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Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi

by Ganganatha Jha | 1920 | 1,381,940 words | ISBN-10: 8120811550 | ISBN-13: 9788120811553

This is the English translation of the Manusmriti, which is a collection of Sanskrit verses dealing with ‘Dharma�, a collective name for human purpose, their duties and the law. Various topics will be dealt with, but this volume of the series includes 12 discourses (adhyaya). The commentary on this text by Medhatithi elaborately explains various t...

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

त्रिराचामेदप� पूर्वं द्वि� प्रमृज्यात� तत� मुखम� �
खानि चै� स्पृशेदद्भिरात्मान� शि� एव � � ६० �

trirācāmedapa� pūrva� dvi� pramṛjyāt tato mukham |
khāni caiva spṛśedadbhirātmāna� śira eva ca || 60 ||

First of all he should sip water thrice; then he should wipe his mouth twice, and touch with water the cavities, the soul and also the head.�(60)

 

ѱپٳ’s commentary (Գܲṣy):

Through any one of the aforesaid ‘receptacles� he should three times �sip water,’�i.e., he should let water enter his stomach through the mouth.

Then’�i.e., after the sipping of water,—he should �twice’�i.e., by repeating the act—�wipe the mouth,’Ĕi.e., the two lips. This �wiping� consists of removing with a wet hand the drops of water attaching to the lips.

Question.—“Whence do you get the idea that this wiping is to be done with the hand?

Answer.—We learn this from actual usage, and also deduce it from the fact of the context dealing with ‘receptacles� (which have been described as parts of the band);—the terms ‘through the receptacle� and ‘with vrater,� though occurring elsewhere, being brought in here also.

Further, inasmuch as the wiping is meant only to serve a visible purpose, the term ‘mouth� is taken to stand for a part of the mouth (i.e., the lips).

Cavities’Ĕholes;—�he should touch with water’Ĕhold in the hand. �貹貹śԲ� (of the text) is the same as �貹śԲ.� Since the text has been speaking of the �mouth,� the ‘cavities� meant to be touched are those pertaining to the mouth (i.e., located in the bead). Says Gautama (1.36)—‘He should touch the cavities in the head.�

The Soul’Ĕstands for the Heart and the Navel. In the Upaniṣads we read that ‘one should And the Soul in the heart.� Hence the ‘touching of the heart� becomes the ‘touching of the Soul,� the all-pervading entity ensouling the body. (We have to take it in this sense, because) there can be no touching of the Soul itself, which is something incorporeal. In some law-books it is laid down that ‘one should touch the navel�; hence we have included ‘navel� also (as indicated by the term ‘Soul� of the text).

Head’Ĕthis is well known.

Since all ṛt arc meant to serve the same purpose, ‘the washing of hands up to the wrists� and such other acts (as are laid down in Gauṭama 1.36, for instance) also hare to be done along with those mentioned in the text; such acts, for instance, as not making noise, keeping silent, sprinkling of water on the feet,—or even washing the feet, as laid down in the Ѳٲ.�(60)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

ѱپٳ (p. 101, l, 21)—�Kvachit smaryate’ĔHopkins refers in this connection to Ѳٲ 13.104.39.

This verse is quoted in ṛtٲٳٱ (p. 178);—and in (Śrāddha, p. 992), which adds the following notes:—�Mukham,� the two lips,—the whole for the part,—the ‘holes� to be touched also are those connected with the face, mukha;—�ٳԲ,� heart or navel,—the Upaniṣads describing the �ٳ� as ‘to be seen within the heart,’Ĕhence the ‘touching� is to be of the heart, as the ‘Soul,� being all-pervading, cannot be touched;—the touching of the navel also is laid down in other texts—[Hence �ٳԲ may stand for either the heart or the navel. ]

 

Comparative notes by various authors

ǻⲹ-ٳ󲹰ūٰ, 1.5.15-10.—‘Thrice he should sip water, reaching to the heart,—not laughing, not talking, not standing, not looking this way and that, not stooping, not bowing down, not having his ś untied, with throat not covered, nor with head covered, not in a hurry, not without the sacred thread, not spreading out his feet, with the end of his lower garment not tucked into the waist-band, with arms not outside the knees, without making any sound; and he should wash thrice; twice, according to some.�

ܻⲹԲ-ٳ󲹰ūٰ, 1.5.21.—‘Touching the holes with water, he should touch the feet, navel, head, and lastly, the left hand.�

Ҳܳٲ-ٳ󲹰ūٰ, l.38-42.—‘Seated on a clean spot, placing his right arm between his knees, wearing the sacred thread, washing his hands up to the wrist, with speech in check, he should sip water, touching the heart, thrice or four times; he should wash twice; the feet also; should touch the holes in the head; should sprinkle water on the heart also.�

Ā貹ٲ-ٳ󲹰ūٰ, 1.5.10. 2-9.—‘Seated, he should sip water twice, reaching his heart; should wash the lips thrice—twice, say some; once he should rinse his mouth,—twice, say some; washing the left hand with the right, he should touch with water, the feet, the head, the sense-organs, the eyes, the nostrils and the ears; then he should touch water; when going to take food, he should, even though clean, sip water twice, twice wash his lips and once rinse the mouth; he should sip water alter having washed the lips to the ends.�

ղśṣṭ-ṛt, 3.29-30.—‘With the 󳾲-īٳ, he should thrice sip water and twice wash the lips with water; should touch the holes with water; should sprinkle water on the head.�

վṣṇ-ṛt, 62,6-8.—‘With the 󳾲-īٳ, he should sip water thrice; twice wash; touch with water the holes, the head and the chest.�

ҴDz󾱱-ṛhⲹūٰ, 2.5-8.—‘Going to the north of the Fire, washing his hands, seated, he should sip water thrice, and wash twice; having sprinkled water over the feet, he should sprinkle it over the head; touch the organs with water; the eyes, the nostrils and the ears.�

ñⲹ, 1-20.—‘Having sipped water thrice and washed twice, he should touch the holes with water in its natural condition.�

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