Manava Dharmashastra 1.42

1.42

yeṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ yādṛśaṃ karma svabhāvato hiṃsramahiṃsraṃ vā taduktathaiva kīrtitam | idānīṃ janmakramayogamabhidhāsyāmi |
“kva punaḥ karma kīrtitam | yannedaṃ yakṣarakṣa ityādi nāmanirdeśo na karmanirdeśaḥ” |
ucyate | nāmanirdeśādeva karmāvagatiḥ, karmanimittatvādeṣāṃ nāmapratilambhasya | tathāhi yakṣaṇādbhakṣaṇādaśanādvā ‘yakṣāḥ’ | rahasi kṣaṇanād rakṣaṇādvā ‘rakṣāṃsi’ | piśitāśanāt ‘piśācāḥ’ | ad‌bhyaḥ sṛtā iti ‘apsarasaḥ’ | amṛtākhyāyāḥ surāyā alābhādasurā | ityādyapyūhyam | janmani kramayogo jarāyujāṇḍajā ityādi vakṣyate |

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
‘That kind of action which belongs to the several beings,’—i.e., hurtful or harmless—‘has been already described’;—now ‘I am going to explain the manner of their birth.’

Objection.—

“Where has the action been described? In Verses 37 et seq. what occurs is only the mention of the names of several beings, Yakṣa, Rākṣasa and the rest; and their action is not mentioned at all.”

Our answer is as follows:—The action of each being is indicated by its name; the particular name being acquired by each being by reason of its actions: for instance, the Yakṣas are so called because of the act of worshpping, or pervading (‘Yakṣaṇa’);—the ‘Rākṣasa’ are so called because of the act of destroying in secret (‘rahasi kṣaṇana’);—the Piśāchas are so called because of the act of devouring flesh (‘piśitāśana’);—the Apsarases are so called because of the act of issuing forth from water (adbhyaḥ ṣṛtāḥ);— the Asuras are so called because of the act of not obtaining surā, in the form of nectar; and so on, the significance of the other names may be traced.

‘The manner of their birth’—i.e., they are viviparous, oviparous and the like; going to be described in the following verses.—(42)