Verse 3.238

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

यद् वेष्टितशिरा भुङ्क्ते यद् भुङ्क्ते दक्षिणामुखः ।
सौपानत्कश्च यद् भुङ्क्ते तद् वै रक्षांसि भुञ्जते ॥ २३८ ॥

yad veṣṭitaśirā bhuṅkte yad bhuṅkte dakṣiṇāmukhaḥ |
saupānatkaśca yad bhuṅkte tad vai rakṣāṃsi bhuñjate || 238 ||

What the guest eats with his head wound up, what he eats with his face towards the south, what he eats with shoes on, all this verily the demons eat.—(238)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Wound up’—with turban and such other things. The Northerners cover their heads with cloth.

Some people explain that this refers also to persons who cover their heads with their hairs Arranged in the form of a top-knot. Rut what they say is not reasonable; as, in this case, it is the hair that is ‘wound up,’ not the head; and the hairs do not form the head; in fact, they are on the head. The prohibition does not apply to threads and such things; as such things are not regarded as ‘covering’ the head.

What is meant by indicating the facing of the south as defective is that, when there is want of space, eating with face towards all directions except the south is permissible. If this were not meant, where would there be any possibility of anyone eating with face to the south, when it has been distinctly enjoined that one should eat facing the north?

‘Shoes’—foot-guards made of leather. Some people explain this as sandals of leather.

‘The demons eat,’—and not the Pitṛs.

This is deprecatory of the conditions described.—(238)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Śrāddhakriyākaumudī (p. 169);—and in Hemādri (Śrāddha, p. 1021), which explains ‘veṣṭitam’ as wrapped up by turban etc.;—the specific prohibition of facing the south implies that when there is scarcity of room one may eat facing any other quarter but the south,—‘upānahau’ are foot-covers of leather (shoes).

“The same verse in the Mahābhārata ends: Sarvam vidyāt tadāsuram (13.90.19), ‘belonging to the Asuras’.”—Hopkins.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Viṣṇu (81.12-13).—‘Not people with covered heads; nor those with shoes on.’

Mahābhārata (13.237, 19).—[Reproduces Manu, but reading ‘sarvam vidyāt tadāsuram’ for ‘tadvai rakṣāṃsi bhuñjaṭe.’]