[INDOLOGY] Manusmriti ... (Olivelle, J P)

[Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan]

V. S. Apte’s dictionary (https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app_test/apte_query.py?page=1049) has the following entries, the last one citing Manu 9.15.

 

पौंश्चलीय pauṃścalīya a. [-यी f.) Relating to harlots. 

पौंश्चलेयः pauṃścaleyaḥ The son of a harlot. 

पौंश्चल्यम् pauṃścalyam Harlotry, female incontinence; पौंश्चल्याच्चल- चित्ताच्च नैस्नेह्याच्च स्वभावतः । रक्षिता यत्नतोऽपीह भर्तृष्वेता विकुर्वते ॥ Ms.9.15.

 

Regards,

Palaniappan

 

 

From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of Indology List <indology at list.indology.info>
Reply-To: DIEGO LOUKOTA SANCLEMENTE <diegoloukota at ucla.edu>
Date: Thursday, October 29, 2020 at 12:22 PM
To: Indology List <indology at list.indology.info>
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Manusmriti ... (Olivelle, J P)

 

 

   Dear all,

   With regard to Manu and "women being prostitutes," and with respect and utter admiration for Prof. Olivelle, I would like to suggest that some ślokas of the passages already mentioned suggest something beyond a simple "need to guard [women] from even the slightest attachment to sensual pleasure":

naitā rūpaṃ parīkṣante nāsāṃ vayasi saṃsthitiḥ
surūpaṃ vā virūpaṃ vā pumān ity eva bhuñjate 

pauṃścalyāc calacittāc ca naisnehyāc ca svabhāvataḥ 
rakṣitā yatnato 'pīha bhartṛṣv etā vikurvate 

   In Prof. Olivelle's own translation ("they"=women, caps for emphasis mine):

"They pay no attention to beauty, they pay no heed to age; whether he is good looking or ugly, they make love to him with the single thought, "He's a man!" Because of the lechery, fickleness of mind, and hard-heartedness that are innate in them, EVEN WHEN THEY ARE CAREFULLY GUARDED IN THIS WORLD, they become hostile towards their husband"

   I would remark here that although "lechery" is of course entirely adequate, pauṃścalya>puṃś-calī is literally "one who runs after men," idiomatically and unequivocally a "prostitute," so perhaps something like "whorishness" or "sl at ttiness" may convey more directly the flavour of the Sanskrit word. 

   On a personal note, I feel the venerable Manu to be, without much exegesis or word-bending, pretty antagonistic to a modern feminist agenda, which I support.

   namaskaromi,

   Diego  

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