Is Manusmriti Really an Evil text ? (incomplete)
Contents:
1)Authority of Dharma & position of Manu
2)Ethics & morality
3) Reason for Varna Vyavastha
3)Adhikara of Vedic study
7)Shudras were slave of Dwijas ?
4)Position of Shudras
5)Was shudras barred from education?
6)Could Shudra be a teacher ?
8)Controversial verses regarding Shudras
9)Position of women
38)Duties of Women
10)Controversial verses regarding women
11) Marriage & marriage related rules
11)Child marriage & women education
12)Widow re-marriage
13)Property rights for women
14)Punishment for Adultery
15)Strict rules for Dwijas
16)Inter-varna marriages
17)Anuloma marriage accepted ?
18) Stance regarding Pratiloma
18)Brahmin could take Shudra wife for pleasure?
19) Punishment for different varnas
19) Manu's stance on Niyoga system
19)High eulogy of Brahmins
20)Actual position of Brahmins
21)Killing of Brahmin
22)Shudras lives comparatively easy?
23)Birth based or occupation based varna?
24)Can varna change possible ?
25)Outcasted
26)Prāyaścitas for various sins
27)Who can read manusmriti
28)Varnashram
29)Rules regarding Brahmachari
30)Rules regarding Grihasta
31)Rules regarding Vanaprasthi
32)Rules regarding Sannyasi
33)Strict life of Brahmins & other Dwijas
34)Untouchability
35)Duties of a king
36)War ethics
37)Various Punishments
39)Status of mixed castes
40)Rules during Apad-Dharma stithi
41)Was slavery accepted?
42)Is Manusmriti authored by God or Manu ?
43)Can we change manusmriti ?
44)Is present manusmriti corrupted ?
1)
वेदोऽखिलो धर्ममूलं स्मृतिशीले च तद्विदाम् ।
आचारश्चैव साधूनामात्मनस्तुष्टिरेव च ॥
The entire Veda is the root-source of Dharma; also the Conscientious Recollection of righteous persons versed in the Veda, the Practice of Good (and learned) Men, and their self-satisfaction.
यः कश्चित् कस्य चिद् धर्मो मनुना परिकीर्तितः ।
स सर्वोऽभिहितो वेदे सर्वज्ञानमयो हि सः ॥
Whatever Dharma for whatever person has been described by Manu,—all this is declared in the Veda; since the Veda embodies all knowledge.
[ Medhatithi:- This verse proceeds to make it clear how the authority of the Smṛti (Recollection) is due to its connection with persons knowing the Veda.
‘Whatever Dharma’—duties relating to castes, duties relating to life-stages, duties relating to sacramental rites, in their general or special forms—‘for whatever person’—for the Brāhmaṇa or other castes—‘has been described by Manu’—‘all this is declared in the Veda’—i.e., is expounded in it; how this is done has been shown in the preceding verse.]
Taittirīya-Saṃhitā, 2-2-6.2.—‘Whatever Manu has said is wholesome.’
Parāśara-Smṛti, 1.21.—‘During each Kalpa Manu declares the Dharmas.’
Mahabharata 6.43.2 says "सर्ववेदमयो मनुः" i.e. Manu is the embodiment of the Vedas.
Rig Veda 1.80.16 refers to Manu as मनुष्पिता, the 'progenitor of the human race, commenting on which Sayana says - सर्वासां प्रजानां पितृभूतो मनुश्च.
Rig Veda 8.30.3 says, "May we not be led far astray from that path of the ancestors that Manu laid for us."
ते नस्त्राध्वं तेऽवत त उ नो अधि वोचत ।
मा नः पथः पित्र्यान्मानवादधि दूरं नैष्ट परावतः॥
यद्वै किञ्च मनुरवदत्तद्भेषजम्”
(तै० सं० २।२।२०।२)
अर्थात् जो कुछ मनु ने कहा है वह औषधिरूप है।
A variant of this mantra is there in Tandyabrahmana of Sama Veda.
