lse, noble, moral
ana tier.icaable tew 01 IIde cas ~e dese .. ve -"0 guide alla aec';'ue
vue mm:z: au,,':"es OJ. ail IIue casves.
x. 4. It 'l'ue it anmana, .r..GU~;;' ~ya , valsya a .. e ~ileilm ee tw .... ce boln ,
castos. '.ine t;ud .. a wllO ~s~ne I.ou!-"n Ilas only one bJ.J. .,11
VlhJ.lu -here J. S no 1" ... I. vil Varna. II
~lJ.S Ll:l a very ...mP01-"tillu Vell::le tlh.Lch 1.ays dovon "nali vue I (' C. bud .. aj, comes W,",,~l .... ll IIue ~~~ anu so ue .i.s one 01
",.le lOU~ Al'y;.;.n cas .. es. rieing cU.LeI.ly 01 ... l1e laboul' caslle ,
"ne SUU.l.U ... ::> aeos.I:led l.1'om " .. e kllQ"iledge ali-ue Vedc.ls .( no"
ne .... 8 an AI"ya •
.x..!S:&6. In "neee veL,es two important statemen;'s a:re .I.aiu uoym
~hey are 'that -iihe moslI na'liural marriage is vi th a gl.rl of the
same caste. Nexl; come t.he marrl.ages
W1i:.h girls of the m2 immediately foil~ng cas'tos. The sons
born in bOvh -:..he cases belong to ~he caS'lie of 'the fat.ner 'thougj
r.he la1.er .is a l.L,,'ter lower. Uedh. sna olihers s(,l:ll"e .,hat (30)
i>he
x. 10.
X. 11 ~ 12.
x. 24 t Xi.
------- ---------------------------------------
l.he caSlie of a ctuld ... n vile la1.er case "ll.ll belihall of "he mOLhe
But lihl.s loS far from UK lihe 1;r"U"lih. Verse 14 Sliresses "he
fect IIhalillhey ~li'e blnmec1 tiU1; not excluded Irom "he fat.her's
cas "e. They a~e 1.he ~\\', ~.-\\~ .. 'nhl.ch I undersl.osnd as
fDlline bat''1eenllhe fo t.ner and lone IIlO t.her and IIhat proves tha't
they belong ~o .. he lO~'1er stra1;e. o:t" 'llhe father's cas'lie. Tn;;'s J.n
'terpre'tallJ.on olone can explru.n lihe reblorlih of "Lhe husband l.n 'the
vTJ.fe ( IX. 8.) though,i the 10Vler cul1.ure oflihe wife will affec1. ,.
" '£he se si:t are 'line 10\'7er one s - 'the l. saues of 'the Brahrun on
women of lihe .. hree 107!er cO-slles , of t.he Ksat.l'Lya on those of 'thl
tm 10\'7er casiies , and of "he Vaisya on tnali or '&he one i10wer
cas'&e.~uw
'nus verse expla~ns IlllX how \7hl.ch each 10\'7er wJ.i'e, a lower
chl.ld is UOl'n. The lower casile ..i.S eompara ...... ve. Tnus,the son II:
of a BrabrnJ.n on a K~~~:.:iya vroman J.S lower t.ype 01' a ,l3:.:ahmin,
on a Vru.sya "'oman stl.ll lov!er and not a l3rahnu.n and on a. S ... dra
',"loman , s'(;loll 1II0wer.
:;)J.milar J.st.he case l.n the invorse order. }<'rom all 'tihltS the
prJ.ncJ.plil seems ,,0 be ilhis. NeaI'er IIhe pru.r J.n cuI t"ure , .... bali'ller - '
l.ne pr'ogeny , great"er line Cl ... slienee be'C'!eeniine t.WO lower IIue
l.ssue.
" 1hxeu casiru o~e OOln aue i.o lihe iniia:i. .l.Oix~i.l:i.e of Cfls'tes ,
(.lue 110 p.on.;.o .... ".;,.ve ma .. L';'ages enLl also lIue 110 line auanaonmenli
01 oae's UUM~es • "
J.lL 0 ve .. ...,e ret'el'S f ... rs~ Of a.ll 110 an J.nller mi.x'ture of caSiies
\inJ..cn H. ha.s U.:. ocussed. J..'~ '-toes no;; 1'61'ej,' iio aaul .. (l:'Y as Buh.
(31)
'i'n.&.s ... 0 ,jhe ,reason v:ny uho PlohJ.D .... v ... ons .I.n .. he liil.l.ro. cuap"er Sl'e
The third reference is to those ... mo abandoned their
Srunskaras. Their children are also •
x. 30. " Jus-~ as ~~'\j SUdrli C1'08 "es on a lSr'ahmana .,oman a Cl1;';'lu 01 .&.owerr
On ~ne face oi .&." sl:lems unti v this verse will ShOil that only
SUclras come ...... ' -" .. •• :L "t4n';Ue Aryun fold. .1£0 ,IOI'd , consistently with
other verses should be translated as lovler and still .lower Suuras
a.l1d noi> Ananas as the cO!pIllentators , Duh. Jlll~y. etc,. con ... enC1.
x • .:14.& 45. 'nlese verses enumeral.e lihe Anaryatho i18.ve ,very often
x. 46.
degenerated even from the Sudras ~. They are 1.he fore~gn Col
classes and the -cr:.t.ben of .lower people who are not J.n cont,ct of
stands for
f.narya s.
"J~ tn the comrnen'ta-~ors , Duh. wrongly transla-ces the \"lOrd~ ~~V
as/Of lihe Aryas~'
x. 51 1;0 56. These verse rei'ervo liho sDd lo't ~Ifi' the C;\ondalDs. Tne condJ.tJ.ol
descrJ.bod here are vorse than those of the
modern U:3Ys. Huv "he ';:tjandalas should nOli be mistaken for 1ihe
modern untouchables. In i"ac't , in the Aryan SOCl.eliY oftue old
days, -ch.s1 group vms very small because the causes thai> gave
r~se ~o J.t wore very fe\7. It is a maliller of grea-c doubli whe .. her
to-day any decendants of these C~andalas e~st4 •
x. A4 & 65. Tnese verses pl'ove that in -the days of H. the ca.Slie by v~rtuo
and acnon s'tmll eY..:Lsts evcn~nough caS1.e by 0 .... 1'1.h has become
popu .... ar • H. here shO ..... ,S lihe scoPQ of 1im dei"ene1'8'tion of the
BralnnJ.ns and tho r~se 01 _119 SUdras.
(32)
x. v6 "to 68. Tnese verf:es moke a dJ.s"t ... nc:tmllon bet\'lOcn -.;ne Ai'yas and 1.0110
line Anarns. The :::OI:J.nCn';S .. Ol'S have under-s(.ood ... he word Arya
in "he senee of ~ne Brahnun or "the tvnce born, and 1;110 'word
Anarya in.;l1e sense 01' Siidra or Vratya. Dus eocs agaJ.nst "ho
spu'~ 1; of "the • I"t eooe aeaLHst1.he Sp.l.l7J..1i
h has been ~HIS pl'O pounded J.. 1.0. 1 -a." me
proved by us that even the C~and!llas are tm 10\"lest of the -
Sudras , end not Anvryas loheret·ore. 'Ihe \'r~de concep ~.i.on nere
sho\1s 'LoUll .. very oillen man ... 8 Arya or Anarya b.)' v';'J,lIue and ac"J..n
M. nas , on "ne olonel uand gJ.ven a 1 ... SIo of lIne Analias in aCIIs
44 ana L,l.5. flore he expec ... s ... 00 Aryas vO aVO.l.<1 ~on ... OC1; Wilih ~lm
,Anaryas, •
KING AND STA'lli. ------------------------VII. 2.
UI. 4.
VII. 6 & 9.
It Tho K~8~:ri"t¢ -"llO _b cerimoniosly made to undergo the
sfcrament of coronation, Bhou1u unCi~l' Justice and l-eason
proi.ec'i. ail. "nese • "
T'ne words ~ ~-t~~ shouJ.d moan '~ne sacramen-~ 01'
cu:;:'OI:tau ... 0u • (Nan.)and not' the initiation '(IJadh.,Gov., Kull.,
and Sar.) or I • " ' .
~~-.;_ ...... on anu .;ile rest ' (Ragh. t, Decause l.he
1e .; ~elr (,'wo exp1ana "..Lon will. oe ou" of co ...... ex1. nere •
This musi. ;;'nu.i.ca1.e "tl1a't.;n8 king. ought to De a "towel'ins
perootlality, possecised 01 exira oru ... ual'y powers and iUS.-",s as
lOJ.IO\IS In<11'8 s'llanos lor hero.i.srl, Mile £Or force , Arka 1 oj.' -------... ~tit~e Yama for just punishment , ~ for contwol of morals
Ae;ni lo:r hel:i't , Cdanara lor' a~i;:; .. a.ct.ion euu ~ 10r Vlealilh. '----- '--
All ~':..ese inuico i.os L.nat line ;'~.i.ng canno" oe an ordinary man •
He must be able to command fear, confidenco , love etc,. •
( .')~)
1
•
VII. 10.
VI~. 1~.
VII. 14.
OtH;t;iUSe a .. an·" 8 IYe the 1 ing' th 001 f d' . nh· .r u: loS e sym. 0 ~vmne power i erif "e<1
oy mG.ll. The other fact proved here is tha't monarchy tlas aUbolu"ely
This verse suggests hO\7 the king should.,be a compleJ.;e mas"er vi
hiill"ell., over powr.i.ut; Q .. ul;;;" ... una ODie ~v .,ake val'::'ous 1011118. .i.t~S
is a pl:'rlect piciiul'e 01 any 1'0 .. .i.;;JC8J. Heaa I[W( in any HI.tne, ~ll
nim ~m.ougu ove~ conlj . .rlence, as line eommentatol's saY.i:ua·~ eoun.,s
VI_ uti VII. 12.
This verse is wrongly translated by Buh. follwmng the ~ng
and • tiley are translated i.s favouI'':' t~s
anu uilose in disfavour. It will be better to understand the words
in their genvral sense BS Jones does. '.I.'huz,. ~~ should be
" , understood as"orders to be follwed, m~ ~ as 'orders of
abstention, I~ .
.. For him God first created the D~da possessed of the lustre
of Br:ilima, the protecta.tor of a.ll b9ill!Y,3 and Dhalna incoJ11:::::.te. "
'!be word ~ is translated as ' punishment' by B~h.
tho rendering is only partially true. The scope of Danda is much
wider and so it should really mean just what it indicates - the
royal 8ceptve - and surely 7\\.J3 1n this sense does not indicate
merely puniBment. :S:ven M. means much more by it as 'the following
verses show. (34)
VIle 25.
