Manava Dharmashastra 1.3.1

1.3.1

"uktamadṛṣṭārthe vyāpāramātre dharmaśabdo vartate | tatra yathā'ṣṭakādau tasya prayoga evaṃ caityavandanādāvapīti | tatra katame dharmā atrocyanta" iti saṃśaye dharmaviśeṣapratipādanārthamuktasāmarthyapratipādanārthaṃ ca 'tvameka iti' | tvamevaiko'sahāyo'dvitīyaḥ | sarvasya vidhānasya kāryatattvārthavit | vidhānaṃ śāstraṃ vidhīyante'nena karmāṇīti | tasya svayambhuvo nityasyākṛtakasyāpauruṣeyasya vedākhyasya | sarvasya pratyakṣākṣarasyānumeyākṣarasya ca | 'agnihotraṃ juhuyādyaṃ sahasramānava' ityetayā brāhvanīyamupatiṣṭhate iti pratyakṣa eva vedo'yaṃ homaṃ vidhatte | etayeti ca tṛtīyāyā pratyakṣasyaiva mantrasyāhvanīyopasthāne viniyogaḥ | 'aṣṭakāḥ kartavyā' ityatra tu smṛtyā'numīyate vedaḥ | 'barhirdevasadanaṃ dāmīti' liṅgādanena barhirlunātīti' śruteranumānam | ayaṃ hi mantro darśapūrṇamāsaprakaraṇe paṭhito barhirlavanaṃ ca tatrāmnātam | anena mantreṇa lunīyāt ityetattu nāsti | mantraḥ punā rūpādbarhirlavanaprakāśanasamarthaḥ | prakaraṇātsāmānyataḥ siddho darśapūrṇamāsasaṃbandhaḥ | svasāmarthyena tu barhirlavane prayujyate | eṣā hyatra pratītiḥ | prakaraṇāddarśapūrṇamāsāvanena mantreṇa kuryāt—kathamiti— yathā śaknuyādityanuktā'pi śaktiḥ sarvatra sahakāriṇī | kiṃ ca śaknoti mantraḥ kartum | barhirlavanaṃ prakāśayitum | tataḥ prakaraṇāt svasāmarthyājñānena mantreṇa 'barhirlunātīti' buddhau śabda āgacchati | savikalpakavijñānaiḥ pūrva śabdaḥ pratīyata iti | sa buddhisthaḥ śabdo'numeyo veda ucyate |

Thou alone, O Lord, art conversant with what ought to be done, which forms the true import of this entire Veda—which is eternal, inconceivable and not directly cognisable.—(3)

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
At this stage the following question arises—“It has been said that the term ‘Duty’ is used in the sense of only that activity which tends to accomplish a transcendental purpose; and such activity may consist in the performing of the Aṣṭakā, as also in bowing to Caityas and such other acts (prescribed in the heterodox scriptures); and what sort of Duties is going to be expounded in the present Treatise?”

In answer to this we have the third verse, which serves the purpose of pointing out what Duties are going to be expounded and also of further indicating the aptitude of Manu already mentioned.

‘Thou alone’—without any one to help you; without a second.

‘Sarvasya vidhānasya kāryatattvārthavit.’—The term ‘Vidhāna,’ meaning that by which acts are enjoined, stands for the scripture;—it is called ‘svayambhu’ in the sense that it is eternal, not a product, not the work of man; and its name is ‘Veda’;—‘entire’ i.e., including the text which is directly found in the Veda, as also that the exact words of which are only inferred; for instance, (a) in the text—‘one should perform the Agnihotra, it pertains to thousand men,—by means of this verse one should worship the Āhavanīya’—we have the Veda directly enjoining what is to be done; the term ‘by means of this,’ ending as it docs with the instrumental case-termination, serving to point out the employment of the mantra-text directly quoted;—(b) while in the case of the injunction ‘the Aṣṭakās should be performed,’ which is found in the Smṛti, we infer, on the strength of this Smṛti, the corresponding Veda text;—similarly, when we read the Mantra-text, ‘I am chopping grass, the seat of the Gods,’ we at once infer, on the basis of the indicative power of the words of that text, the Vedic injunction that ‘the said text is to be employed in the chopping of grass this Mantra is found in that section of the Veda which deals with the Darśa-pūrṇamāsa sacrifice, and the chopping of grass is laid down as to be done in course of that sacrifice; but there is no such direct injunction as that ‘the chopping should be done with such and such a Mantra and the above-mentioned Mantra-text is found to be capable, by its very form, of indicating the chopping of grass; while as regards its being connected in a general way, with the sacrifice, this follows the fact of its occurring in the same ‘context’ as the injunction of that sacrifice; and it is by virtue of its own indicative force that it comes to be employed in the chopping of grass. The idea arising in the mind of the student (on noticing the above facts) is as follows:—‘From the context it follows that the Mantra-text in question should be used in the performance of the pūrṇamāsa sacrifices;—how is this to be done?—well, the natural answer is that it is to be used in the manner in which it is capable of being used; the capacity of a thing, even though not directly mentioned, always help., in determining its use;—what then is the Mantra-text capable of doing?—it is capable of indicating the chopping of grass;—hence from the context, and from the capability of the Mantra itself, it follows that it should be employed in the chopping of grass’;—as soon as this idea has been arrived at, the corresponding words, ‘by this Mantra the chopping of grass should be done,’ present themselves to the mind; because as a matter of fact, every concrete conception is preceded by the corresponding verbal expression. The said verbal expression, thus presenting itself to the mind, is called the ‘inferred Vedic text.’ The Text thus inferred is regarded as ‘Veda,’ by virtue of the fact that it owes its existence to the force of two other Vedic texts—viz., the text laying down the Darśapūrṇamāsa and the Mantra-text referred to above. Such is the opinion of Kumārila.