Verse 8.112

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

कामिनीषु विवाहेषु गवां भक्ष्ये तथेन्धने ।
ब्राह्मणाभ्युपपत्तौ च शपथे नास्ति पातकम् ॥ ११२ ॥

kāminīṣu vivāheṣu gavāṃ bhakṣye tathendhane |
brāhmaṇābhyupapattau ca śapathe nāsti pātakam || 112 ||

There is no serious offence in swearing to women, or in connection with marriages, fodder for cows, or fuel, or for the sake of a Brāhmaṇa.—(112)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Kāminīṣu’—‘Kāma’ is a particular form of pleasure caused through the tactile organ; and those who are productive of such pleasure are called ‘Kāminī,’—which is a terra that stands for wife, courtesans and so forth. To these if one swears, for the fulfilment of his desire—in such words as ‘I do not love any other woman, thou art the queen of my heart,’ etc.,—there is nothing wrong in this; though, if after meeting the women, and on being asked by her to give a certain thing, he swears falsely that he would give it to her,—then this is certainly wrong.

‘Śapathe,’ ‘in swearing’;—the Locative here signifies the subject, and not the purpose. Hence the meaning is that there is nothing wrong, only in that form of oath which is sworn in connection only with that single woman with whom the man is in love. If, however, the Locative signified the purpose, then there would he nothing wrong in swearing for the purpose of robbing others of their property; and in that case what is declared (in 121 below) regarding the heavier punishment, in the case of perjury through lust, being ‘ten times’ would not be proper.

Even in the case of the woman, if the man swears falsely in a dispute with her, relating to other matters,—he commits a sin. Similarly in other cases.

‘In connection with marriages’;—when one says ‘this man has married another woman,’ or ‘that woman should ho married by you,’ and so forth; such lying, also in connection with the marriage of friends and others, is not sinful, but not so the concealing of the real caste of the bride and such details.

‘Fodder for cows’;—when, for the sake of obtaining fodder for cows, one has been constrained to commit theft, but denies it,—then if called to bear testimony, if the witness should swear to his not having done the act,—there is nothing wrong in this.

Similarly with ‘fuel.’

‘For the sake of Brāhmaṇas,’—for conferring some benefit on Brāhmaṇas.

“Lying for the sake of all castes having been already permitted (in 104), why should this be repeated here?”

Some people offer the following explanation:—In the case of Brāhmaṇas false swearing is permitted, while in that of the Śūdra and other castes, it is simple lying that is sanctioned.

This however is not right; as under 104, it has been declared that ‘such lying is preferable to truth’; so that what is sanctioned there is not lying at all. The fact of the matter is that the said verse is not a prohibition; it provides an exception to the prohibition of false swearing contained in the preceding verse; and hence there should he nothing wrong in swearing for the sake of any caste.

“Why then should the declaration in the present verse be made?”

What has been permitted under 104 is lying with a view to save the men from death, which refers to all castes; for the purpose of conferring a benefit, however, it is permitted only in the ease of the Brāhmaṇa; as in the case of the other castes, the man might be prompted to lie also by greed for money and other motives.

In all these oases also the permission of false oath applies to only those eases where the purpose cannot he served without it, by any other means—(112)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Smṛtitattva (II, p. 229), which adds the following notes:—‘Kāminīṣu,’ when conversing with a woman in secret one may swear falsely for the purpose of satisfying her;—similarly for the purpose of bringing about a marriage, for obtaining food for cows, for obtaining fuel necessary for offerings, and for saving a Brāhmaṇa;—and in Vyavahāra-Bālambhaṭṭī (p. 406).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Vaśiṣṭha (16.35).—‘Men may speak an untruth in marriage, during dalliance, when their lives are in danger, or the loss of their entire property is imminent, and for the sake of a Brāhmaṇa.’

Gautama (23.29-31).—‘Some declare that an untruth spoken in marriage, during dalliance, in jest, or while one is in severe pain, is not reprehensible. But that is certainly not the case when the untruth concerns the guru; for if one lies even in his heart to his guru, regarding even small matters, he destroys himself, his seven descendants and seven ancestors.’