VII. 31,.
VII. 44.
----------~ -~----
" That place W81fe'6 the black Dando. wi th its re d eyo s move s . , uest):oying all scenes, 'the subjec1;s are no" under an illusion
if the leader is a wise aan. .. '
In 1;his vesse M. lays dotm~hat mere exis"Cence of' Dando. or 1;he
royal seeptre l.S no-~ enough. I,;; is inval.n VlJ. .. hou't a proper man
to hold l.t. The controller of the D~da mUSl; be capable,
conr':..uenan,;; , sure, f~rm and just,. The black colour of the
DantIa i"ts jus1;ness and l.mparil.ah 1;y, wh:de -.. he red eyes symbohze
power, cont"idenca and fear.
" I't is p'Jssibla for 1;he King ';;0 Jlldli vreild the sceptre when he
l.5 "n.se, well-ass~sted, folloVlers 01' the Sas"tras , a lover of'
tl'Uth and pure. .. Commentators have no reason .. o l~mi-" 1;ne sense of 1;he '\"lOrd
to purity' with respect to the acquistion of wealth'
(Medh., Gov., Kull., Sarff and Ragh.). It should better be trans
lated as ' pur~n dhnught and deed .'
.. Day and night ,;he king should engross iumself ~n lihe ~
conquer~ng of h~s senses because only ~f his senses are within
his control,t van the king cornnand the obedience of h.,;, b subjeclls
and keep -"aem in :t';ropcl' check. ..
PerI'ec"t sol1'-conlil'ol and a called mind are absolutely nace-_
Bsary for a king. A king .mo has no self control canno"t remain
pa-"ient , calm and rinn in difi'icul ty • Again the subj acts rill
follow the moral bellaviour of the King an(ls~' even \'ihen he is not
oound by the rules of liho s~a~e , even when no man can go 1;0
hl.mself a much Slir:Lcter code ot'laws.
(35)
VII. 56.
" He should select parentally faithful, leaJmed, brave, nobly born
and well examined seven pr eight ministers. II
WlIuku It is interesting to note that commentators have interest,
themselves more in futile discussions on small matters. ai"~~
~~~"'1hOUld mean well examined both in their capacity anl
faithfulness. This can happen in one or all the \lays that the
commentators mention. lhe more important fact is that the commenta
tors are not quite right ill their statement that ministers are by
inheritance, and ~. rightly translates the word ~~ tY\\~ as
'whose ancestGJ'rs have been royal servants.' All the big important
qualifications tha;' are laid down w~ll be nulL.fied if we were to
explain the 'WOrd as tby inheritancet·~ It .should again be notesd
, that these are ministers in both the capeciliiesas advisers and
actual working ministers.
" In thai r company, he should think ot the nomoI war and peace
measures, halting, rise, prptection and the sanctification ot his
gains. II
:Lhe Yiord~~~ is understood in three different senses as Vl
follows- (i) Army, treasury, town and ki4gdom ( Gov., Kull., SU., and Ragh.) (ii) the loss of his kingdom ( Medh.) (iii) Jtalting
(Nam.) '!he last seemstlbo be the best explanation and stands weI:
with the other wrds in the verse.
In the first verse, M. states that S~dhi and ~he reverse are
dependent upon the doota who is the foreign and the war minister
as we have already seen. 'Lhree readings are available in the last
r.:: .............. line. (i) ,~ 'q~ W\~Q,~, (Medh., Nan,)
(ii) -f~{U ~ ~ <S\ ~ ~ <:J\ (Kull., Ragh.)
(iii) "mJ\-s-~~.5l ~.r~t.(\ ~
(36)
(Gov.)
VII.123.
Clearl; enoug..lt, the/last readinG suits the context th') bost, but llot
in t~9 context hi '.-;h:'ch Gov. uses it. • by which men or relatives are
disuni ted.' because that will not be quite b the context. Actual.l; it
should mean • by W1.eh the united enemies are disunited.' tis will
be the most important function or the Doota. It should be noted that
Bub.' s translation or the lIOrd Doota as • ambassador,' is not quite
exact. nte duta had greater duties and he was the most important or th
ministers. HI! ax d
" He should strive to get what is not yet obtained. He u should
at the s8Il1e time, caretully protect what is already won. He should -So
again increase what is obtained and impart the increased prosperity OIl
the de se mng. "
lhis 'Will naturally be a good advice f'or any head of' any state at
MY time. The beauty of' M. lies in his very small pieces of' advice thE
convey volmes of' sense •. This is the sentence that shows the way of'
preserving internal security, increasing the wealth of the nation,
winning what is not done, and then spreading the vreal th so earned by
imparting it on the- deserving. The wealth of' -the state is not f'or the
king. All have a share in it, and particularly those who have done
something as a contribution to its increase. The king is not to be
self'ish, miserly and graceless. He can, on the contrary, increase the
unity state by Justly circulating the wealth of the country. Just
treatment to all, just proteo.tion of' all, reasonable share of' all in
the national wealth and so the public works iha-'c '~::;,e king mould ,
undertake are some of the things ihat are suggested htl're.
M. warns the king against on excessive f'aith in his servants ana
states that they might, at ant time, trouble the peole, take bribes
(37)
Vii.148.
from theil, and do all things that are immoral. It is the duty of the
king to look after that. He Should see to it that his subjects do not
get any trouble from his servants. ~ribery, corruption e'fc, ate to be
avoided carefully.
Oabinet secrest are carefully maintained in even the democracies, and
there is a defini"te discipline of the same. Natutally therefore,:t
it should not be a sirptise to us when we learn from u. that if the
plans of the king are not knlwn then only he succeeds in his undertakings
Even if tho king is in distress, no one should know it. In monarchy, this
becomes all the more necessary, particularly \7he,n the couniry was not
free from wars for a long time.
These verses lay down that there is no morality in wars, and
the enemies are free to create some difficulties for the kingdom. M. is
idealist in his outlook when he allOV1S, unlike Kau. no immoral killiilg
of the enemy king or fa.ud. He has a gnrat idea abou~ heroism in the
battle. Oertain types of enemy in distress are not to be killed, and
there is expected to be face to face fight. On the other side, M. has
allowed several ways of termenting the enemy. 'lbe reason is not far to
seek. M. is a practical idealost and so he has allowed 'these frauds
wi"jhin certain limits. With all his personal idealisn, ll. could npt
avoid the far developed ways of diplomacy in his days and so we come
across "these rather opposed tendencies.
VII.213. " Let him preserve his wealth .~o,r the times of distress. Let him
ptOtect his wives morethan his wealth. Let him protect himself more tham
his own wives and wealth."
It should carefully be noted that this is not a general rule for all
men to follow and so it should nut be separated from its context to
., mething th:at M never mo~t. 'rhe real~lanation hera is that mean wo • (38) ~
•
this is said to the king because his life is very much valuable and he is
alvrays in danger of loss of life due to internal bickerings that are bound to
be n011llal in his life. His life mieht be put to }.oss even through his- wife and
oases have happened in that way and so M. here advisew the king to be- careful - . -
il). self-proteotion. 'IHus, here, M. asks the king to be aware of his enemies even
inside his harem as a king.
Law--Gi v-.i.l --_ ... -.. --VIII.i. The king desirous of investi.gating the le~ cases, should enter the
VIII.;!.
court, in a dignified demeanour, "togei;ber w..:.th the r~1Il1!.l'l!3 ?Nl t::o
oouncillors who are knowers of oourt procedure and polity.
In this verse, the DEUa word~~... should be noted. It naturally
means that ,-the dress and etc. of the king should not be ~uch as to
frighten the persons in the court, but the word is not to be exPlained
as merely simple dress anI etc. The purpose of the king being ~,~~ is
that his externol appearance should create confidence in the parties
concerned and at the same time, they must feel in their mind that the
king is so very di¢fied that no falsehood will be hidden from him.
'!hus, his appearance should create both confidence and fear.
(The king should decide) daily, cases one after the other, which falll
under the eighteen titles of law, on the basis of the principles drawn
mth the help of the local customs o~ peculiarity and the ~astro.s.'1 ~ '\ \ "\"\ ""-
Here, thar words ~~,~ '£t.., and s:.\'~~L·, are importa.n,t. "'ne word
does not mean that the king is absolutely bound by the ~ customs
found in the different parts of the country. What i:t means is that . -
his roling in particular cases should be fixed by the usages of the
countries, 'lben it is not necessary to qualify the vrord local usages
custom ....1..4ch is not opposed to the so:straSe t as t the law 0 f V/lUo
(39)
-----~-
'Ihe Vlord!i\q:.~d-: means the. principles that are derived according to
1._ ""t ~~ \' d-\ -.. the i:)(istras. Ho.tunuly this vlill mean the rules and the regulations that
will find their basis in the Sastras and again, men these ~annot help to
come to a decision, ordeals are to be resorted to according as~hey are
laid down in the Sastras. The whole conclusion that we come to is that
the ruling of tho king is based on the local customs ano. the rules laid
down in the Sastras. Th{s means that the rules of the. king prevail, but
they are fixed under the chief consideration of the %Ix tro as laid dom
above.
VIII.4 to 7. * In these verses, U. 'enumerates the eighteen titles of Law as
his times and country gave to him. He does not clearly d;i.stinguish betweeII
Civil and ~riminal Luw. But the arrangement is such that they become
separate clearly. The first ten are Civil matters, the last eight are
citiminal matters with the exception of' the Law of Inheritance that has:
crept in in the latter eight. It should be added that the arrrulganont of
M. is much better than the arrangement of Y., Nar., Kat., andhll. 1bese
are, it seems properly thought put and plBJDled and they will include, in .
the modern days also, almost all the matters of Civil and Criminal nature j
V:l:II.10. It Do should look to the mrts of the king, being surroun~eC: by ~hree
judgos{V1ho assist himh while he sits or stands in tho court in the compal
'l13e v.-ord • ~'\-~ -, • is translated as 'assessoI"s' by Buh., . following the commentators. But in tho context, it soems tha;1i it is bette
to understand the word as 'judges who assist him.' 'Ibis can meen that
different matters might be handed over to different persons, the one
whom C. mentions in VIII.9, is the Chief Justice and the other are his . ./.
assistant. '1llis will make it possible for us to underitand the word
as assessors.
VIII.1S. " ('Ibe assessor) should not either enter the court or tell only
what isi;ruth, because man nt40,peaking truth or telling a. lie becomm
1 '1
VIII.17.
a criminal."
U.· s ideal of trtd;h surpasses all o-i;her id.eas. here, he gives a good
plece of <::..dv-lc~ tl) the members of the body of assessors. Hw wants that
they should not enter the court if they are not sure tlD, t they s can
tell the truth. The dignity of the court demanda that the,: shou Id tell:
truth and truth only in i;ne cour-I;.'lbuu, it should be noted that M. tan·
the assessors to tell the trbth even ~en not asked. The verse might
be a general instruction to all the persons concerned Who enter the
court to liell lihe truth even wilen they are not a.eked. No other
interpretation \'Tlll be suitable here. J.he important -thing to be notedis
that M. makes it binding on all, _rally of course, to help in the
revelation of truth in the court. flhe option gi veni;o the general publi
is that if they cannot tell the truth they should not enter the vourl,
while tIe option of not.., entering the court will not be available to
~.the judges and the assessors.