मनुर्वै यत्किंचिदवदत् तद्भेषजं भेषजतायै । Tandya Brahmana 23.16.7
"All that Manu did say, that is medicine; (so this is) for healing."
Even the name of our country 'Bharata' has its origin from Manu.
भरणाच्च प्रजानां वै मनुर्भरत उच्यते।
निरुक्तवचनाच्चैव वर्षं तद्भारतं स्मृतम्॥ Brahmanda Purana 16.6
Manu is called Bharata as he maintained the subjects. This land is thus remembered as Bharata.
All our great kings followed the law of Manusmriti.
Our lord Rama and all his ancestors were all followed manu's law
Kalidasa described:-
"The subjects of king Dilipa did not swerve even a little from the path that had been trodden from the days of Manu."
रेखामात्रमपि क्षुण्णादामनोर्वर्त्मनः परम् ।
न व्यतीयुः प्रजास्तस्य नियन्तुनेमिवृत्तयः॥ Raghuvamsa 1.17
2) ETHICS AND MORALITY:-
If Manusmṛti represents 'Brahmanism', then the idea that casteist remarks/slurs are bad, could be called a 'Brahmanical' idea.
[Refer to Manusmṛti 4.141 (jātihīnāṃśca nākṣipet)]
By attachment to the organs, a man undoubtedly becomes corrupted; but by bringing them under control, he achieves success.
94Desire is never quenched by enjoying desires; like a fire fed with ghee, it only waxes stronger.
95Between a man who obtains all these and a man who gives them all up—giving up all desires is far better than obtaining them all.
2.96 Corrupted as these organs are* by sensory objects, one cannot bring them under control as effectively by abstinence as by constant insight.
97Vedas, gifts,* sacrifices, constraints,* and ascetic toils—none of these is ever successful for a man with a corrupt heart.
98When a man feels neither elation nor revulsion at hearing, touching, seeing, eating, or smelling anything, he should be recognized as a man who has mastered his organs. "Of all these organs, however, if a single one slips away, through that his wisdom slips away, like water through the foot of a skin.*
2.32He should honor a maternal aunt, a wife of a maternal uncle, a mother-in-law, and a paternal aunt as he would his teacher's wife; they are equal to his teacher's wife.*
133Towards a sister of his father and mother and towards his own older sister, he should behave as towards his own mother; but the mother is more venerable than they.
2.136Wealth, kin, age, ritual life, and the fifth, knowledge—these are the grounds for respect; and each subsequent one carries greater weight than each preceding. 137Among
138One should give way to people in vehicles or in their nineties, the sick, people carrying loads, women, bath-graduates, kings, and bridegrooms.
146Between the man who gave life and the man who gave the Veda, the man who gave the Veda is the more venerable father; for a Brahmin's birth in the Veda is everlasting, both here and in the hereafter.
154The seers have established this Law: "In our eyes, only a vedic savant is an eminent man"; eminence does not come from age, gray hairs, wealth, or kin. 155
9.282Anyone who drops filth on a royal highway, except in an emergency, should pay a fine of 2 Kä rsapana s and promptly clean up that filth;* 28%ut if it was an individual with an emergency, an old man, a pregnant woman, or a child, that person merits a reprimand and should be made to clean it up—that is the settled rule.
Marital Harmony:-
Good fortune smiles incessantly on a family where the husband always finds delight in his wife, and the wife in her husband.
62When the wife sparkles, so does the entire household; but when she ceases to sparkle, so does the entire household.
56Where women are revered,* there the gods rejoice; but where they are not, no rite bears any fruit.
3) REASON OF VARNA VYAVASTHA:-
Discipline have a very high place in Hinduism, the reason for Varna Vyavastha also connected with this reason.
"Even those living in the forests, obtained kingdoms through discipline" - Manu (MS, 7.40)
[वनस्था अपि राज्यानि विनयात्प्रतिपेदिरे]
The ultimate goal of the all dos & don'ts of Dharmaśāstras is the realisation of Brahman & mokṣa.
It's a process which begins with identifying one's Self with a varṇa, gender, etc., and ends in giving up such identification.
