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

婆罗门说道：“若在童年时因无知而曾向任何人伸手乞求，我已不复记得。但如今我诵持圣典《三希塔》（Saṃhitā）——即伽耶特丽（Gāyatrī）真言——奉行以出离为相的‘尼弗里提’之法，守制而行，清净而住。”

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).