Manusmriti — Chapter on Expiations and Ritual-Juridical Remedies, Shloka 93

Devanagari script

सुरा वै मलम् अन्नानां पाप्मा च मलम् उच्यते तस्माद् ब्राह्मणराजन्यौ वैश्यश् च न सुरां पिबेत् //

Transliteration

surā vai malam annānāṃ pāpmā ca malam ucyate tasmād brāhmaṇarājanyau vaiśyaś ca na surāṃ pibet //

Translation

The text characterizes surā (intoxicating liquor) as a “defilement” of food and likewise describes sin (pāpmā) as a defilement; therefore, it states that a Brāhmaṇa, a Rājanya (Kṣatriya), and a Vaiśya should not drink surā.

Word Meanings

सुरा (surā): intoxicating liquor; वै (vai): indeed/for emphasis; मलम् (malam): impurity/defilement; अन्नानाम् (annānām): of foods; पाप्मा (pāpmā): sin/evil; च (ca): and; उच्यते (ucyate): is said/called; तस्मात् (tasmāt): therefore; ब्राह्मण (brāhmaṇa): Brahmin (priestly class); राजन्यौ (rājanyau): the Rājanya/Kṣatriya (royal/warrior class) [dual used collectively]; वैश्यः (vaiśyaḥ): Vaiśya (commoner/mercantile class); न (na): not; सुराम् (surām): surā (acc.); पिबेत् (pibet): should drink (optative; prescriptive modality)

Word by Word

• सुरा: liquor, spirit
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरा
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै
• Form: निपात (अव्यय)

• मलम्: impurity, filth
• Type: Noun
• Root: मल
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अन्नानाम्: of foods
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्न
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• पाप्मा: sin, evil
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप्मन्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: समुच्चय (अव्यय)

• मलम्: impurity
• Type: Noun
• Root: मल
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उच्यते: is said/called
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), कर्मणि प्रयोग, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• तस्मात्: therefore, from that
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (अव्ययीभावार्थे ‘therefore’)

• ब्राह्मणराजन्यौ: the Brāhmaṇa and the Kṣatriya
• ब्राह्मणराजन्यौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण-राजन्य
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• वैश्यः: the Vaiśya
• वैश्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैश्य
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: समुच्चय (अव्यय)

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न
• Form: निषेध (अव्यय)

• सुराम्: liquor
• सुराम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरा
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पिबेत्: should drink
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा
• Form: विधिलिङ्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

• The Sage Bhṛgu (as narrator of Manu’s teaching in the Mānava-Dharmaśāstra tradition)

Entities Mentioned

• Surā
• Brāhmaṇa
• Rājanya (Kṣatriya)
• Vaiśya
• Pāpmā (sin)

Tags

• History of Hindu Law
• Dharmaśāstra Studies
• Prāyaścitta
• Ancient Social Norms
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical context of this verse?

Within Adhyaya 11, the Mānava-Dharmaśāstra compiles norms and expiations (prāyaścitta) for actions categorized as moral and ritual transgressions. This verse frames alcohol (surā) in terms of impurity (mala) and links it to the broader discourse on sin and expiation, reflecting a legal-religious concern with purity, social order, and regulated conduct in Brahmanical normative traditions.

How is the concept of impurity (mala) documented in this verse?

The verse uses mala (‘defilement/impurity’) as a classificatory term: surā is labeled a defilement of food, and pāpmā (sin) is likewise called a defilement. This pairing rhetorically aligns dietary/ritual pollution with moral pollution, a common Dharmaśāstra strategy for grounding legal norms in purity discourse.

What is the linguistic significance of the prescription in this specific śloka?

The verb pibet is an optative form (3rd person singular, parasmaipada), a standard grammatical vehicle for normative prescription in Sanskrit. Additionally, the collective listing ‘brāhmaṇa–rājanya–vaiśya’ encodes a varṇa-targeted rule, and the emphatic particle vai reinforces the definitional claim about surā as mala.