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 10.97
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
啶掂ぐ啶� 啶膏啶掂ぇ啶班啶 啶掂た啶椸啶｀ 啶� 啶ぞ啶班啷嵿く啶� 啶膏啶掂え啷佮し啷嵿啶苦い啶� 啷�
啶ぐ啶оぐ啷嵿ぎ啷囙ぃ 啶溹啶掂え啷� 啶灌た 啶膏う啷嵿く啶� 啶い啶むた 啶溹ぞ啶むた啶む 啷� 啷キ 啷�vara峁� svadharmo vigu峁噊 na p膩rakya岣� svanu峁ａ弓hita岣� |
paradharme峁嘺 j墨van hi sadya岣� patati j膩tita岣� || 97 ||Better one鈥檚 own duty imperfectly performed, and not the duty of another performed perfectly; he who subsists by the function of another, instantly falls off from his caste.鈥�(97)
Medh膩tithi鈥檚 commentary (manubh膩峁a):
This is a deprecatory declamation in support of the foregoing injunction.
If a certain duty has been prescribed for one, in reference to his caste,鈥攅ven though this be 鈥�performed imperfectly鈥欌赌�i.e., incomplete in its details,鈥攊t is right to perform that, and not the duty of another man, even though complete in all its details.
In support of this there is the deprecatory declamation鈥斺��He who subsists, etc., etc.鈥欌赌� (97)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
This verse is quoted in 惭颈迟腻办峁谤腻 (3.41);鈥攊苍 础辫补谤腻谤办补 (p. 935);鈥攊n 惭补诲补苍补辫腻谤颈箩腻迟补 (p. 233), to the effect that even in times of distress it is better for the Br膩hma峁嘺 to stick to his own functions than take to others;鈥攁nd in 厂补峁僺办腻谤补尘补测奴办丑补 (p. 123).
Comparative notes by various authors
痴补艣颈峁ａ弓丑补 (2. 2 2-23).鈥斺�楾hose who are unable to live by their own occupation may adopt that of the next inferior caste; but never that of a higher caste.鈥�
痴颈峁ａ箛耻 (2.15).鈥斺�業n times of distress, each caste may follow the occupation of that next below it in rank.鈥