" '!he only friend is truth that follows man after death even, wllil
everything else meets destruction toge-I;her with the death of the body.
'!he verBe refers to Dharma and comes as a sort of summary to the who
discussion on the prevalence of truth in the court. '!he 'WOrd us~d in
this peculiar context here, brings us to the conclusion that the word
is so far, used in the sense of truth and not • justice • a.s Bub. has
explained the word. '!he meaning given by Bub. comes in the verses that
follow.
VIII.25-26. !'Jlese verses show that there were various ways of finding out
truth and the rather important way was the note of the external
gestures, expressions etc. that come over the culprit or the plaintiff
when asked questions. It should be noted that the 'WOrk ot the jultge 1s
not so much to see it the plaintitf can prove the charge as to find au·
(41)
the tnath himself with all tl1e evidence and other ways possible. 'lhe
important fact to be noted is that search of truth is mote impoirtant
than all the evidence supplied and so, here, the judge is asked to notE
'all the facial and other expressions of the man concerned.
VIII.41. .. 'Ule 'king should look into the laws of castes, countt1es, guilds
and the families and settle his own la.w, knowi.ng well the purport of
law. II
'!be verse is very much popular and it has been quoted in several of
the Snrtis. Whatewr the interpretation of the various words in the
verse, and the words' are not very much differently interpreted, it is
to be carefully rioted that the. law of the castes, guilds etc., are not-C\,\',,:>o\~\~,\ \ ''f\~''{\ "\
eib W)s upon -ehe king and he is asked to pay due respect to their laws
VIII.
c\"<' ~,,~ <;.'n~\c:\ ~~\\",w\"".e_'\~ 0,'" ~...-o."" ~(> ... ">.;
but rule them by his own law that is final in all matters~ 'Ihe king is
asked to ~spect their laws o.S fD.::. as potsible, 'but he h[is ('11 right
to overF-.de t}'e:i.T Iv:78 Cl~l~ do what he likes if he is satisfied that
the rules of thoseguilda etc., are not good.
"What has been practised by the virtuous twice-born no;:,. that he shaJJ
establish as the law for fhe countries, families and castes, is not
opposed ( to the word of the Sl~ti ro'\c1 t~;.e Sn~is.) ;
cmneistently with the explanation of 41, we ~10"1le here accept the ~I •
\
interpretation ot Medh., and not ot others, which 6ta;30S t:1e 'W7I'ee
thus, 'CIith Bub. also. ·-'fjnat may have been pre.otised by the virtuous,
by :Jllch tvdoa-born men as are devoted to law, that he shall establish
as law, .is it is not opposadto the customs of countrieo, families end
castes.' Gov, seems to agree with Medh., but he is not right wlBn he s
difference in tin i.nterpretation of the verse with 41.
VIII.72. II In all ca.ses of violence, theft, and adultery, of defama.tion a%l
h --''It -t I ld t be e ........ ;n .. d." asa~ ,Wl. neases a ou no ~ '"
(42)
-.~ ---------------
'Ine sense of this verse is not vwry clear. Buh. interpretes it failry
correctly when he states that in matters of crimina 1 mxttwxs cases, the
competence of the witnesses should not be examined too strictly. He 1'01101
Kull. But· he saems to be dependent upon the literal meaning~of the oord
" ~i\~~ • It might also mean, that the king should not examine childrotl
mld men etc., in criminal matters, but that will create a difficulty in
so far as they will be in a position to tell the truth as they will be in
the house and are likclr to know the facts of theft etc. well. It can also
mean that the king should not depend too much on the word of the witnesss
in the abovejmmtioned criminal cases and try to establish the truth vrith
all other proof available. In my opinion, the last is the best interpret-
ation.
VIII. 104. " When on telling the truth,' there is the fear of the death of the
Sudra, Vaisya, Ksatriya. ot the Bnihmana, there is no ham in uttering a . ,
falsehood and it is superior to trhth."
This advice of M. will hardly appeal to us and it is likely that this
verse and the other few that folloW', might be later interpplations.
VIII.117-123. 'fuese are very important statements about the proof of false
witness. M. specifically states that is it is proved that false evidence
is gi von in a certain case, the whole case should beheard oncemore. 'Ibis
will naturally be similar. to the upper court asking the lower court to try
cartain cases once more if the upper court is satisfied that proper '-
weight is not given to the evidence or the court has been misguided. But,
after the case is proves, there is no way to punish the man who gives
false evidence, while l.'l. wnnts to ounish him. Surely his idea is good and
a good lesson to us in the present days.
(43)
VIII.129. ,
" Let the king punish first by admonition" then he should apply
harsh reporrf ( when the crime is repeated), thirdly by fine and
after that by corporeal punishment."
'!his must apply to crimes, na.turally of ordinary nature. In cr:a
ordinary crime s atleo.st, M. goves the scope of improvement to the
culprit. Y. quotes him. To-day, Vie talk af the improvement of
Ii criminals and Bay that it 1s better tp avert the cr-lmo than to
punish the crime. l1ere, 1:1. does the same, of"course in smell crimes
of the criminal type. He alloVls man to escape vlith even reproof
first and M. hopes that the man concerned may improve.
VIII. 140-143. M. has in several matter" given options and here in the~ype ......
VIII.i53.
and amount of interest to be taken, he gives tnese options. He has
stated, in 143 that if the pledge is itself beneficial, he shall not
receive interes-'c, evidently because man cannot be allowed to take
double advantage from the same. He does not allow thecreditor to
exploit the debtor. We have seen that the debtor has also some
positive rights in the court as he la s the duties.
II Let him not take interest that has accumulated for mote than a
year, nor what is unapproved(accord1ng to the ii"stms and loca,l Uaagl
not- compound interest or stipulated interest, periodical interest
or corporal interest with out agreement."
I partly follow Ragh.snd Gov. both in the interpretation. 'lhe
verse ShOVlS the various ways in which interest could be taken and
also lays dovm that the interest is to be given and taken only in
accordance wi. th "I.he agreemett. No interest is to be taken against
agreemen"~ and iflihe debtor is unable to pay the sum as agrred to, ... ~
"" or ~he interest, he should get another agreement after laying do~
the pa~lJllent of the interest accumulated. 'Ibis brings my explanation
(44)
. it is known that sale of daughters· was a common affair in those old
days.
VIII.205. It When the girl is given in marriage o.rter declaring her blemishes
sudh as insanity, leprosy, or loss of virginity etc., the giver is
not to be punished."
'!his verse is important for jus~ one J"l!ITlI.B:r remark that t after
the loss of virginity the girl can be given away in marriage.' '!his
naturally shows that girls whose virginity was lost CQll be married
ceremoniously mthout any objection froD M. and that proves the
possibility that the girl might have lost her virginity due to any of
last three foms of marriages in which no Smnskara is there. 11 is • •
opposed to remarriage of a girl on vmom the sacred ceremony has taken
place, naturally in the first five Borms out of which, in the last, in
the Asura form, ~ere are concessions under certain conditions. He is
worried about the purity of the sacred ceremony which should not be usel
on a wido" as he opines. Here also, t:Qere are certain limitations as we
have already seen.
VIII.226. " The nuptial texts are meant to solemnise the nn rriages only of
virgins among men, and never to solemnise tho. marriage of girls mo
have lost their virginity. as they are lost :Crom the viewpoint of
the sacred Samskaras." •
THis verse is an important statement that has been much modified
by U. himself when he allows the sacred· Samskara for pregnant tirls
it) VIII.205 and o1so in the case of women \'1110 give birth to KanIna and
~ sons4IX.172 .. 173.) 'ilie word ~ therefore in the verse should
now in the nett meaning be undvrstood as 'girl s vmo have not been ~
previously by sacred S~ikaras." M. gi. ves due weieht to customs also
in addition to tho word of the Sastras.
(46)
J
Law of Inheritance
--~-~-------------
IX. 104. .. After the death of the father and the mother, the brothers gather C!."\'-\,,,,\\,\
together and divide ~the wealth of the father or paternal wealth; for,
\'!hile both of the parents are alive, they haw 110 right to do so."
We set aside all commentators and popular opinions and Bub. and -. 0
interprete the verso as folloVlsl-f'~., ~~\~., -q ~~~q- ~~ ~~ ~~c:b~q-~ ~~~~_\<",",m~,) '-ff\~~~~ ~ ~~~,,~\
,;\ 0 ~~ - Paternnl Estate- Except for Medh. vmo has a sih81e sentence
on this verse, all the commentators state th .. ·~ this refers to the
wealth of the father and the mother both, which are to be divided on
tho respective deaths of both~ " The 'father's estate is to be divided
atter the father's death and the mother's eatato after the mothe~' s .L.~
death" state Kull., Ragh., Sar., and Nan. and Bar. adds that ''lhe .... , mother s estate devolves on the sons, only on failure of d8l1~ters.'
vYav., Vir. etc also fol~OV1 the same sense.
~ __ equWY- According to M., the best rule is to divide the
property equally, though he pennits unequal division and gives all the
detnils of the same.
_ '!hey are not masters till both the parents are alive.
'!his will naturally depend upon the m.ll that the father has made.
If he has malie his wife his heir, due to minority of one or the other
scm or even other m.se, they cannot divide. And morally also, it will
be 'Wise for the sons to stay together till the mother is alive so thai
her svmtiments are not hurt. In some cases, it mi~t happen that the
wife might have been made the custodian of her husband' a ,.;ealth. It
might be that she is in charge of the wealth on behW' or jhe sons
~o are the natural heirs. Under all these cases, it can happen that
(47)
•
the property may not be divided iill the death of the ~mother, and,
generally it happens that brothers do not like to divide till the mother
is alive. It must be granted that the mother I s will may be done away
wi. th by the brothers, who cannot override the will of the father in ewn
the matter of ancestral wealth whildl is not positively distinguished by
M. from the other wealth. She is therefore m~-q)\~ limited sense. uut,
l3~rely this 'Verse cannot rafer to the mother's __ wealth because there
are the sisters to clflim it first and no writer ever begins his talk ,
on Inheritance with reference to the wealth of the mother.
lXelOS. .. Or, the eldest takes all the wealth and the others live as dependentf
under him as vll. th the father. II
The first important thing that the verse establishes is that sons are
fully dependent upon the father for their right in wealth, there is no
question of right by birth for the UwUJrta Dons. The next thing that is
to be noted is that this verse cannot again, refer to all the wealth
being inherited by the eldest son. It shOUld refer to that case in whtch
one or more of the youn~r brothers are minor, for, other wise, the whole
property cnn be diVided as in IX.104. lhere is no question of the
property being or.ned by him due to his being possessed of excellent
virtues( Kull., Ragh., Sar., Vir., Vivad.) and M;i.ta. need not then add
that such unequal division, even though sanctioned by the scriptures,
should not be adopted, being opposed to popular sentiment and also Vedic
texts. This explanation mll suit the verse the best because the mother
is said to be infiuentinl in the same manner in the previous verce and ll.
seems to be enlisting the various conditions in which man may not be ablE
to take to- equal partition. 'Ihe responsibility comes on him because he
is mainly the representative of the father in the 'world as the nex:t
verse adds. lIe has therefore to act the father v:hen the father is' no
more. '!his does not mean that J~e otherubrothers loso their right.
nxx IX.i07.
