Manava Dharmashastra 2.168

2.168

yeṣāṃ tāvatkṛtsnaśabdo'ṅgaparigrahārthasteṣāmaniyatakrame'dhyayane prāpte kramo niyamyate | prathamaṃ vedo'dhyetavyastato'ṅgāni | yeṣāṃ tu vedasyaivāsākalyāśaṅkānivṛttyarthaṃ, teṣāṃ traividyavratānantaraṃ vedasyaiva prāptamadhyayanam | agṛhīte vede'ṅgānāmadhyayanannābhyanujñāyate |
yo dvijo vedamanadhītyānyatra śāstre aṅgeṣu tarkaśāstragrantheṣu vā śramamabhiyogātiśayaṃ kurute sa jīvanneva śūdratvamāpnoti | āśu kṣipram | sānvayaḥ putrapautrādisantatyā saha |
'śramo' yatnātiśayastanniṣedhāyogāttatsamāptau yathāvasaramanyānyapi vidyāsthānāni paṭhyante |
śūdratvaprāptivacanaṃ nindātiśayaḥ |
dvija iti vacanādupanitasyāyaṃ kramaniyamaḥ | prākcopanayanādaṅgādhyayanamaniṣiddhaṃ śikṣāvyākaraṇādi yadvedavākyairna miśritam |
"nanu ca svādhyāyavidhinā'ṅgānyapikṣipyante | saṃ ca vidhimācāryaprayukto māṇavako'nutiṣṭhati | prāgupanayanādasatyācārye kuto'ṅgādhyayanasambhavaḥ ?"
naiṣa doṣaḥ | 'tasmādanuśiṣṭaṃ putraṃ lokyamāhuriti' (bṛhadāraṇyakaṃ 1|
dvijātīnāṃ tatra tatrādhikāraḥ śrutaḥ | tatrācāryādiśabdavatsuhṛttvāttadarthanirūpaṇārthamāha-

The twice-born man, who, not having learnt the veda, labours over other things, soon falls, along with his descendants, even while living, to the state of the śūdra.—(168)

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
Some persons (as noted above) have explained the term ‘entire’ (of the preceding verse) to include the Subsidiary Sciences; and according to this view, it might be thought that the study of these might be taken up in any order one might choose, without any restriction; hence the present verse proceeds to lay down a definite order,—viz., the Veda should be learnt first, then the Subsidiary Sciences. Others have however taken the term ‘entire’ to preclude the possibility of men being content with the learning of parts only of the Veda; and according to these, the ‘learning of the Veda’ naturally comes up first, after the completion of the ‘Traividya’ observances (of the Upanayana) so that (what the present verse means is that) until the Veda has been learnt, the learning. of the Sciences cannot be permitted.

‘The twice-born man’—Brāhmaṇa—‘who, not having learnt the Veda, labours’;—devotes attention—‘over other subjects,’ i.e.,—the Subsidiary Sciences, or treatises on Reasonings—‘falls, even while living, to the state of the Śūdra’—‘soon’—quickly,—‘along with his descendants’;—i.e., accompanied by his son, grandson and other descendants.

‘Labour’—is great effort. Since the absolute prohibition of labour over the study of the Sciences cannot be intended, all that is meant is that these latter are to be studied during the time available, after the Veda has been learnt.

The mention of ‘falling to the state of the Śūdra’ is meant to express excessive deprecation.

The use of the term ‘twice-born’ implies that the restriction herein laid down regarding the rules of study applies to only one who has gone through the Initiatory Rites; and before Initiation, the study of such Subsidiary Sciences as of Phonetics, Grammar, and the rest as are not interspersed with quotations from the Veda, is not prohibited.

“The study of the Subsidiary Sciences is implied by the Injunction of Vedic Study; and this injunction is acted up to by the boy prompted by his Teacher; so that before Initiation, there being no Teacher, how can there be a study of the Subsidiary Sciences?”

There is no force in this objection. According to the assertion—‘the child who is taught by his father they call efficient’—the Initiatory sanctification might be performed by the father; who, before the Initiation, will teach him the Science of Grammar and the rest.—(168)