Shloka 79

Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman

Manu’s Instruction

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मण उवाच बाल्ये यदि स्यादज्ञानान्मया हस्त: प्रसारित: । निवृत्तलक्षणं धर्ममुपासे संहितां जपन्‌,ब्राह्मणने कहा--यदि बाल्यावस्थामें अज्ञानवश मैंने कभी किसीके सामने हाथ फैलाया हो तो उसका मुझे स्मरण नहीं है; परंतु अब तो संहिता--गायत्रीमन्त्रका जप करता हुआ निवृत्तिधर्मकी उपासना करता हूँ

Transliteration

brāhmaṇa uvāca bālye yadi syād ajñānān mayā hastaḥ prasāritaḥ | nivṛttalakṣaṇaṃ dharmam upāse saṃhitāṃ japan |

Translation

قال البراهمن: «إن كنتُ في صباي، عن جهل، قد مددتُ يدي يومًا متسولًا أمام أحد، فلا أذكر ذلك حتى. أما الآن فإني أُردِّد السَّمْهِيتا المقدسة—(مانترا الغاياتري)—وأتعبد بدارما النِّفْرِتّي، دارما الانصراف والزهد، عائشًا في ضبط النفس وترك التعلّق.»

Word by Word

• {'brāhmaṇa uvāca': 'the Brahmin said', 'bālye': 'in childhood', 'yadi': 'if', 'syāt': 'might have been / could have occurred', 'ajñānāt': 'from ignorance, due to not knowing', 'mayā': 'by me', 'hastaḥ': 'hand', 'prasāritaḥ': 'stretched out, extended (often implying begging)', 'nivṛtta-lakṣaṇam': 'having the characteristic of withdrawal/cessation (from worldly pursuits)', 'dharma': 'righteous conduct

• religious-ethical duty', 'upāse': 'I practice

• I worship/observe', 'saṃhitām': 'the (Vedic) Saṃhitā

• here, the sacred formula identified with Gāyatrī', 'japan': 'repeating softly

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa (the speaker)
• Saṃhitā (identified with the Gāyatrī mantra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Past lapses born of ignorance need not define one’s present; the verse emphasizes ethical self-restraint and the turn toward nivṛtti-dharma—withdrawal from worldly dependence—supported by disciplined sacred recitation (japa) such as the Gāyatrī.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin speaker reflects on his life: even if he may once have begged as a child, he no longer lives that way. He presents his current identity as one grounded in renunciation and spiritual practice, marked by japa of the sacred Saṃhitā (understood here as the Gāyatrī).