IX.ill.
" '!he eldest son is the one on whon he throws his debts end attains
himself to immortality. he is the only son vmo i 6 _ bo rn fo r anti of
Dhanna mule the others are born of Kama."
The verse is significant in so far as it indirectly recommends thai
man should have as fevi sons os possible. The purpose of mtll'riago is
the creation of sons and 'tha.t purpose is served with the creation of
one son whom lJ. ca~ls dhntmaja while the others are called Kamaja ..
!bis does not mean no creation of others but it definitely means a
reconmendation to man to have as few sons as possible by ptoper
restrain on the sex instinct. still, in the end it should be noted
that this cannot mean his right to havefor himself the full property.
"In this manner, they either stay together or separate. Dharma VIiI]
increase by staying separate and 60 breaking of the joint family
or dirision among the brothers will be better."
lhis is a singularly impprtant verse in which M. racomnends mgm-
separate unit familie 5 from the vievi point of religious actions u
ofeourse. Still at the back of it, lies M.' s knoelddge of human
pEl,chology and htmlan sense of possession. That the separate unit froniJ
system is - better suited to man is a mater beyond doubt and U. also
holds the opinion that we hold to-day in the modarrn world.Conmentatorl
-do not place sufficient emphasis on the verse. " Uatull'6 brothers
should separate so that more of Dharma is possible is a statement
not explained with enough emphasis when '\le are told " Each of then
has to kindle tho sacred fire, to offer separately the Agnihotra, the
fi ve great sacrifices and so forth, and h~ce each gains separately
merit ... (l,:edh., Kull.) For Agnihotra and etc., each one must earn
more , each should become self-supporting. Joint family pften allows
{49}
idlers; and that m.ll not De possible now-. 'll1ere will be more of
justice. Separate families are here preferred becOllse no one has now
tho right to remain an idler, all must exert 'and bring more, all must
kindle fire and win Dharma .•
IX.112-113. 1.!o~. quo-bes -~he opinion of 'some' stating that the rules of
IX. 118.
unequal partition refer only ~ past times, and have no authority in
kaliyuga, and rejects this opinion. The Mita. has opined that even
though allowed, unequa~ divisions should not be resorted to because
it is against public opinion. The exactness of these opinions is not
important. In M.' s opinion, equal division is the best an:1 in these
verses, he refors only to the usages of the various parts of the Arya
country known to him. (1·.17 to 23.)
" From their ovm shares the brothers should soparatel; give one
fourth to eaoh and if -~hey uo not cio so, they are fallen morally. II
Commentators allg: other Smr-tikaras havoplayed the greatest mischief
\'dth this verse. In this verse, \"ie have 8 .• ~efel'Elnce to the 1/4th ahare
of the Sister, unmarried in particular, and merely by the use of the ,
Vir., etc. hold -~hat thio is no-~ an ac~ual share bu~ i~ refers to just
monely enough to be spent by vray of her expenses. The daya .• states thaa; ~- .
tha-t ro-:.t 'ela.' proves ~la;; sisters have no claims over the property.
He is right from the 'Viewpoint of custom and usage but it shpuld be
laid down that M. personally wants to make i-I; a regular share am. there
is no question of marriage expenses being had trom the same, it is
a separate duty of the brothers ,mo are holding the responsibility in
place of the father. '!be l!.ita. catehes this rightly in II.124 Ya,j.
The Uita. quotes it, comments on it, and states tha.t the da.ughter is
actually entitled to 8. share in her father's property. We ahould confe: (50)
•
that the rule is not actual law in the days of M., it is not of any
obligatory character. But its value is not at all lessened 't'men ':1e state
that this comes as a personal opinion of M., and it definitely means a
shara for the sister, in the first preference the unmarried one. TPis
rule shpws that M. does not dismiss the daughter from the right of 'i
inheritance in the same mannor as he does not dismiss the wife from the
right of inheritance. The share has nothing to do 'With the defraying of
har marriage expenses.lt is as much of :ar share of inheritDllce as of the
son.
IX.125.26. Buh. is right when he states that theze two contradict the verses
123-4. That is the reason my UedlJ. and Ragh. state that 123-4 is an
Arthavada which has no legal force. Sar., and Nan. opine that they refer
to senior! ty of the mother in marriage as Dll imPortant factor in the
matters of inheritance. Vie need notenter into allthis confusion. Y. has
already referred to equal and unElqual division, the special rights of
the eldest son etc., and so, the customs mentioned in the 123-4 and 125-6
vary and both have legal force in those countries where they prevail.
IX.127. .. A s9nless man will make his daughter his son in this manner,' the
IX.130.
son that is born to her shall be the man to offer methe oblations."
'lhis verse shoVis that a sonless man can appoint his daughter as his son
and that means that after him, the daughter nnd thOl her son \nll inherii
II The son is like ones own Sel~ and the daughter is like the son. So,
till she is herself alive, who D else will take the v:eal:.lth away? II
The rule is 127 is here expanded further 1lt in the l!g general statemeni
that the son and the daughter are equal and so after the son, the
daughter inherits. The VlOrd '1~ , here, need not be taken in the
sense of '~?~, 'as the commentators do and we need not agree 'Vlith
MeUll. in his contention that if the appOinted daughter has no son, she
(51)
IX.131.
does not inhen t. This is because 127 sta.tes that if a man has no
son, he can make his daughter's ron hi\7 om while 130 states that after
the son, tho married daughter or her, son or the unmarried daughter will
inheri t the property. The purpose of the verse is not to debar the
daughter from inheritance or to give preference to the daughter's son
but it is to give an option to man to do what he likes. l1e may either
select his married daughter or her son or harr son only as inhermtmr.
Notmally it can happen that man may will to have a 'Stable male ancestor
and hence the daughter's son who is said to be an equal of the son.
-"" Whatever is the stridhana of the woman or mother, is the share of
the unmarried daughter while the daughter s son can take away the whole rI
wealth of the sonlle ss man."
ThiS refers -~o 'W~ , (I~edh.,Kull., Sor, Vivad., ~rti.; )
Dowary (Daya.)
woman's }mlm property from her father's family. (Hane, Ragh., Paras)
The VTord ,~~~, should mean vroman' s ~~ here and that only
because \'lOman's wealth can be of three types- ~~~~ ~Jealth
inherited from her husband and wealth inherited from her fatherls-
In each case iha list of claimants differs. The present verse must
refer only to '~Cc:\o\' end the other two are referred to by other
verses. In this, the first right is of the unmarried daughters and
then only oil the married daughters and sons etc. Kull. has quoted
Gnu, to support himself.
The second statement refers to the case in which man maj feel it a
wide step to give away all his wealth to his daughter's son when he
desired a male descendent. This muut have found many followers.
IX.134-35. 'lhe verse s refer to the great importance of the Putrikae A daughter
could be made' a Putrika by an agreement or by the mere will of the
(52)
---------------- -~---
father and that naturally shoVls that the po si tion of rich fathers must
have been vary strong mth reference to their sons-in-law. The statement
that if the Putrika dies sonless, hel' husband takes away the \7ea1th
mIl naturally refer to that case in which the wealth has been a.ctually
given away to her by the father. Then, the other sisters are not the
persons to claim it. The contrivance is cl~ enough.
IX.132-33 and 139-40. The same ideas are repeated, the reritition cannot be
explained properly.
IX.141. "The adopted son of a man, endowed 'Vlith all the qualities, definitely
no gets that wealth even though ~ ~ acther ~y;x son is born. tI
All except Han. read t~~\\~ ~~;::u~~w:- anT therefore give
confusing interpretations.
!his rule refers to that case in which man has a legitimate son and an
adopted son. The latter tdth all his v~rtues, gets fifth or the sixth
'!he eminently nrtuous son though adopted takes tho whole vieaHh over
the other son.(c..ov.)
We need not be confused in the interpretations of the IIOmmentators
and state that this hould refer to a case in which a sonless man ho.s
adopted a son inspite of other claimants like the dal1~l~erS , uaugh~er' 5
son ric. In that case, baing endowed \v-l:"h all ~a1i ties, he inherits IiI:
the natural son. A man adopting another son inspi te of having one will
be an except~.onal case am if ano-~hor son is born after atioption, \'1e need
but state that ·that he inherits vlith the adopted brOthe~ equally. This
verse loys dovm the freedom of the man concerned to adopt freely.
(53)
..
IX.15S.
IX.155. .. lhe son of the brailmena,Ksatrlya and ~aIilszm on a. Sudra ....
woman has no i'ixea sil8.re. lie inherits only what his f'atner
gives of nis own "rill."
It is surprisin.;.~ -~d~t eli to th nt t (~ accor ng e ~omme a ors,
the verse refers to the illegitimate son of a man by a Sudra
woman,(1.1edh.,Kull.). Uedh. states that negets no more than
1/i0th share. Bub. thinks that the son of a Sudra lias no
fixed share. Surely it does not refer to the case of a
son of illegitimate connection with a Suura woman. It refers
only to the regularly married wife of the Sudra caste becaus4
if she is a concubine, her sons cannot claim any part in
the property and the matters does not at all require to be
stated. It refers to the case of a man having a son by a
Sudra vJife and the pre sent verse lays ,down an option to the
general rule mentioned in IX.152,153.
" 'IWelve are said to be the sons by the self-born Manu and out of
these six are inheriting brothers and the other six non-inheriting /
brothers."
~~,~~,-, .. ' not heirs nor kinsmen,' (1::edh., Sar., Nan.)
'not heirs but kinsmen' (Kull., Bub-)
The second opinion seems to be better because the brothers uho
cannot inherit the property should be shovln atleast the courtesy
being called the brothers.With reference to the right of inheritanc
we will be able to state that as sons, they are treated only as
relatives who inherit in default of the nearest claimants;-son,
wi lire , daughter, parents, brothers etc.
(54)
IX.161.
IX.163.
IX. 1'75.
IX.176.
The \'lOrd , must refer to the case of six sons 'ci1o are
mentioned in 160 and not sons of a wife or ,?idow not duly appointed
as 1iedh. points out.
" Only the AuI'asn. son is entitled to be the owner of his fathers entirE
weal th while he may give to the re st bare maintenance to avoid clash. II
'lb.e purport of this verse has not been noted by any of the cornmen-
tators. The verse once more emphasisea the fact that according to U., right by birt11Jloes not exist and the father can give his entire
vrealth to the IUUrixmm Aurasa son as to the eldest son. 'Ille verse
does not lay dO'1:m that '~he o'~er sons have no right, to the property,
but it definitely lays do~m the fact that the father is free to ~ve
his entire property ilo his natural son and bare maintenance to the
rest. Then there is no necessity of finding out ~"'l meanings in the
, 'and if he does not maintain
tmm me commits sin, (l.!edh., Ku1l.) and ' but not, if they have other
means of subsistence.' e~an.) Again, the modification of th~1Drd
~~\)\~ as ~?\\s\LU.~=t.-n\~d superfluous.
