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

Transliteration

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

Translation

The Brahmin said: “If, in my childhood, out of ignorance I ever stretched out my hand to beg before anyone, I do not even remember it. But now, reciting the sacred Saṃhitā—the Gāyatrī mantra—I practice the dharma marked by withdrawal (nivṛtti), living in restraint and renunciation.”

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).