The last statement of Manusmṛti points to that.
एवं यः सर्वभूतेषु पश्यत्यात्मानमात्मना ।
स सर्वसमतामेत्य ब्रह्माभ्येति परं पदम् ॥
He who thus perceives the Self through the Self, in all beings, becomes equal towards all and attains the highest state, Brahman.
Medhatithi nicely explained this:-
4)Adhikara of Vedic study:-
Vedic studies require Vedic Upanayana, without that no one can learn Vedas or recite it
7) position of Shudras:-
लोकानां तु विवृद्ध्यर्थं मुखबाहूरुपादतः ।
ब्राह्मणं क्षत्रियं वैश्यं शूद्रं च निरवर्तयत् ॥
With a view to the development of the (three) regions, He brought into existence the Brāhmaṇa, the Kṣatriya, the Vaiśya and the Śūdra, from out of His mouth, arms, thighs and feet (respectively).
87 For the protection of this whole creation, that One of dazzling brilliance assigned separate activities for those born from the mouth, arms, thighs, and feet.
88To Brahmins, he assigned reciting and teaching the Veda, offering and officiating at sacrifices, and receiving and giving gifts.
89To the Ksatriya, he allotted protecting the subjects, giving gifts, offering sacrifices, reciting the Veda, and avoiding attachment to sensory objects; ^and to the Vaisya, looking after animals, giving gifts, offering sacrifices, reciting the Veda, trade, moneylending, and agriculture.
91 A single activity did the Lord allot to the Sudra, however: the ungrudging service of those very social classes.
8.410 The king should make Vaisyas pursue trade, moneylending, agriculture, and cattle herding, and make Sudras engage in the service of twice-born people.
8.418 The king should strenuously make Vaisyas and Sudras perform the activities specific to them; for when they deviate from their specific activities, they throw this world into confusion.
11.67 stealing grain, base metals, and livestock; sex with women who drink; killing a woman, a Sudra, a Vaisya, or a Ksatriya; and being an infidel—these are secondary sins causing loss of caste.
11.70 Accepting wealth from despicable men, trade, serving a Sudra, and telling lies—these should be recognized as sins that make a man unworthy of receiving gifts.
5)Was shudras barred from education?
As per मनुस्मृति, except for Vedas, other Shaastras can be studied by all varnas, and taken up as a profession.
विद्या शिल्पं भृतिः सेवा गोरक्ष्यं विपणिः कृषिः ।
धृतिर्भैक्षं कुसीदं च दश जीवनहेतवः ॥ ११६ ॥
Learning, handicrafts, working on hire, service, cattle-tending, trade, agriculture, contentment, begging and money-lending,—these are the ten means of livelihood.
Medhatithi further clarified this verse:-
So, even a Shudra can take up studying (and maybe even teaching) of Shastra/s (which are in Sanskrit), except for the Veda. It is also supported by other texts as well. As per Kashyapasamhita (vimanasthana 1), Ayurveda is to be studied by Shudras as well.
केन चाधेयय इति ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियवैश्यशूद्रैर् आयुर्वेदोऽध्येयः। - Kashyapasamhita; vimanasthana 1
Similar is said by Sushrutasamhita (sutrasthana 2.5):- शूद्रमपि कुलगुणसम्पन्नं मन्त्रवर्जम् अनुपनीतम् अध्यापयेद् इत्येके।
If shudras were totally barred from all studies & made them uneducated then
Apastamba would not said this thing in Apastamba Dharma sutra(2.28.11, 15) says that one may learn aspects of dharma from Sudras.
the message of Vedas could traditionally reach them through the 5th Veda.
Moreover Shudras could read written vedas
6) Vedas were prohibited for Sudras ?
They entitled to learn the fifth Veda, Itihāsa-Purāṇa and Nāṭyaśāstra.
4.99 "He must never recite indistinctly or in the presence of Sudras. After reciting the Veda during the last part of the night, he must not go back to sleep even if he is worn out
4.108Vedic recitation is to be suspended in a village where there is a corpse, in the presence of a Sudra, at the sound of weeping, and near a gathering of people.