" That is know ad the Paunarbhava son vmo is created by a widow
or a discarded wman by a second marriage."
This verse allows vddow-marriage under certain conditions. The son
of the. wodo\'l by the secodd husband or of the discarded vroman by her
second connection, can have no claim on:1the property of the first
husband of the mother, and the son of the geneti ve father by a
virgin Day get preferrence over him. 'lb.at is ~at the verse intends
to lay dow. He cannot be kno~m as the paunarbhavo. son of the geneti VI;
fathe r as· Kull. lays do w.
"She dese~s the :Janskara knovm a.s the .r'Dllnarbhava if she n still
a virgin ali: 2ka abandons her husband ana then comes be.ok to him."
(55)
This verse hns created n headache 1'0 r tl}e comments.iors, and, it must
be accepted that the verse is not very. clear. ~,rno is the Paunarbnava.
nllsband'! T.ile first case of a virgin w-..i.fe leaving her husband mus'!;, in
most of the ca.ses, refer to a child wife v!ho goes to another man due to
some reason or another. Thus, it is settled that when a child wife goes
to some other man, the man whom she embraces is bwaBllt Paunarbhava with ,
whom her sacrament should be perfor.med. It might happen that a \~man nay
discard her husband, go to some other man and·l.;hen come back to her
original husband. In this case, the S!l!'II'!Dl'IiXmnBPo1:~ original one
is elso Paunarbhava with wom she should be rem~ried by the sacrame~.
Vir. is not satisfactory in its contention that • remarriage is to be
penni tted only till the girl is a virgin.' Kull. allows the same to a
girl ~mo is not a virgin. Sar. does not. lbe whole case depends upon the
interpretation that is gi.ven to • n"''I\~'l'~ ~, '.Apar. is
very clear on the point it should be added. Kull has a good thing to
~~cfq' add and that is that • ~ -; ~,::£\)~ means I a Sm;nskara callecl~.'f}",~ ~ .• C.r
('S'"'\~c\'"{\\~u. ~~-c~\=\l"\ e~ ). The suggestion will solve all our
difficulties and help us a lot in our contentions on marriage and
remarriage of widows and disca~ed vromen.
lower sons in the paternal estate after the six higher ones, and, it is
to be noted that just as their fixed share is absent till the six higher
ones are there, their share ohicflY d~p~ndeupon thef father, who may
gi ve whatever he like s to them or nothing at all.
IX.18~. "'lhe ~realth shall belong to the nearest of the Sapindas; afterwards
fbe Sakulyas shall receive it and then the teacher or the pupil."
The translation of the verse given by Buh. is similar to (jurs. 'Ihe
Sakulya. should mean relatives allied by libation of' ''later. nnd that (56)
IX.191.
explanation is necessary in tIns verse 'where 11. ei ves a whole list in
general of the rest of the inheritors. Buh. is not right ehen he states
that ~ t Ragh. and Kull. are clearly under the spell of Y. and
most improperly transf'er into !lanu's text the ideas of the latter.' 'Ine
fact is, a,s we have noted in our study of the topic that in the estate
of the h¥sband, the right of the mfe is taken for granted more or less
and H. has not sep~pately mentioned it because he vmnts to keep the
man 8S free as possible from any pressure on his right of givinB his
weslth to any of the sons or others as he likes. U. in his own ~lays
tries to guide him on the riBht lines so that he may have several
options and he may be enabled to act in a reasGnable manner. The other
rea.son is that U. wants to make the son as far as possible, the inherito
She has.no fixed share one might say, but that will entirely depend on
the husbant4 It is really unfortunate that the statement referrinB to
the right of the wife in any is lodt and so the credit is given to Y.
by Buh., Jolly., :Jayns'\'roJ. and others to Y., for Biv.i.ng the right of
inheritance to the widow for the first time.
II If t~o men are in conflict, about the wealth when they are both sons
of the same vroman by different men, they get the property only of their
geneti va father. II
This verse again refers to the possibility of a ~roman havinB sons
by different men. It can mean that this might be due to \1idotl-marriage
or due to remarriage. '!he verse again refers to the wealth of -(,he
husband being in possession pf the \"Jife as a trustee. ,It is a fact
that generally the wifo get s the right of property only through the
son. but \ihen no son is there, naturally it is a iolly to state that
she should give it up to others. Naturally she 'gets it. It can then be
(5'7)
to hi s vrife as a natura! inheritance.
IX.192. .. The property of the mother should be di vi~ed by the brol;hers £1nd
tho sisters equally when she is dead. tI
Tnis verse will be consisten-Uy understood only if we grant that the
~alth of the mother referred to here should be VJhat she has go-I; from her
parents or husband as regular inheri tonce and not her t~?\\~ '. '!he
, goes to the unmarriad daugilters as we ,lave already seen, 'lhe
other \'iealth is to be divided equally and not otherwise as some of ;;11e
commentators try tm prove. The translation does not follow therefore any
of the commentators fully.
IX.195. 'lbe important ~h.ing abou~ ;.iLis verse is tha:li if -,he wman has sons, and
she dies durint:, -we life-'~ime of her husband, all her vmalth, whether
'W~ t pr other, goes to her children and not -lio the husband. The
real emphasis is on the fact l;hat -line Vlealtl} of the vlOman goes to her
children normally during the life time of the husband and no I; 00 him.
IX.196-97- In ~he property of the woman, the husband and the parents are
inheritors only if she has no issue and there too, the wise rule laid Mvm
is that the wealth of the woman marrie.d by the first four and the Gandharvf
I
forms goes to her husband al1d the wealth of the woman married by the rest
goes to the parents first and then only to the husband. 'lbe reason is not
far to seek.
IX.199. \I Without the permission of the husband, \'lOmnn should not hoard anythil
:from the common wealth of (tho join'S family or the sepatate one,) and ew n
from her Oml wealth, she should not take anything without the consent of
the husband."
EvidentlY' enough, this verse ha.s confused rluh. a lot. 'lhe rule in the
first line is quite reasonable, but in the second it demands some explana
(58)
IX.209.
explanation fully. Sar. and ~an. opine that this refers to woman's
property other than ~~ '. Actually what it /1m means is that
in the disposol of her ovm property, she is to be guided by the advice
of her husband "Tho is made a trustee of her property. 'Ihe husband is the
protector of the '\"1ealth of the wife. It does not lllean that he is the
o'wner of that .. real-th also and that he can use it as he likes. 'fuat is
not and canno't be tile teaching of M. M. 'WOuld be contradicting himself
if he stated this. 'Ibe other interpretation 'will depend upon the
interpretation that m give to tile \"0 rd '~\t-"L\~\~. She
should not hoard anything from the wealth of the joint estate and also
froI!l the mal th of her husband 'rill be the explanation. But, this uill
not be suitable because it is clear that the wife is to be employed in
the saving of money and its spending in the house as IXtll has laid
doun. TIle verse will be the best interpretad by the interpretation
that we presently give to it.
" Whatever wealth of his father, the father finds out, (after the
partition,) that he dows not divide with his sons,lIif he does not wish
it."
nightly aCcording to Sar., this is the only ver~e in M. that 1!lXxD
directly refers to the ancestral uealth and there also he lays down thE ...
extraordinary position of the father with regard to his sons. ~e weal:
I of the father s father is the nncestral estate of the grandsons. But
it is the paternal estate of the father, and his rights are superior
to those of ·che sons Iloven if it is no-~ so' and that is because he will
be nearer to the ancestcrr than the sons.
IX.217. The mother inherits the son 6 property if he has no wife, son, or
()
daughter or her son. 'lhe sequence that each commentator gives differs
from taut in the o-cher, because one emphasises one angle and the o-~heI
the other. (59)
--------------VIII.274 •• , A one-eyed, a lame or a similar man '\'1hen a~useu even ill matter of
truth, the defamer Shall be fined one Karshapolla atleast."
VIII.275.
~. refers to three ;;ypes of cases of defm;.a'tion. That case in which
an abuse is given in such a manner that tho person abused gets hurt
emo~ionally. Abuse referring to something that is false and Dbuse
referr:,ne; '~o something ·~ha.t is iirue aPo the two types here. The third
type is the reference to some natural defect ~ch men referred to
mIl naturally hurt the sentiments of the person abused. In all the
cases, corporeal or oiiher punishmon~ is laid down. But it should be
noted that M. punishes the crime and mUxDll pays no compenaation to
the person that is abised. lIe does "lnot think tha~ his sentiments
so hurt are satiated by thi s monetary compensation, as our modern lati
does •
• t If a man defames his wi'mother, father, wife, brother, son or ~
teacher and one \'lho gi YO S no -rra.y to hi s teache r, shall be finod 100."
'1'he verso is significant in so ~ar as it includes 'the good and
'\'1ise treatmenii of the family members also. Even ;;hough iihe cases of
fomily members going to court against each oJliher on matters of
defamation will ~e very ievm, nay rare, still iaw mus\; ~avei;he
provision and M. has laid it down. But the commentators have discus,
matters in which they lose the real purport of the verse. KUll.
complains that it layd down the same punishment for the abuse of all
The word t ~\,\\\~ t is variously explained as ' defames by
causing dissension,' (medh.), accuses of a heinous crime,{Gov.,Kull
Ragll.), Accuses of incest{Sar.), makes them angry,{nen.). Again,
they give further modifications. Vir. states that the brother referr
to CM be only tho elder brother, and the same is the idea of :lita. (60)
,
wd Vyav. Again, '00 are t old that this refers to the wife rlhen she
is abised onl~r Iitk% v!hen innocent and other even "men they are e;uilty. ~ .. ....,..
Surely we do not find this explanation or modifica.tion in the verse
and we have no other t'eason to accept this contention. 'Ihe advice to th~
man is that he should at all costs avoid cases of clash \iith the
menbers of the fmnily and a~s,e of the kind that \,1.11 force them to go
to court against :k1u him- Tne provision is laid down in a very ,Jise Vl9S'
and the mm.dification::; brought about by the commentators are misguiding.
VIII.2~9. " Ii is the order of l!anu m that the limb of the lower casto man by
"'" which he assaults the man of the higher caste should be cut off. 1t
It should be noted and agreed to that the punishments laid down by M.
are rather primitive and highly harsh sometime. It becomes more harsh
when M. bases it on the superiority or otherwise of caste. It ie quite
right sen stated that 'eye for eye and tooth for tooSh • is the rule
of the days of M.
VIII.304. " When the kip.g protects the subjects, he wins onesixth of their
spiritual merit ':Jhile he gets the same of Adharma if he doee not duly
protect them. It
The idea is based here on the fact that ~e custom popular in those
days was that the king generally shatged-V6th on the earning of the
subjects besides of course the toIle and export and o·liher duties that h
got. L\lt, for all this, the prir.lary o:uty of the king :;'s to protect his
subjects and to protect them well. It is his most important duty as we
have already seen. The amrtikara here, deals with the proble:n from thE . religious and spiritual point of vie71 and states that he vans the
sixth part of the Dhanna and idharma of the subjects by due protection .. or otheI'\7ise of the subjects.
