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 鈥楧harma鈥�, 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 8.414
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
啶� 啶膏啶掂ぞ啶た啶ㄠぞ 啶ㄠた啶膏啶粪啶熰啶洁お啶� 啶多啶︵啶班 啶︵ぞ啶膏啶ぞ啶︵ 啶掂た啶啶氞啶い啷� 啷�
啶ㄠた啶膏ぐ啷嵿啶溹 啶灌た 啶むい啷� 啶むじ啷嵿く 啶曕じ啷嵿い啶膏啶ぞ啶む 啶むう啶啶灌い啶� 啷� 啷ェ啷� 啷�na sv膩min膩 nis峁涐梗峁璷'pi 艣奴dro d膩sy膩d vimucyate |
nisargaja峁� hi tat tasya kastasm膩t tadapohati || 414 ||Even though set free by the master, the 艢奴诲谤补 is not released from service; since that is innate in him, and who can release him from it?鈥�(414)
Medh膩tithi鈥檚 commentary (manubh膩峁a):
Even though 鈥�set free鈥� by the master to whom he belongs, by the seven modes of slavery,鈥�i.e., even though emancipated by him.
Service is 鈥�innate in him,鈥欌�� is in the very nature of his caste.
Who can therefore release the 艢奴诲谤补 from servitude? Just as the 艢奴诲谤补-caste cannot be removed from him, so also servitude.
This is purely declamatory; since it is going to be declared later on that under special circumstances, the 艢奴诲谤补 does become released from servitude.鈥�(414)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
This verse is quoted in 痴颈惫腻诲补谤补迟苍腻办补谤补 (p. 146), which adds the following:鈥擡ven through the favour of the owner of the 艢奴诲谤补-slave, there is no freedom for the latter from the lowest service or slavery.
It is quoted in 础辫补谤腻谤办补 (p. 786);鈥攁nd in 碍峁泃测补办补濒辫补迟补谤耻 (97a), which explains the meaning as that howsoever favourably inclined he may be towards either the borne 艢奴诲谤补 or to the bought slave, cannot absolve him from servitude.
Comparative notes by various authors
(verses 8.410-418)
See Comparative notes for Verse 8.410.