Learning Vedas by reciting after the Guru recites = Śāstrīya Vedādhyayana.
Learning Vedas by reading written Vedas = Laukika Vedādhyayana.
Restriction is for Śāstrīya Vedādhyayana.
6)Could Shudra be a teacher ?
7) Could Shudra be a King ?
However treated in a negative light but we know Shudras were kings from Ancient times, even during the time of Manusmriti as well.
Manu (4.61) says:-
He should not live in a kingdom ruled by a Sudra, teeming with un-righteous people, overrun by people belonging to heretical ascetic sects, or swamped by lowest-born people.
7) were shudras slave of Dwijas ?
शूद्रं तु कारयेद् दास्यं क्रीतमक्रीतमेव वा ।
दास्यायैव हि सृष्टोऽसौ ब्राह्मणस्य स्वयम्भुवा ॥
8.413But a Śūdra, whether bought or unbought, he shall make to do servile work; since it is for doing servile work for the Brāhmaṇa that he has been created by the self-born one.
न स्वामिना निसृष्टोऽपि शूद्रो दास्याद् विमुच्यते ।
निसर्गजं हि तत् तस्य कस्तस्मात् तदपोहति ॥ ४१४ ॥
Even though set free by the master, the Śūdra is not released from service; since that is innate in him, and who can release him from it?
Interesting detailed description is in 8.415:-
ध्वजाहृतो भक्तदासो गृहजः क्रीतदत्त्रिमौ ।
पैत्रिको दण्डदासश्च सप्तैते दासयोनयः ॥
There are seven kinds of slaves—(1) captured under a banner, (2) slave on food, (3) born in the house, (4) bought, (5) presented, (6) hereditary, and (7) slave by punishment.
Explanation by Medhatithi:-
[“When the Śūdra works as a slave entirely through considerations of his duty, why should there be only seven kinds of slaves?”
There is no force in this objection. Because in his case ‘slavery’ is not innate in him; it is purely voluntary wish him; he having recourse to it only with a view to acquiring merit. And further, such a slave cannot be given away or pledged;—as the bought and house-born slaves can. In fact the Śūdra in question is guided by what has been declared (under 10.128) regarding the Śūdra ‘imitating the behaviour of the virtuous, etc., etc.’; and by this it is clearly implied that slavery is not inherent in him; he takes to it only with a view to a definite result. Hence there is real ‘slavery’ only when it is involuntary. So that if a Śūdra has property of his own and lives upon it, not supporting himself by depending upon the Brāhmaṇa and others, he does nothing wrong.]
विस्रब्धं ब्राह्मणः शूद्राद् द्रव्योपादानमाचरेत् ।
न हि तस्यास्ति किं चित् स्वं भर्तृहार्यधनो हि सः ॥
The Brāhmaṇa may confidently have recourse to seizing the goods of the Śūdra; as the latter has no property, and his property is meant to be seized by the master.
A Brahmin may confidently seize property from a Südra , because there is nothing that he owns; for he is a man whose property may be taken by his master.
8)Controversial verses regarding Shudras
9)Position of women:-
The chapter 5 of Manusmriti is full of praise for Women:-
55 If they desire an abundance of good fortune, fathers, brothers, husbands, and brothers-in-law should revere their women and provide them with adornments.
56Where women are revered,* there the gods rejoice; but where they are not, no rite bears any fruit.
57Where female relatives grieve, that family soon comes to ruin; but where they do not grieve, it always prospers.
58When female relatives, not receiving due reverence, curse any house, it comes to total ruin, as if struck down by witchcraft.
59 If men want to become prosperous, therefore, they should always honor the women on joyful occasions and festive days with gifts of adornments, clothes, and food.
If the wife is radiant with beauty, the whole house is bright; but if she is destitute of beauty, all will appear dismal.
