Manava Dharmashastra 2.165.1

2.165.1

tapoviśeṣaiḥ kṛcchracāndrāyaṇādibhirvividhairbahuprakārairekāhāracaturthakālāhārādibhirabhicchiṇvatā śarīram | vrataiścopaniṣanmahānāmnikādibhiḥ | vidhineoditairgṛhyasmṛtiṣvāmnātairanuṣṭhīyamānairvedaḥ kṛtsneā'dhigantavyaḥ | ye tu "pūrvaśloke tapaḥśabdo brahmacāridharme prayukta, ihāpi tapoviśeṣāsta evābhipretāḥ” ityāhurna te samyaṅmanyante | vrataśabdenaiva teṣāṃ saṃgṛhītatvāt | vratamitihi śāstrato niyama ucyate | sāmānyaśabdatvācca vrataśabdasya mahānāmnikādīnāmapi grahaṇasiddhiḥ | tasmāttapāṃsyupavāsādīnyabhipretāni | iha kecidveda ityatraikavacanaṃ vivakṣitaṃ manyante | yadyapi tavyapratyayanirdeśādviniyogato vedasya prādhānyaṃ saṃskāryatayā pratīyate, tathāpi vidhito vastutaścārthavibodhe guṇabhāva eva | guṇe ca saṃvivakṣite'rthāvabodhaparyanto hyayaṃ vedaviṣayo māṇavakasya vyāpāro vidhivṛttaparyālocayanā'vasīyate | aya hyatra vidhyartho ''dhītena vedenārthāvabodhaṃ kuryāt'na saṃskāryatvamanyathā nirvahati | sarvo hi kāryāntare śeṣabhūtaḥ saṃskriyate | vedasya ca dṛṣṭameva kāryamadhītasya svārthabodhajanakatvamanyathā 'saktūñjuhoti' itivatprādhānyaṃ śrutamapyutsṛjyeta | dhāturapyatrabodhārtha eva | 'adhigamanaṃ' hi jñānamucyate | "sarve gatyarthā jñānārthā" iti smṛtam | svarūpagrahaṇaṃ ca vedasya prāgeva vihitaṃ 'saṃhatya hastāvedhyeyam' ityādinā | tasyaivārthagrahaṇaparyantatā'nena pratipādyate | vivakṣāmeva matvā'nekavedādhyayanamaprāptaṃ pratiprasaviṣyate 'vedānadhītyeti' | "yadyanekavedādhyayanamasti kaikatvavivakṣopayujyate |" bāḍhamupayujyate |

The entire Veda, along with the Esoteric Treatises, should be learnt by the twice-born person,—by means of various kinds of austerities and observances prescribed by rule.—(165)

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
‘By means of austerities’—such as the Cāndrāyaṇa and the like;—‘of various kinds’—of such diverse forms as eating only once, eating during the fourth part of the day and so forth; but without injuring the body.

‘Observances’—such as the ‘Upaniṣad,’ (?) the ‘Mahā nāmnikā’ and so forth.

‘Prescribed by rule’—laid down in the Smṛtis dealing with domestic rites.

By means of the above, duly performed, one should learn the entire Veda.

Some people have held that—“in the preceding verse the term ‘tapas’ stood for the duties of the Religious Student, and those same are meant by the term tapoviśeṣa in the present verse.”

But this is not right; because all those are included under the term ‘vrata’ ‘observances.’ The term ‘vrata’ stands for those restrictions that are based upon scriptures; and thus ‘vrata’ being a generic term, the Mahānāmnikā and the rest also become included under it. Hence by ‘observances’ here are meant fasting and the rest.

In connection with this verse some people have held that significance is meant to be attached to the singular number in ‘vedaḥ’; and they argue thus:—

“It is true that the affix ‘tavya’ (in the word ‘adhiganta vyaḥ’) already indicates that the injunction intends the Veda to be the predominant factor; but in view of the injunction and its subject-matter, it is clear that the Veda is really subservient to the ‘learning of its meaning’; and the subserviency of the Veda being accepted as meant, the proper examination of the injunction leads to the conclusion that the function of the pupil in regard to the Veda extends up to the learning of the meaning. The sense of the injunction thus comes to be this—

‘By means of the Veda duly studied one should learn its meaning.’ If the injunction did not mean this, the Veda could not be regarded as something to be cuff incited; anything that is cultivated or refined, is so done only as subservient to, and aiding in, something else; and as regards the Veda, it has been already found that its use lies in bringing about the knowledge of what is contained in it. If this were not so, the predominance (of the Veda), even if directly expressed, would he abandoned; just as in the case of the injunction ‘juhoti,’ the predominance of saktu is relinquished and the text is construed as ‘saktubhiḥ,’ (thus making the subordinate to the Libation). Further, the verbal root actually used in the text denotes understanding: ‘adhigamana,’ ‘learning’ (which is what is expressed by the root in ‘adhigantavyaḥ’), means knowledge, in accordance with the dictum that ‘all roots denoting motion denote knowledge’; and as for the getting up of the verbal text of the Veda, this has been already laid down before, under verse 71; so that what the present injunction does is to lay down that the said getting up of the text is to be carried on till the meaning becomes duly comprehended.