Manava Dharmashastra 2.223

2.223

yadi strī ācāryāṇī | avarajaḥ kanīyān | ācāryādupalabhya śreyaḥ dharmādi trivargaṃ samācarettatsarvamācaret | sambhavati hi tayossadācāryasamparkātparijñānam | śūdro vā''cāryabhṛtaka avarajaḥ | sa yadyupadiśet ‘evaṃ pāyuliṅgau mṛdvāriṇā prakṣālyete, nipuṇau hastau prakṣālaya, vismṛtaste mṛdvārikramaḥ, tvadīya ācāryo'sakṛnmayā pāyuprakṣālanaṃ jalaṃ dadatā dṛṣṭapūrvaḥ, pūrvamadbhiḥ śaucaṃ karoti tato mṛdbhiḥ’ ityevamādi samācarettatsamācārādyupapanna upadiśet | tathā cācāryāṇī ācamanaṃ śikṣayet | tatsarvamācaredyuktaḥ śraddhayā | na strīśūdrācaritamityavajānīta | samācarediti ca samācārapūrvaka upadeśa evātrābhipretaḥ | vakṣyati ca ‘‘dharmaḥ śaucaṃ... samādeyāni sarvataḥ’’ iti ( 240 ) | ācāryeṇaiva kadācidādiṣṭaṃ bhavati—‘brāhmaṇi ācamaya putrasthānīyametaṃ yathāvidhipūrvakam’—brūyācca ‘asya mūtrapurīṣaśuddhyarthaṃ mṛdvāriṇī deye’ iti | tatra tadīyavacanamanuṣṭheyam evaṃ mṛdo gṛhāṇa evamadbhiḥ prakṣālayeti | athavā gurugṛhe lohopalajalaśuddhyādiḥ strīśūdrābhyāṃ samācaryamāṇaḥ pramāṇīkartavyaḥ | etāvadācārasya strīśūdrasambandhinaḥ prāmāṇyārtho'yaṃ śloko yujyate | nanu sarvasyācārasyāvedavitsambandhinaḥ prāmāṇyaṃ ghaṭate | ayuktametat | na hi svalpo'pyācāra avedavidāṃ pramāṇībhavati | athāsti mūlaṃ vedavitsambandhaḥ sa eva tarhi pramāṇ, kiṃ strīgrahaṇena | na caivaṃvidhe viṣaye strīśūdrācārasya prāmāṇyamabhipretam | tathā hi sati prāmāṇyābhidhānaprakaraṇa evābravīt | tasmācchreyaḥpadārthanirūpaṇārtho'yamupoddhāta iti paramārthaḥ | yadvā''cāryavacasāṃ prāmāṇyānuvādo'yam--yat strīśūdrāvapi brūyātāṃ tadapyanuṣṭhātuṃ yuktam, kiṃ punarācāryopadiṣṭam | yatra cāsya rametparituṣyenmanaḥ | etadapyātmanastuṣṭirityatra vyākhyātam | sarvathā nāsya ślokasyātīva prayojanamasti |

If either a woman; or a junior person, do something good, he should faithfully perform all that; as also that in which his mind finds satisfaction.—(223)

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
‘If either a woman,’—i.e., the teacher’s wife,—‘or a junior person’—a younger boy,—having learnt from the teacher—‘do something good,’—i.e., perform acts conducive to the triad beginning with ‘dharma’ [ i. e., acts conducive to religious merit, worldly prosperity and pleasure]—‘all that me should perform.’ It is possible that by reason of their association with the teacher they may have obtained the requisite knowledge.

Or ‘junior person’ may stand for the Śūdra employed in the Teacher’s service; and if he should offer such advice as—‘the two excretory organs are to be washed in this manner,—wash your hands thoroughly, you have forgotten the right order of applying mud and water;—when giving him water I have often seen your Teacher washing his posterior parts in this way that he cleans it first with mud, then with water,’—i.e., if being fully cognisant of the right usage he should offer such advice;—similarly if the Teacher’s wife should teach him the right way to sip water; ‘all that he should perform faithfully’—with full faith; and he should not disregard the advice as coming from a Śūdra or a woman.

‘Do.’—What is meant, is practice following the precept. It is going to be declared later on that ‘one should derive knowledge of his duty and cleanliness from all sources.’

It is quite possible that the Teacher himself might have told his wife to help the boy, who is like a son to him, to sip water in the right manner; or he might tell (the servant)—‘you should give him mud and water for cleaning his excretory organs’;—and under all these circumstances, the pupil should follow the advice as to the using of the mud and the pouring of water.

Or, the meaning may be that, in the matter of the purity of metal, stone, and water, etc., he should accept as authoritative the method adopted in the Teacher’s house by his wife and servants. In this way the present verse would be laying down the extent to which the usage of women and Śūdras should be relied upon.

“In this way then, the practice of all persons ignorant of the Veda becomes authoritative; and this is not right; because as a matter of fact, not even the slightest practice of persons ignorant of the Veda should be authoritative. The very root (of the authority of practices) consists of connection with persons learned in the Veda. If this root, in the shape of connection with persons learned in the Veda, is present, then that would supply the requisite authority; where would be the use of mentioning the woman? Specially as in matters like this, no authority can be intended, to rest in the practices of women and Śūdras. If such bad been the intention of the Author, he would have said this under the section dealing with the ‘sources of knowledge of Dharma.’”

From all this it is clear that the truth of the matter is that the present verse is meant to introduce the explanation of what is ‘good’ (coming in the next verse).

Or, it may be regarded as re-iterating the trustworthiness of the words of the Teacher; the sense being—‘Even when the woman or the Śūdra state the words of the Teacher, it is right to act up to them,—what to say of what is told directly by the Teacher himself!’

‘As also that in which his mind finds satisfaction.’—The purport of this has been explained under the term ‘Self-satisfaction’ (2.6).

In every way it is clear that there is not much useful purpose served by this verse.—(223)