145The teacher is ten times greater* than the tutor; the father is a hundred times greater than the teacher; but the mother is a thousand times greater than the father
10)Controversial verses regarding women:-
147Even in their own homes, a female—whether she is a child, a young woman, or an old lady—should never carry out any task independently.*
148As a child, she must remain under her father's control; as a young woman, under her husband's; and when her husband is dead, under her sons'. She must never seek to live independently.
149She must never want to separate herself from her father, husband, or sons; for by separating herself from them, a woman brings disgrace on both families.*
150She should be always cheerful, clever at housework, careful in keeping the utensils clean, and frugal in her expenditures.
154 Though he may be bereft of virtue, given to lust, and totally devoid of good qualities, a good woman should always worship her husband like a god.
155 For women, there is no independent sacrifice, vow, or fast; a woman will be exalted in heaven by the mere fact that she has obediently served her husband
अस्वतन्त्राः स्त्रियः कार्याः पुरुषैः स्वैर्दिवानिशम् ।
विषयेषु च सज्जन्त्यः संस्थाप्या आत्मनो वशे ॥
During the day and the night women should not be left to themselves by their men. If they become addicted to sensual objects, they should be kept under one’s control.
पिता रक्षति कौमारे भर्ता रक्षति यौवने ।
रक्षन्ति स्थविरे पुत्रा न स्त्री स्वातन्त्र्यमर्हति ॥
The father guards her during virginity, the husband guards her in youth, the sons guard her in old age; the woman is never fit for independence.
सूक्ष्मेभ्योऽपि प्रसङ्गेभ्यः स्त्रियो रक्ष्या विशेषतः ।
द्वयोर्हि कुलयोः शोकमावहेयुररक्षिताः ॥
Women should be specially guarded against even small attachments; for, if not guarded, they would bring grief to both families.
इमं हि सर्ववर्णानां पश्यन्तो धर्ममुत्तमम् ।
यतन्ते रक्षितुं भार्यां भर्तारो दुर्बला अपि ॥
Looking upon this as the highest duty of all castes, even weak husbands strive to guard their wives
स्वां प्रसूतिं चरित्रं च कुलमात्मानमेव च ।
स्वं च धर्मं प्रयत्नेन जायां रक्षन् हि रक्षति ॥
He who carefully protects his wife preserves his offspring, his character, his family, his own self, and also his religion.
9.13 Drinking, associating with bad people, living away from the husband, travel, sleep, and staying in the houses of others—these are the six things that corrupt women.
Repudiation of a Wife :-
^For one year let a husband tolerate a wife who loathes him; after one year, he should confiscate her inheritance and stop cohabiting with her.
78If a wife commits a transgression against her husband who is deranged, drunk, or sick, deprived of her ornaments and belongings, she should be cast out for three months.
Tf a wife loathes a husband who has become insane, fallen from caste, or impotent (3.150 n.), who is without semen,* or who has contracted an evil disease (3.92 n.), she must neither be abandoned nor deprived of her inheritance.
^When a wife drinks liquor or is dishonest,* cantankerous, sick, vicious, or wasteful, she may be superseded at any time by marriage to another wife.
81A barren wife may be superseded in the eighth year; a wife whose children die, in the tenth; a wife who bears girls, in the eleventh; but a foul-mouthed wife, at once.
lf a wife is sickly but affectionate and rich in virtue, he may marry a wife to supersede her with her consent; she should never be treated with disrespect.
9.83 On being superseded, if a wife, in anger, should go away from the house, she shall be either immediately confined, or cast off in the presence of the family.
84 If, after she is forbidden, a wife drinks liquor, albeit at festivals, or visits shows and fairs,* she should be fined 6 Krsnalas.
11)Child marriage & women education
12)Widow re-marriage
13)Property rights for women
14)Punishment for Adultery
15)Strict rules for Dwijas
16)Inter-varna marriages
17)Anuloma marriage accepted ?
A SOdra may take only a Sudra woman as wife; a Vaisya, the latter and a woman of his own class; a Ksatriya, the latter two and a woman of his own class; and a Brahmin, the latter three and a woman of his own class. H Not a single story alludes to a Brahmin or a Ksatriya taking a SOdra wife even when they are going through a time of adversity.