(61)
VIII. 310. .. 'I11e thieves should be restrained oy three methods and carefully by
VIII.311S.
VIII.323.
VIII. 334.
jihe king, as by imprmsomnent, binding in fatters and by variuus
physical punishments."
The three tmys are similar to our modern ways and they must apply
to the thieves as they come under the topic of theft. It should be
noted from this that the thief will not be let out on bail and he musi
be carefully guarded. This can also suggest the fact that perhaps
the most common 116 JU: of crimes in the days of t!. was theft.
.. lile thief is freed fro1"1 guilt by being puniShed or by pardon, but
the king does get the sin of theft ob himself is he does not punish
the thief( that is pi-oved a cr~inal).
That the thief is free frora the ~x guilt of crime if freed in
the court is very clear, but it is not clear when-'II:I. states that
he is free of the crime ~en he is punished. But it seems that M.
'mUlts to lay down that if the thief is punished, he is free from thhe
penances that he should undergo as BnIlcm1 atonement for the sin that
pervades him. Our contention is proved correct by the verse 306 •
.. The m~.n \1ho stools !!len of noble family, ~JOmen tmfand the best of
_the ~ jewels deserves ca-pita! punishment ...
The verse refers to XUIlU':GL-":-~XQI1x. serious types of thefts and
so after referdng to the dj;fferent CireUl!lstances in which corporeal
punishment and fine are meted, this verse must refer to ca~ita;
punishment and not ·~o corpore.al punishment as .Guh. con-tends when he
feelS' rather doubtful.
" 'lbat 1inb by mieh the thief misbehaves with men tilat same one
should be cut off by the king in order to prevenJIi the JlXi:am: repeti tic
of crime and set an example to o-~hers."
This verse refers to theft plus hur-t Jlio~ho men wilo are deprived of
their belongings. It is blear that theft and robbery ate treated ~ (62)
· vO£O unC1' under the some t1. tIe. Tiley are not clearly distinguished on
in ~he Indian PCliul Gode. The punishments are rather too butx!l heavy, a.s ,Ie
have all'cndy no·~etl. j31.U; "he s<;r~c"tnes~: ~n pun~shlJ.en"t reveals the g:'eat
seriousness yJi til which 1::. looks at the crime. The oriGinality OJ:' L. lies Jon
this that ile expect.s the l:inc; to repay the stolen goods if he fails to find
out the :kbtDi' tiliof.
VIII. 335, " l'i1e c' :-, -~ no;c the teDciler, the friend, the mothe/r, the ,;ire, , "the son Dnd Ghc fDuily lLI.·iGSl~ 01' '~nc !:~nc a:'e ,to be puni.shed
( accosding to 1011) if the~r do not rcmDin \.' .... .;n .. n lohe llm~ ts of
'liUBS positive statemen-~fo , found a.lso in -::aj. I. 357, and
I" in no l. cQ:i:1J8in 'Gnat the lane cO'lld be pUll1sned by '('ho sene
IDX1; ~n all p~obablJ.J..I.Y he 'VlCS obove 'GilO" J.c'::; but ti.lis state-
ment is necessary Wilen T.:. doscribes a monarchical s~ate Ul
wll.J..ch "ilO lane; JoS "h£, ~L! ... 11 aLL.
VIII. 350. I~ne may oloy Wlt110Ut hositotion,one's tOEcher , (] child o~
on g~;ed !'!lon 0 ... ovon 0. lenrnecl 13rarll:lin i.L' tilej- e-C.-G£lc}: no
oS8as~::ins.i'
prove it otilert!ise \':ill be futile. Tne verse gives the
rigHt; of ~~ClI' l)~·Ol.ec-v ... on to any and overy man aGainst any
eVel"y mOll v;-hen one t·eel e,.-, ,. ' ,~na't one's L.1·0 is in G:;.'Gve dDncor.
(03)
D:~0&U1n; ~o J~ll. t~e contiition is t~Dt one Dust be unable ~o
::JV'VO oncSGlIj b:r I.li,)'-". '",U 1; chis needs 110 mention • Accorcline:.; to
Sar. tile asses::in shoiHu HO .~ I.l t ~ v,oundeu GOO Duch, but "ilis foes
that the tencher. etc,. are not to be killec1 if thG~' COr.le as eSf'.cs:Jin:
n. 110re g:,.vcs the fullest right of self protection to 011. 'l'hic. if]
he tbst:coys 8nd.mosit~r Dnd not "no nan. 1i o <Jurally vhis Y'_.U no"
.i.nyolyo the abovonentionetl Grave crilClc 'Tilen tile 3ral1m:.n tenciler is
killed no~ <ifl a .I~l'nh:-:J.in bu~ as on osses~in. Once mO.L°e tho p~oc;::'.:;,
.1': n. is visible •
"he punislu'lcn" OJ. L.OaLn. The ,:;'ives of all the castes anc1 also
othol' ;;il'ls tlCSC1'vC greatest protection lor all time. "
This vcrDe :;'S prn~icu181'1y oPvliCt:D.lO GO "i;he eDSOS of 1'o .. :ceco1e
_on or unrnn .. J:.l.ec1 2;..:.~ls 01::;0 • "'ilen 1.:. does not alloYl the bllinc or
the DrDI'U'lin it .i.s no :ll'.£.v..:.lezo ror him l)S .:0 ns\o D.ueotiy se011 .i.nOLl
f3~l.ldy. odlC punishment to such <:1 ~)rhlunin is OCC01'uo_ne; to 379 xttxm:
"{;non :pny:3~cal dee ... h ,. lnc :;>uni~m,jcn~ J.O~ .. 6pe ... 5 Vcs:y seVCj:e .i.n
I:. anc1 the resson in that he is no~ prcilorecl lor any coup .. om:i.se
in -"i.e r:1(;n;-ver <)1 tile protect... on of 'Noman's pu:.:'.!. ty and tOnet p_v vGC-
vJ.vll of the sacredness of mf}lTiage. ...l,l-.. el~- it is not ~Jise to heve
any COlll,i; ami.,e .l.,n tre matter of social morali ty ~
(64)
vIIi. ;;/11.
VIII. 389.
....;,~~ ... ·yt;lA.'i:>e lays (lOy:n puninhr.lent for woman "lith whoDe consent
a. man othei.'ilhan her uunoand has copula"ted wi 1;;h her. Naturally
i;his rn..i.l no"t apply "to a case in which f'orceable abduction of
the married '\,"mman has taleen p~ace and ..... :hich comes under adltl tory
in lr. as \:e sho\; in our study. It :;'S rightly stated by VAse
lawyers that provisinnsnould be brought in , the I.P.G. for
punishinfJ; an oclultereus 'l'iOman. Fartidulvrly in "the nodern
doys , ',7I1en consirlerai)ly ere8tcr leeal freedom has been :?;iven
to \':onan Dnd she is brour;ht on a por i':i."th 1:18n , whefilOuld Get
"t!-c; pum.shment fnl'l ~he court of laiT in adui..,ition to the cle;nantl
for ti1.VOi'foe that is allonedi;o ()O l>h in such cases. It should
bo noted ti1['t J~. does no·~ allo'\'[ the obQntlonnent even of a
fallen Y.:ife and it lS actuall~r leid dO'.m that after certain
, she should be "tD~:Gn bvck. Surely, 'JTi "tn all
harsl1ness , ~ . .l.~ • is propnred more for COnr)rOIlUSe and hu:mm Gl'C81i-
1:10n1i "than u8~n ta nodern cloys •
" The mother, tliC fother t tile 'J!il'e and 1;ix: son do not. deser-
YO to be thscorded 8"t vny~ .... r:1e. If r" f.18n abnndonos them ','1hen
inocent ,\'t~~ l:inC should. fine hin YTlo"'(;l1 600 • "
Cj'ill:.~ verfle deserves to bo understood J.n tile correct
porspec,,:J,.·;e. It ),183ns t;£1 t avon <Ol1e11 pl'ovod criminDls , GilC
t'~·CI~::".\f :c<,lo-Giol1s £lrG dOG ~o be discerded £lnd there is lJ·snl
pun.i.srnnent lor chscvrd:...nc; inoccnt relrtJ.ves Dnd it na·curslly
fOllo'\"!s ·Gr.et ac:;ordine; to I,:. ther': is spiL'i-cillal punisnmol'n;
for tLscnrdinf; c"l,ren "'GtlO crirru.nal one's. TiiJ..c; c~m 00 a very
\,' ... 50 p;~ovisJ.on pDrGJ.culorly i'or rn[HTJ.ed \'!onen 't7hen Vivvha J.'; a
aacrm:wn·~ end no G f) c:on"radt •
(65)
Miscellaneous Topics
~------------------Manu's Philosophy
---------------~-~
lhe verse praises ~. as the knower of the whole Greation and so,
nat.urally, the 1"l-"~est person to teach the presen-t suoject. The versE
aga.i.n, forms a. good in-tl'oduction -to lihe topic tnat follows;
'!he word should De prope~ly ,t -translated as ' existence,'
oecause now 1;he Ureat.ion 01 the world from tied is going~o be
described. Ku!l., Sar., Ragh., emil/Buh. ederstand the word as
, the ordinances 01 ·the SeI1-exirstsn., .... e., the Veda. JIl.edh. takes ax 1;; as ' ~eda or the presctiptive rules.' Gov. understands it as
, the institutes.' Burnell' sexplanatlon, 'the Self-etilten-I; systelJ'
is nearer to ,0UI" explana·tion, DU-~ yet not lully sat1sfactory.
t: ... r(.-..t==;-=--~ c.f;yqnTc\\,,\ \iO\fC 'Knower of the function, significance, s.nd purpose
of 'the whole urea-tion.' .'.
Kull. anCl Ra.gh. wrongly -transl.ate it as 'the ntes and "he natur
oi" 'the Soul-
Medh., Gov. and ... ·an. explain it as tthe ~ rites,' while Huh.
follows Kull.
r.s. from here, the account proper of vreation starts.lt is similar to
some passages ~n -the Saia. rlr. as Muir states. lbe descript10n of
the s'ta'te af~sa prior 1;0 Creation is rightly understood as
'absoriled in darkness, but it Is really doubllttul whether ~ as
the root-evolvent of the Samkhya is in the mind of the writer as tiB
commentators say.lt is likely that the wordis used in a general
sense to mean a state of absolute noth1ngness. Ragh., a Vedantin,
is surely wrong when he explains the word ~ as W1:\,
because mm cannot preoede Creation.
Yedh. and Gov. say that the aocount of Oreation is gi van· to show the
soope of the work and the necessity of its study.
Kull. states that it is a pa.rt of the sacred Law.
