[INDOLOGY] Dharmasastra quotation on upanayana

[Ashok Aklujkar]

A plausible correction for upanīyayet has already been suggested in the form of upanayīta or upanayet.

The iti at the end of Balabhadra's sentence may have been meant in the sense of 'since, because'. The intended logical connection may be something like this: 'Because the boy is held to be looking for nourishment at the age of six, some restrictions on his eating that come with the upanayana sa.mskaara can/should start with age eight and hence the prescribed upanayana  time is the eighth year.' 

Pl note that I am pointing out one possible reason, not claiming that that reason alone was intended.

If what I am suggesting is plausible, we need not search for an exacting matching sentence in earlier authoritative texts. 

a.a.