9.85-87 œlf twice-born men marry women of their own class as well as others, the order of their class determines their seniority, as also how they are honored and where they reside.86Among all these, only the wife of equal class may care for her husband's physical needs* or participate in his daily rites prescribed by Law, nevera wife belonging to a different class.
^If he foolishly gets another wife to carry these out while a wife of equal class is available, he becomes exactly like a Brahmin-Cä ndä l a described by the ancients.
It is the very nature of women here to corrupt men. On that account, prudent men are never off guard in the presence of alluring young women.
18)Brahmin could take Shudra wife for pleasure?
There are certain verses in manusmriti which peoples cherry pick to show that Brahmins could take Shudra wife only for pleasure. Let's see some of these verses then critically analyse, what exactly was Manu's stance
3.13A Sudra may take only a Sudra woman as wife; a Vaisya, the latter and a woman of his own class; a Ksatriya, the latter two and a woman of his own class; and a Brahmin, the latter three and a woman of his own class.
These verses people try to claim Manu supported this, but it is not Manu's opinion here it is what his personal opinion regarding this matter:-
"3.14Not a single story* mentions a Brahmin or a Ksatriya taking a Sudra wife even when they were going through a time of adversity.
15When twice-born men foolishly marry low-caste wives, they quickly reduce even their families and children to the rank of Sudras.
3.16 According to Atri and the son of Utathya, a man falls from his caste by marrying a Sudra woman; according to Saunaka, by fathering a son through her; and according to Bhrgu, by producing all his offspring through her.*
17By taking a Sudra woman to bed, a Brahmin will descend along the downward course; and by begetting a son through her, he falls from the very rank of a Brahmin.
18When such a woman plays the leading role in his divine, ancestral, and hospitality rites, gods and ancestors do not partake of them, and he will not go to heaven.
19No expiation is prescribed for a man who drinks the saliva from the lips of a Sudra woman, who is tainted by her breath, and who begets himself in her.*
3.190 If someone invited to an ancestral offering has a sexual encounter with a Sudra woman, he will assume all the sins committed by the donor of that offering.
9.178When a Brahmin fathers a son by a Südra woman out of lust, tradition calls him a Pärasava (10.8), because while still able (parayan) he is a corpse (savd).
19) PUNISHMENT FOR DIFFERENT VARNAS :-
9.248 If a man of a lower class deliberately torments Brahmins, the king should kill him using graphic modes of execution (9.279 n.) that strike terror into men.
19) Manu's stance on Niyoga system :-
Chapter 9
Tradition holds that for a younger brother, the wife of his older brother is the same as the wife of an elder;* and for an older brother, the wife of his younger brother is the same as a daughter-in-law.
58 Except in a time of adversity(Apad-Dharma), if an older brother has sex with his younger brother's wife or a younger brother with his older brother's wife, they become outcastes, even if they have been duly appointed.
59If the line is about to die out, a wife who is duly appointed may obtain the desired progeny through a brother-in-law or a relative belonging to the same ancestry (5.60 n.)
60The appointed man should smear himself with ghee, approach the widow at night in silence, and beget a single son, never a second.
62 When the purpose of his appointment to the widow has been fulfilled according to rule, however, they should behave towards each other as an elder and a daughter-in-law. œlf, on the contrary, the appointed couple disregard the rules and behave lustfully with one another, both become outcastes, he as a molester of a daughter-in-law, and she as a violator of an elder's bed.
^Twice-born men should never appoint a widowed woman to another man, for in appointing her to another man, they assail the eternal Law.*
65 The nuptial formulas nowhere mention appointment, nor do injunctions relating to marriage sanction the remarriage of widows.
अयं द्विजैर्हि विद्वद्भिः पशुधर्मो विगर्हितः ।
मनुष्याणामपि प्रोक्तो वेने राज्यं प्रशासति ॥
During the time that King Vena was ruling over his kingdom, this reprehensible bestial practice was introduced by ignorant twice-born men among men also.
