Verse 3.191

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

आमन्त्रितस्तु यः श्राद्धे वृषल्या सह मोदते ।
दातुर्यद् दुष्कृतं किं चित् तत् सर्वं प्रतिपद्यते ॥ १९१ ॥

āmantritastu yaḥ śrāddhe vṛṣalyā saha modate |
dāturyad duṣkṛtaṃ kiṃ cit tat sarvaṃ pratipadyate || 191 ||

If the man invited at the śrāddha dallies with a woman, he takes upon himself all the sin that there may be in the giver.—(191)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The term ‘vṛṣalī’ here stands for woman in general; this is indicated by the fact that the invitee has been advised to observe strict continence (and not only avoidance of improper intercourse). Hence, in the present context, the Brāhmaṇa woman also is a ‘vṛṣalī;’ the term (in this sense) being etymologically explained as ‘she who tempts her husband’ (bhartāram vṛṣasyati). Tims, what the passage means is as follows:—Having accepted invitation, if the man dallies with a woman,—i.e., with a view to having sexual intercourse with her, engages in such nets as conversation, embracing, and so forth,—then he incurs the following evil: whatever sin there might be in the ‘giver,’ i.e., the performer of the Śrāddha—passes on to him. What this indicates is the coming about of undesirable results; if this were not what is meant, then it would mean that there is nothing wrong in doing this, in a case where the giver is a sinless person.

‘Dallying’ stands for obtaining pleasure; hence it follows that one should not do even such acts as conversation, embracing, and the like.—(191)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

‘Vṛṣalī’—‘Woman in general’ (Medhātithi, Govindarāja, Nandana and Rāghavānanda);—‘a Śūdra woman’ (Kullūka).

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 702), where it apparently takes the term ‘vṛṣalī’ as standing for the Śūdra woman;—and in Hemādri (Śrāddha, p. 1006), which adds the following notes—‘vṛṣalī’ stands here for woman in general,—the Brāhmaṇī also is a ‘vṛṣalī’ in the sense that she ‘hankers after the male’ (vṛṣasyati bhartāram); hence the meaning is that ‘if after having accepted the invitation, one enjoys the company of his wife he incurs sin,’—‘modate’ means enjoying, hence conversing and embracing also are to be avoided,—‘dātuḥ,’ of the performer of the Śrāddha,—‘duṣkṛtam’ sin,—becomes transferred to the said transgressor, i.e., some disagreeable results accrue to him. If the words were to be taken in the literal sense then there could be nothing wrong in eases where the inviter is a pure, sinless man.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Gautama (15.22).—‘He who has just taken part in a Śrāddha,—if he takes to his bed a Śūdra woman, he throws his forefathers into her ordure for three months.’