-(,(,}
Both are only partially right. We have already seen, in~the
Introduction, how the account of Creation together with the other
two doctrines is made 8 part and parcel of the work ill a very much
systematic manner.
1.6. !ka The verse refers to two important facts-
1.7 •.
1.8.
(i) God is ~t:.r~~ and "ls\~LR.~ • (l.i) This God manifests "\ ()
himself, 6irst as ~~c."1 • Thus G1-1i ]I is superior to ~~f~
in that He iS~~ and the ')1\~"-l is his manifestation ~ and
so, it has a beginning.
In his translatl.on, Buh. follows Gov.,Sar.,Kull., an:1 gloves l.t
accordl.ng to others in the Foot-Notes. In order to be in complete
accord tith 1.7, I translate it as thiss-'--'lhen the Self-existent,
diVl.ne, indiscernl.ble one, making all this"appeared (as the )
dispeller of darkness and with the lustre of the great leaments--' ~;-
In 5,6,7, and 8, God is described as ~~U,
both; an evidently queer description. Ragh. is definitely v~ong
when he unders1iands l\l\~ ~~~. as 'egoism,' Other
commentators are fairly to the pOl.nt. Our translation will be in
further accord with the 11th verse.
'Ibis verse lays down that the Creation- of Prakrti as in 6 and 11,
was the manifesta1iion of God Himself in a new form-- the =\-\\~
one, the ~~ one. That same God manifested Himself as '5\~f\"",
and so, though in a lesser degree, the qualities of God came in ~ ,. c-
also. Unfortunately none of the commentators emphasises this point.
. . C TheS\~ of God is referred to. It loB a reference tO~~r~ ""t Jt~
~~~\!f_Having thought. This is div~ne thl.nk~ng.
uiedh. underBliands l. t as action by nere though1i, independently of
all external action. 'ilie word would be explained betljer as • dl.Vl.ne
determJ.nationt • Kull. unnecessar~ly trl.es to make too much out of
tIns verse when he tries to assert that acc.ording to thl.s verse,M.
1
I.14.
~-)
I.15.
is an adheren-~ of non-dualistic Vedanta.
The ides here, and in 5-7, is more close to Yuranas, e~c.
~~ Translated literally KBX as 'waters,' Buh.
Water is the first Creation, but this means celestial waters, and
not as one of -~he five n~ • Commentators do not note this
distinction and hence state that 'the waters are produced as the
first al element only, but not before the great one and the other
principles.' 'l'ileir ideas will be ac variance ¢!l with the verses
that fol&w. ~,\", must be distinguJ.shed from the~: in I.78.Then
only mll this be in ,accord 'Vli th I.lO.
queerly enough,the verse inverts the order of Ureation ot the~Gf tirst three n~<;' ot ~-fu- •
It is opined that the order of Creation of the first three Tattvae
is inverted heIilr (Uedh., Gov.,KUll.,Raeh.). But no reasons fOl' this
inversion are gi vem. Buh. is therefore no-~ rlght .in statJ.ng that
thJ.s ne\"! mightbe correct. Comparing the verse wi-th the verses that
follow, and precede, ~nd particularly because thw creation of Manas
is mentioned at a la~el' siiage also, vIe suggest the following
J.nterpretation--~~ and ~-\-L~ are not strictly two
eleman-tis of Samkhya. ~"2\,-\"i\\ ,S\&, ~", menns the thoughts of Gcild
that gave rise to Prakrti. ~-=\ 3:::~~ based on the famous
Upanisadic pnncJ.ple ~ ~ i. ~ ~-:'L\\~_ ' shOUld mean
the CreatJ.on 01" Bl'aiuna. 1ne VI01'OS in the second IJ.ne ap)lly to h.i.m.
Tnis wj,ll explain I.15 bettel'.
The ~\ f~ \ ~\\"\\~ should' not nO\7 moan all the evolutes
to be describednow, but the three Tattvas-- \\t:~ , ~~ , \\~
Here, Mahat will mean Atma, an interpreiat.ion that will be justif.iecl
by the later versos.
'Lhe words ~\C\, \;]\\J\1\\ creates another headache. 'Vthat are -,hey
Five organs of sensa~.Lon and mJ.nd.(Ragh.).
,
r.27.
Those descr~bed ~n the prev~ous two VOl' ses.(Nan.)
Ahamkara and the J,·.I.ve subtle elements (Medh.,Gov.,Kull.)
We, following our interpretation of I.14-15 state that they are-...
Mahan Atma or ~rehmaJI, Mahat or Atma, Ahamkara, ~anas, 5 ~~~
-5"'< s-and ~"'\~ '-\. •
Vibat are the ~~~ ~ ?
Ahamkara, 5 eubtle elements, and Mahat (Medh .,Gov.,Ktill.)
Those in 14 and 15 pLUS port~ons of Aima.(Nan., Bar.)
r-t seems better ;'0 s'ia te till t the writer sums up the order of
Creation here, as descr~oed in the verses so far, and so, the
<> words ~Cn'i\\ ~\\)\\'"'_ will Det-lier mean~~ , \\~\<S\_~,,'C
, 5 ~"::J\\ ~ , 5 ~'tf~~ 1.-\ \
This interpretation is supportedoy I.20, 'V'1hvre it is stated ttai;
each preceding one is bet~er lihan each following one.
Gommen-liators, with the very much developed systems of thoughii
in their days, read later ideas in this earlier verse. Tne verse
g~ves a s~mple narration and refers i;o~ile creation of uods, 'who
are subjecL 110 Karma,' the 'hosts of' Sadhyas,' whom we might
understand as 'sages,' and 'eternal Yajna,'
~~~~~ - The ~ here is indicat';'ve j. ofi;he
continuation of the sentence s-tarted in I.21 ilere. We would tnerE
as an adjecti.ve to~~~,~ • It should
properly mean' Gods, who are, like men, subject to Karma.' 'Ibis
explanation will gi va a good contrast to the Gods from the elemer
previously created, which are naturally superior to them. We neei
not therefore accept the 1jterpretation of the commentators.
According to Buh., the verse here interrupts the continuity of
the text. According to Uedh., it is a resume. Gov.,Kull., Sara m offer different explanations. None of the explanations is
satisfactory. Actually, it seems that after laying down the importance of
I.74.
XII.S.
XII.l0.
XII.12.
K~., M. specifies, before cont1nu1ne,that the Creation in
due order is ~ndamentally dependent upon the five groos
elements of PrBkrti.
The second theory of Creation starts here. At the end oil each
~alPa, there will be universal destruction, and, on awakening,
God creates the mind which is of the nature of ~-' and~,", •
J.I·rom the ~tL nature, Brahmi: etc. are created, from the ~-\~f\_
the living beines. It should be an interesting fact that the
Puranas have confused here between ~~~_ 8nl ~~, in
their conte~:.~on that ~, sleeps and awakens. If we
,/
inte rprete ~\\"""'~-<T-\:~~'--., and as the peculiar
divine processes of Creation and othemse, the verse will suit
better with the previous theory of Creation and the present one.
The verse has been variously explained.
~~ ~\~~~ _ thinking 111 of others, a sort of
mental violence accord~ng to Gandh~ji. I follow Meuh. here.
~~,,"', ~~\o-\~~., - Adherence to false doctrines, and
consequently, the denial mf a future state, of the authorHy of
the Vedas and so on. (Buh.) 'lbis will be only a partial
explanation to be included in the general wider interpretation
. 'Ihe wor~?.."\J 0- here is not to be applied to a.scetics only.
Actually, M. intends to lay down rules for a.ll stages , tha-~ of
tID householder in pari>icular, and so, the ~rd should apply to
Grhasthas known as Brahmacarins in III.50.A man controlled of
mind, speech and body be called a Trid~dI in any staee of lii'e.
For such a man, no ex-ternal symbol is necessary. . ~'ne \"lord has been explained in detailed interpretationin tiD
chapter. .ille explal'lniion of the ','\'lords comes closer to that oLn
1
XII.13.
XII-14.
in the Gi ta.lnl;fac~, mos~ of the sta-~ements in this theory of' Karma are
closer to those ~n the Gita and one would not be surprised if a~least one
source of both was the same.
'lbe verse should be understood as a continua~~onof the prev';'ous J: '
verso. he explanat..i.on should be I Tnat Bhoo·talima 't'rh.i..ch is named ~he
Jeeva is the 0 liner one-- I at c. and not as Medh., Gov., Kull.,etc.,
.~d9rs;~~d ~t. Then only w..i.ll ..i.~ Oe possible to read 12,13, and 14 ~n
connec't..i.on.
The various explanations of the commentators do not read the vers
in proper connection.
'J.: ~he meaning of the word ~'t~ is controvercial here.
v
, The great one, t,he Jiva,' (LIedn.,Gov.,K,ll.,Sar. and Ragh.) 11
!:Sut i 1. will be better to take the Vlord in the sense of 'the suprelIB
Soul,' and ~Ii~en ~~Sj
accept the view of Nan.
vr.fl.l mean the individual Soul. We partly
~'" means ~\-\.\'1r\o\"", as Kull, explains and not' f:::-om natu:i.~e or
the formx of uttm Supreme Soul; (Uedh.,Sar.) 'from the body of
Drahm:m which is endoVloo with qualities; (Ragh.) I from the root-
li evolven-t or I!lat~er or Prakl'liU(Nan.) bec;;;use Pl'skrti ..i.s a Moorti
of para.,[l'i;man. In this connec-tion, l'ead vlith XII.1&,
APPENDIX II
, -';"- A 'lOPIGW:}:sg ANALYSIS OF '1'1-lE V.d:RSES IN THE MANUSMR'l'I-
( ·lhe analys.is~na,., I give here is oroad anti give::: an. ontline of tne mos~
impor·iiani~op..i.cs tha~ ti. nas ueal ~ \7..i. ~n. A de ~a...lea analys~s w..i.ll De ~oo D~e ;'0
De g.L ven nere.)
I. Ideas on Dnermn
-----------~------1.81 ~o 119, 11.1 ~o 15, II. 109 ~o 112, 11.224 to 237, IV.170 to 174,
an4 VIII.ll to 20.
II. Du·Ues of ~ne .o:l·ahmacar..i.n and manu's Tneory of Educa"~.ion ---------------------------------------- -------------------Duties of tne Brahmacarin -------------------------
11.173 "liO 223.
Theory of Education -------------------
11.113 to 172,11.238 to 249, III. 1 to 3.
III. 'Jivaha -----------Uena.ral and Fome ------------~---
111.4 to 42, 111.51 to 54
HoVl man shoulli oehave wi ~~ll;..nis \'7ife -~~---~---------------------------
111.43 to 50, 111.55 to 66.
How woman shoula oenave -----------------------
III. V.146 ~o 169, IX.lto 55.
Duiiies of ;;ne l1.()useilolder ---_ ...... __ ......... ... --------------III. 67 to 122, IV.l to 16Y, IV.175 to 260.
Niyoga and Remarr..i.age ---------------------
IA.56to 102, IX.170,172,173,175,176.