67He was a preeminent royal sage, who once ruled the entire earth and, his mind overcome by lust, created the intermixing of classes. 68Since that time, good people denounce anyone who is senseless enough to appoint a woman to have children after her husband dies.
19)HIGH EULOGY OF BRAHMINS:-
लोकानां तु विवृद्ध्यर्थं मुखबाहूरुपादतः ।
ब्राह्मणं क्षत्रियं वैश्यं शूद्रं च निरवर्तयत् ॥
"With a view to the development of the (three) regions, He brought into existence the Brāhmaṇa, the Kṣatriya, the Vaiśya and the Śūdra, from out of His mouth, arms, thighs and feet (respectively).
Medhatithi's commentary:-
A man is said to be purer above the navel. Therefore, the Self-existent One has declared, the mouth is his purest part.* 93Because he arose from the loftiest part of the body, because he is the eldest, and because he retains the Veda,* the Brahmin is by Law the lord of this whole creation.
Among creatures, living beings are the best; among living beings, those who subsist by intelligence; among those who subsist by intelligence,* human beings; and among human beings, Brahmins—so the tradition declares. 97Among Brahmins, the learned are the best; among the learned, those who have made the resolve;* among those who have made the resolve, the doers; and among doers, the Vedic savants.+
135A 10-year-old Brahmin and a 100-year-old king, one should know, stand with respect to each other as a father to a son; but of the two, the Brahmin is the father.
20)ACTUAL POSITION OF BRAHMINS:-
a) Caste & associated duties:-
Vedic knowledge came up to the Brahmin and said,* "I am your treasure.
Guard me! Do not hand me over to a malcontent. I shall thus become supremely strong. 115A man you know to be honest, restrained, and chaste—only to such a Brahmin should you disclose me, as to a vigilant guardian of your treasure."*
2.118 A well-disciplined Brahmin, although he knows just the Sâ vitr ï verse, is far better than an un-disciplined one who eats all types of food and deals in all types of merchandise, though he may know all three Vedas.
168When a Brahmin expends great effort in other matters without studying the Veda, while still alive he is quickly reduced to the status of a Sudra, together with his children.
A person consecrated for sacrifice should not be addressed by name even if he is younger; a man conversant with the Law should address such a person using the words "bho" or "Sir" (bhavat). 129He should address a woman who is another man's wife and who is not a
A Brahmin planning on undergoing ascetic toil should simply recite the Veda constantly; for vedic recitation is recognized here as the highest ascetic toil for a Brahmin
21)KILLING OF BRAHMIN :-
235A murderer of a Brahmin, a man who drinks liquor, a thief, and a man who has sex with an elder's wife—all these men should be considered individually* as guilty of a grievous sin causing loss of caste (11.55 n.).
237For sex with an elder's wife, the man should be branded with the mark of a vagina; for drinking liquor, with the sign of a tavern (11.93 n.); for stealing, with the figure of a dog's foot;
and for killing a Brahmin, with the figure of a headless man.
22)Shudras lives comparatively easy?
23)Birth based or occupation based varna?
24)Can varna change possible ?
25)Outcasted:-
26)Prāyaścitas for various sins
27)Who can read manusmriti
28)Varnashram
29)Rules regarding Brahmachari
30)Rules regarding Grihasta
31)Rules regarding Vanaprasthi
32)Rules regarding Sannyasi
33)Strict life of Brahmins & other Dwijas
34)Untouchability :-
9.238These wretched men— with whom one is not permitted to eat, to participate at a sacrifice, to recite the Veda, or to contract marriages—shall roam the earth, excluded from all activities relating to the Law. 239Branded with marks, they shall be forsaken by their paternal and maternal relations; they should be shown no compassion and paid no reverence—that is Manu's decree.
240
35)Duties of a king
35) A short overview of Manu's era :-
36)War ethics
37)Various Punishments
38)Duties of Women
39)Status of mixed castes
40)Rules during Apad-Dharma stithi
41)Was slavery accepted?
42)Is Manusmriti authored by God or Manu ?
43)Can we change manusmriti ?
44)Is present manusmriti is corrupted ?
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