APPBBDIX ••• -. - Brief Notes 011 Daport&ll't Yarsoa -- Importance of D1ama - __ " ___ .' ___ •• _. _III Q (FoU01Ebg) a atezulard. ot lUe, is the tirst tho others are) those that are c1escribed 111 'the SNti. aDd 'the '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 • and tM iIl'terpl'Otatioll of 'lhe firat l.i.=. - -ua. word is DOt to be exp1.e.inGd merely as 'l'Ul.es ot conduct l 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\ (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 ) and ' Aoara is tbe first Dhama end-ua. others are those that are manUoned in the and the &Drt is •. ' " • _f. I acoept the secolld interpretation because, U. first states that
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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
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 -,
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
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 -------------------------
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.
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
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