IV.Vanastha and Samnyasin -------------------------
-------- VI. 1 to 32. vano.stha
Samnyasin ---------
VI.33 to 97.
V.Caste-System ... -_ .. _---------General ---_ .. _-
X. -1 to 73
Sudras are Aryas
----------------I.2,91. X.~,6,10,12,30,31,63,64,65 to 68, 126.
Position of 13rahmana, ksatr~ya. e-t.c. -----------------------------------
Spread up throughout the work, in the Adhyayas III, VIII, IX, and X in
particular
Vaisya and Sudra bracketed together
--~--------------------------------VIII.418,419. IX.325 to 336.
King, State and Administration
--------------------~---------
VII.l to 226, IX.139 to 324, VIII.386 to 399.
VII.Law --.. ----General
VIII. 1 to 28, VIII.41 to 56.
Witnesses and their Vow etc. -----~--~--------~-----.---
VIII.57 to 130.
Civil Titles ------------Ist T~t1e- Recovery of Debts ----------------------------
VIII.29 to 40, VIII.131 to 178.
2nd Ti t1e- Law of Deposi t8 -----------------~--------
VIII.179 to 196.
1 3rd Title- Sale without ownurship·
-------------------------~-------
VIII.197 to 202
4th Title- Concerns among Partners --~-------------------------------
VIII.206~0 210, VIII.400 t0410.
5th Ti~le- Resumption of Gifts ------------------------------
VIII.203 to 205, VIII.211 to 213.
6~h Ti"tle- Non-Payment of Wages. --~----------------------------
VIII.214 "to 217
7th Title- Transgression of 8. Compact --------------------------~---------
VIII.218 to 221
8"th Ti"tle- Rescission of Sale and Purchase
------------------------------------------VIII.222 -lio 228.
9llh Title- D.i..sputes between Haster and Serrvant
~---~-------~------ -------.----~~---VIII.229 to 244.
10tn Title- Boundary Disputes --~--------------------------
VIII.245 to 265
114h Ti tle- La'.'! of Inllor:f.liance ------------------------------
IX.104 to 219
Cr.im.i..na.l Titles -..-------------Defamation
-----------VIII.266 to 277
Assault ... --_ ..... VIII.278 ·~o 300
-------------.---~----------------------------------------------
-----VIII.301 to 321
Sahasa ------VIII.322 ~o 351
Rape and Adul-i.ery -----------------
VIII.352 iio 385
Du't.i.es of man and wman as Husband and '7{~fe -------------------------------------------
IX.l to 103
Gamblibg and Bet~.i.ng
--------------------IX.220 'to 228
VIII.Miscellaneous Tbpics -----.-----~--------------
Manu's Phmlosophy -~--------------
I. 1 to 80, XII. 1 to 126
Smnskaras ....... ------
II.16 to 111.
Kill.i.ng of A.niJ;tals for Food ---------------------------
V.l 'to 56
Purifications -_ .... ---------V.57 -to 145
llahapatakas an<! Prayasc~ t-tas -----~---------------------
XI.45~0 265
Sraddha ----_ .... III.122 to 286
----------------~--~--~------------------
----- LIST OF roOKS co NSUL'JED
Edl~.ions of }.Ianusmr-iii --------~~------~----
g~ Manusmrlii, wi ttl sill[ commeni;a-iiire -Ed.. V.N .Mandli!t " t Sir William Jones
" WI. iih Kulluka' s Gommeniiary -Ed. Nirnayasagar Pre Press
" wi.5b Uedhat.i.i;n.i' s" -Ed. Ganganaiiil Jua
" -Ed. J .Jolly
(3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
.. (in trujarati) -Ed. wjara& Pre Press
Laws Of Manu - G.Buhler (Ln S.U.E.S.) Manusmrti with Translat.Lon and Notes - Gangana~h Jna.
Su1iras and SmMiLS ------------~----(1) (2) ( 3) (4)
~~~ (7) ( 8)
Apastamba(Dhar.ma) GautaIna ( " ) Vasistila ( " ) Brnaspaii( .. ) Katyayana Visnu Narada Yanj avalkya
Other Sanskriii Works --------------------(1) (2) (;1 ) (4)
f~~ (7) (ts ) (9)
H~~ H~~ (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (~1)
g~~ (~4) (~o)
Ar-i;nasastra
" -Ed. R.5nama Shastri -Ed.J .Jolly
Avlmarakam - ffilasa llilagvadgita with Sonksra's Commen-Gary -Ed. S.ftadhakrishnan Brbadaranyako pani sad lJayabhaga of :tJiunu"tavanana Harsacari.i;am Isa Up~sad
Kamanuaka Ni. i..i Sas-i.ra Kamasu~ra ot" Vai.syayana Ka-~ila Up ani sad Kana Upani sad IU.l"ai.arjun.yam ot" ililarav.L Kumarasambhavam of Kalidasa-Mahabharatam -Santi and Anusasana Parvans Raghuvansam of Widasa RamaJlanam Sakun-i;alam of Kal.1.dasa 5.i.supalavadnam of Magna Svapnavasavada1itam of Bnasa Sve-i;asvaiara Upan.i.sad Vi ramiiirodaya of lLi.tram.i.sra Venisamhara at" uhai;i;a Narayana Vyavaharomayukham of l'."qlaK~lrha Dasakumaracar.L-.. am of ancu.n elic. at c.
..
O-liner Worts --.. _------,.-(1) (2) ( 3) (4) (5) (6 )
m (10)
~g~ (13) (14-) (15) (16 (17 (18 (19 (20 (21) (22)
(23l (24-
(25 (26) (27) (28) (29) (30) (31)
~~~l' (34-{3S (36) (37) (38) (39) (40) (4-1~
ml ~~ .
(4-8) (49) (50)
(51j (52 (53 (54) (55)
Ak8~a, A Forgot~en Cnap~er uAdveltures of' Ideas Jnoiint India
- Dr.P.lia.ll)di - A.N.Whitehead - B. G. Gokhale
Anci;nt Indian Eduoation - R~K.Mukherji Ancimt Law - H.S.Yeyne Ari~otle'6 Politics - Jowett AsP8fs ot Indian Polity - N.N.Lew Qa •• ~ In India _ Hutton Cast~and Race in India - G.S.GhUry8 Civ1~zation - Clive Bell Disccrery Of' India - Jawaharlal Nehru EastEift Religion and Western 'lbought- S.Radhakriahnan EducE$ion "'Annie Besant Educaion in Anc1ent India - A.S.Altekar Educaion f'or International Understanding .. K.G.Saiyadin Ends nd Means - A.Huxley EvolU1on of' Indian Polity - R.Shama Shastn F1ve fssays -Dean Inge Gautan the Buddha - S.Radhakrishnan Gandh~i' s Article's 1n Young India-
G1tanj11 - Rab1ndranoth Tagore , . .Grammr of' Pol1t1cs -Harold Laski Hindu ~ode Bill Hindu \ Law - Mayne Hindu!Law - D.F.:Mulla.n Hindu,Cl. vulizat10n - R.K.UHkherj1 Hindu jaW and Customs -JioJOLLY fundu !Ohty - K. P.Jayeswal Hl.ndu ew mf' L11'8, - S.Radhaknshnan Rlndu 1l.g1on,Customs and Manners - P.Thoma.s fustol1 of'!·,Gaste 1n India - S. V.Ketkar His~o~ of' Dharmasastra,all Volumes-P.V.Kane Histor of' Indian 11 ierature - W1n~ern.&. liZ IL. s-tltl"l of' Sanskrit k terature - Macdonell
II : .• ,.. II _ Ke.&. th .. \...t .. _ Veidya
Holy Bible itoly radi t10ns Ideal ( the Karmayogin Indian 'enal Gode India' ~Past Indian losophy Introd ion to Politics Man, t" Uliknown Uanu Yajnavalkya. Marti and Morals llarria forms under Hindu Law Meanin f EvolutJ.on Minor Books Mother dia , Mutuel jlations Plato ai H.&.s D1alogues . Plato' stonceptl.on .01' E~l:lcatl.on Plato' s~eory of .l!iducnt..l.on Plato' "\PUbl.C
-U~~-I;ahi -Sri Aurobl.ndo --Macdonell yS. Radhakr.l. shnan -Harold Laski -Alexis Garrel
~ ::I -K~'-J ayaswal -B.Russell - G.M. Tr ipathi -G~G.S1mpson -Ji-Jolly -Katiaerine },layo - E.W.Hopkins -G.L.Dockinson -Walter Moberly -R.G.Lodge -JoVTe'tt
.----- ---J
(56 )
(57l g~ "
(5°l (61
(62
!iiI ~~~l ('10 ) (71) (72) (73) ( 7il)
(75)
g*l (78 (79) (80) tul) (82)
~~~~ (85) (86) (87) (88)
PolJ,iCal Insti tut10ns - B;K.Sarkar Pos111on of Women -A.S.Altekar Pol~~~ca1 Thought -E. Barker Pr~nc~ples of Soc~al Reconstruc~~on-B.RusBell Proper Stud1es ·-A.Huxley Psychology o~ ~~ety -Morris G~nsberg OP~li' ona " -C.~.tI.J'I:Iad Rent J.ssance in Ind1o.· -Sri Aurobindo ReI gion and Soc~ety . -S.Radhakr~shnan ReI g.i.on and R.t.se of ~np~ tal~SI:l -R.H. 'l'avmey Research .l.n Eaucat.1.on -R.A.C.O.l.. ... ver Hepor!. of Un.£. vers~ ty Como..i.ss..i.on Sap~ndya Soclal Heconstruction Some Aspec~s of H~ndu Law Sources 01 Law and Soc.1.ety S~a~e ..i.n Anc .... en-r. Ind.1.o State .1.n 'lheory a~\ d Practice Studies ~n Kaut~lya Sacr.d LaVls of Aryas Shori Sliuclies .1.n Upt1ll.t.sada Soc..l.ology
1Iak.1.ng ot" Soc~el;.y
'lhe uahaonarata -Law and GUS-I;.OI:l of H.1.ndu "'asiies Unpnpula:;,' .l!isssys VedIc Age Vol-I. Vedic oasis of HJ.ndu Lay, On Educat ... on Un.Lvers~-Ii ... e8and ~i1e.1.r Problems Samojshas~l'a (gujal'ai ... )
-Gharpure -Bhagvan vas -K.V.R.A ... yongar -H.C.Sengup'lio -A.S.Al-i,ekar - Harold taski
-G. Buh:a,er -Dewan Chand -R. T.LapJ.ere -Calver'ton -P ~l'J .r>lulhCk -A.Steole
.• B.Russe.l..l -lS. V.U.:.avan -P.V.Kane -Mulk Raj Anand -S.R.Donge rice r:t -G.M.Josh~ -Gandh..l.j-A. Varnavyavaslina (. If )
Var.l.ous ~is on Modern Hindu Oriental Journa.l..s d; c. e~ c •
Law n e1"orm, var.i.ous relevan~ Ar-~icles in
•
1
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,
. .
..
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