Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi
by Ganganatha Jha | 1920 | 1,381,940 words | ISBN-10: 8120811550 | ISBN-13: 9788120811553
This is the English translation of the Manusmriti, which is a collection of Sanskrit verses dealing with ‘Dharma�, a collective name for human purpose, their duties and the law. Various topics will be dealt with, but this volume of the series includes 12 discourses (adhyaya). The commentary on this text by Medhatithi elaborately explains various t...
Verse 2.170
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
ततà¥à¤° यदà¥� बà¥à¤°à¤¹à¥à¤®à¤œà¤¨à¥à¤®à¤¾à¤¸à¥à¤¯ मौञà¥à¤œà¥€à¤¬à¤¨à¥à¤§à¤¨à¤šà¤¿à¤¹à¥à¤¨à¤¿à¤¤à¤®à¥ à¥�
ततà¥à¤°à¤¾à¤¸à¥à¤¯ माता सावितà¥à¤°à¥€ पिता तà¥à¤µà¤¾à¤šà¤¾à¤°à¥à¤� उचà¥à¤¯à¤¤à¥‡ à¥� १à¥à¥� à¥�tatra yad brahmajanmÄsya mauñjÄ«bandhanacihnitam |
tatrÄsya mÄtÄ sÄvitrÄ« pitÄ tvÄcÄrya ucyate || 170 ||Among these, at that Brahmic birth which is. marked by the tying of the girdle, the ³§Äå±¹¾±³Ù°ùÄ« has been declared to be his “Mother,â€� and the Teacher his “Father.â€â€�(170)
MedhÄtithi’s commentary (³¾²¹²Ô³Ü²ú³óÄåá¹£y²¹):
â€�Among these’—above-mentioned births;—that which is â€�Brahmic birth’—i .e., U panayana—â€�which is marked by the tying of the girdle,’â¶Ä”which is symbolised by the tying of the girdle made of ²Ñ³ÜñÂá²¹-²µ°ù²¹²õ²õ; at this â€�³§Äå±¹¾±³Ù°ùÄ« is his mother,’â¶Ä�i.e., it becomes accomplished by the expounding of the ³§Äå±¹¾±³Ù°ùÄ«-mantra. This shows that in the whole Upanayana ceremony, the expounding of the ³§Äå±¹¾±³Ù°ùÄ« is the most important factor; it is for this purpose that the child is ‘brought nearâ€� (³Ü±è²¹-²ÔÄ«²â²¹³Ù±ð). â€�The Teacher is his father.â€�
Birth is always brought about by the Father and Mother; hence metaphorically the Teacher and the ³§Äå±¹¾±³Ù°ùÄ« hare, been described as ‘fatherâ€� and ‘mother.’â€�(170)
The Upanayana has been described as �marked by the tying of the Girdle�; and this might be understood to mean that it is on acoount of tying the girdle that the Teacher is to be honoured like the father; hence the next verse is added
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
This verse is quoted in ³ÕÄ«°ù²¹³¾¾±³Ù°ù´Ç»å²¹²â²¹ (SaṃskÄra, p. 335), as laying down that the Upanayana constitutes the â€�brahmajanma,â€� ‘brahmicâ€� or ‘Vedicâ€� ‘birth.â€� The compound â€�brahmajanmaâ€� is expounded as â€�brahmaṇÄ� vedena ²µÄå²â²¹³Ù°ùÄ«rÅ«peṇa janma iva,’â¶Ä”i. e. the rite which is like birth, through the Brahman or Veda, in the form of ³ÒÄå²â²¹³Ùá¹›Ä�;â€�i.e. it is a rejuvenation brought about by the sanctificatory rite. The idea of this being a ‘birthâ€� has been spoken of in the Åš°ù³Ü³Ù¾± also—â€�GÄyatryÄ-brÄhmaṇamasá¹›jat tṛṣá¹ubhÄ rÄjanyam jagatyÄ vaiÅ›yam na kenachicchandasÄ Å›Å«dram—That the term â€�brahmaâ€� (in the compound â€�brahmajanmaâ€�) does not stand for the whole Veda is made clear by the qualification â€�³¾²¹³ÜñÂáÄ«²ú²¹²Ô»å³ó²¹²Ô²¹-³¦³ó¾±³ó²Ô¾±³Ù²¹³¾,â€� ‘marked by the tying of the girdle—this tying of the girdle being done immediately after the imparting of the ³ÒÄå²â²¹³Ù°ùÄ«, and not after the whole Veda has been taught It goes on to add that this same fact has been stated by MedhÄtithi negatively, in the passage â€�tayÄhi anuktayÄ tanna niá¹£pannam bhavati, (until the ³ÒÄå²â²¹³Ù°ùÄ« has been imparted, the Upanayana is not accomplished). [This passage occurs on p. 153, 1. 22 of MedhÄtithi, where however the reading found is ³Ù²¹²Ô²Ô¾±á¹£p²¹²Ô²Ô²¹³¾²ú³ó²¹±¹²¹³Ù¾± ‘It becomes accomplished by the expounding of the ²µÄå²â²¹³Ù°ùÄ«â€� (Translation, p. 459); which is a positive, and not a negative, assertion, though the meaning is the same in both cases].—The conclusion therefore is that the name â€�Upanayanaâ€� pertains to the imparting of the GÄyatri-mantra.
It is quoted in ³§³¾á¹›t¾±³¦²¹²Ô»å°ù¾±°ìÄå (SaṃskÄra, p. 59) as supplying the reason for regarding Upanayana as a second ‘birth.â€�
Comparative notes by various authors
VaÅ›iá¹£á¹ha (2.4),
Viṣṇu (28.37),
�(reproduce the second half of Manu).
Åš°ù³Ü³Ù¾± (³ÕÄ«°ù²¹³¾¾±³Ù°ù´Ç»å²¹²â²¹-SaṃskÄra, p. 335).—‘With the ³ÒÄå²â²¹³Ù°ùÄ«, he created the BrÄhmaṇa; with the Triá¹£á¹up, the Ká¹£atriya; with the JagatÄ«, the VaiÅ›ya; and the Śūdra without any Vedic verse.â€�
Gautama (³ÕÄ«°ù²¹³¾¾±³Ù°ù´Ç»å²¹²â²¹-SaṃskÄra, p. 335).—‘This is his second birth, whereat the ³§Äå±¹¾±³Ù°ùÄ« is the mother, and the Teacher the father