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

婆羅門は言った。「もし幼き日に、無知ゆえに誰かの前で手を差し伸べて乞うたことがあったとしても、もはや覚えてはいない。だが今の我は、聖なるサンヒター—（ガーヤトリーの真言）—を誦しつつ、ニヴリッティの相をもつ法、すなわち退転と離欲の道を修し、節制と出離に住している。」

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).