[INDOLOGY] Manusmriti ... (Olivelle, J P)

[DIEGO LOUKOTA SANCLEMENTE]

   Dear all,

   With regard to Manu and "women being prostitutes," and with respect and
utter admiration for Prof. Olivelle, I would like to suggest that some
*śloka*s of the passages already mentioned suggest something beyond a
simple "need to guard [women] from even the slightest attachment to sensual
pleasure":





*naitā rūpaṃ parīkṣante nāsāṃ vayasi saṃsthitiḥsurūpaṃ vā virūpaṃ vā pumān
ity eva bhuñjate pauṃścalyāc calacittāc ca naisnehyāc ca svabhāvataḥ
rakṣitā yatnato 'pīha bhartṛṣv etā vikurvate *

   In Prof. Olivelle's own translation ("they"=women, caps for emphasis mine
):

"They pay no attention to beauty, they pay no heed to age; whether he is
good looking or ugly, they make love to him with the single thought, "He's
a man!" Because of the lechery, fickleness of mind, and hard-heartedness
that are innate in them, EVEN WHEN THEY ARE CAREFULLY GUARDED IN THIS WORLD,
they become hostile towards their husband"

   I would remark here that although "lechery" is of course entirely
adequate, *pauṃścalya*>*puṃś-calī* is literally "one who runs after
men," idiomatically
and unequivocally a "prostitute," so perhaps something like "whorishness"
or "sl at ttiness" may convey more directly the flavour of the Sanskrit word.

   On a personal note, I feel the venerable Manu to be, without much
exegesis or word-bending, pretty antagonistic to a modern feminist agenda,
which I support.

   *namaskaromi*,

   Diego


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