Book III

Account of the several Manus and Manvantaras. Svārociṣa the second Manu: the divinities, the Indra, the seven Ṛṣis of his period, and his sons. Similar details of Auttami, Tāmasa, Raivata, Cākṣuṣa, and Vaivaswata. The forms of Viṣṇu, as the preserver, in each Manvantara. The meaning of Viṣṇu. The disposition of the earth and of the ocean, and the system of the sun and the planets, the creation of the gods and the rest, the origin of the Ṛṣis, the generation of the four castes, the production of brute creatures, and the narratives of Dhruva and Prahlāda, have been fully related by thee, my venerable preceptor. I am now desirous to hear from you the series of all the Manvantaras, as well as an account of those who preside over the respective periods, with Śakra, the king of the gods, at their head. I will repeat to you, Maitreya, in their order, the different Manvantaras; those which are past, and those which are to come. The first Manu was Svāyambhuva, then came Svārociṣa, then Auttami, then Tāmasa, then Raivata, then Cākṣuṣa: these six Manus have passed away. The Manu who presides over the seventh Manvantara, which is the present period, is Vaivaswata, the son of the sun. The period of Svāyambhuva Manu, in the beginning of the Kalpa, has already been described by me, together with the gods, Ṛṣis, and other personages, who then flourished. I will now, therefore, enumerate the presiding gods, Ṛṣis, and sons of the Manu, in the Manvantara of Svārociṣa. The deities of this period (or the second Manvantara) were the classes called Pārāvatas and Tuṣitas; and the king of the gods was the mighty Vipaścit. The seven Ṛṣis were Ūrja, Stambha, Prāṇa, Dattoli, Riṣabha, Niścara, and Arvarīvat; and Caitra, Kimpuruṣa, and others, were the Manu's sons. In the third period, or Manvantara of Auttami, Suśānti was the Indra, the king of the gods; the orders of whom were the Sudhāmas, Satyas, Śivas, Pradarśanas, and Vasavertis; each of the five orders consisting of twelve divinities. The seven sons of Vaśiṣṭha were the seven Ṛṣis; and Aja, Paraśu, Divya, and others, were the sons of the Manu. The Surūpas, Haris, Satyas, and Śudhīs were the classes of gods, each comprising twenty-seven, in the period of Tāmasa, the fourth Manu. Śivi was the Indra, also designated by his performance of a hundred sacrifices (or named Śatakratu ). The seven Ṛṣis were Jyotirdhāmā, Prithu, Kāvya, Caitra, Agni, Vanaka, and Pivara. The sons of Tāmasa were the mighty kings Nara, Khyāti, Śāntahaya, Jānujaṅgha, and others. In the fifth interval the Manu was Raivata: the Indra was Vibhu: the classes of gods, consisting of fourteen each, were the Amitābhas, Abhūtarajasas, Vaikunthas, and Sumedhasas: the seven Ṛṣis were Hiraṇyaromā, Vedasrī, Urddhabāhu, Vedabāhu, Sudhāman, Parjanya, and Mahāmuni: the sons of Raivata were Balabandhu, Susambhāvya, Satyaka, and other valiant kings. These four Manus, Svārociṣa, Auttamī, Tāmasa, and Raivata, were all descended from Priyavrata, who, in consequence of propitiating Viṣṇu by his devotions, obtained these rulers of the Manvantaras for his posterity. Cākṣuṣa was the Manu of the sixth period: in which the Indra was Manojava: the five classes of gods were the Ādyas, Prastūtas, Bhavyas, Prithugas, and the magnanimous Lekhas, eight of each: Sumedhas, Virajas, Havishmat, Uttama, Madhu, Abhināman, and Sahiṣṇu were the seven sages: the kings of the earth, the sons of Cākṣuṣa, were the powerful Uru, Puru, Śatadyumna, and others. The Manu of the present period is the wise lord of obsequies, the illustrious offspring of the sun: the deities are the Ādityas, Vasus, and Rudras; their sovereign is Purandara: Vaśiṣṭha, Kaśyapa, Atri, Jamadagni, Gautama, Viśvāmitra, and Bharadvāja are the seven Ṛṣis: and the nine pious sons of Vaivaswata Manu are the kings Ikṣvāku, Nabhaga, Dhṛṣṭa, Sanyāti, Nariṣyanta, Nābhanidiṣṭa, Karuṣa, Pṛṣadhra, and the celebrated Vasumat. The unequalled energy of Viṣṇu combining with the quality of goodness, and effecting the preservation of created things, presides over all the Manvantaras in the form of a divinity. Of a portion of that divinity Yajña was born in the Svāyambhuva Manvantara, the will-begotten progeny of Ākūtī. When the Svārociṣa Manvantara had arrived, that divine Yajña was born as Ajita, along with the Tuṣita gods, the sons of Tushitā. In the third Manvantara, Tuṣita was again born of Satyā, as Satya, along with the class of deities so denominated. In the next period, Satya became Hari, along with the Haris, the children of Harī. The excellent Hari was again born in the Raivata Manvantara, of Sambhūti, as Mānasa, along with the gods called Abhūtarajasas. In the next period, Viṣṇu was born of Vikunthi, as Vaikuntha, along with the deities called Vaikunthas. In the present Manvantara, Viṣṇu was again born as Vāmana, the son of Kaśyapa by Aditī. With three paces he subdued the worlds, and gave them, freed from all embarrassment, to Purandara. These are the seven persons by whom, in the several Manvantaras, created beings have been protected. Because this whole world has been pervaded by the energy of the deity, he is entitled Viṣṇu, from the root Vis, ‘to enter’ or ‘pervade;’ for all the gods, the Manus, the seven Ṛṣis, the sons of the Manus, the Indras the sovereigns of the gods, all are but the impersonated might of Viṣṇu.

Of the seven future Manus and Manvantaras. Story of Sañjñā and Chāyā, wives of the sun. Sāvarṇi, son of Chāyā, the eighth Manu. His successors, with the divinities, &c. of their respective periods. Appearance of Viṣṇu in each of the four Yugas. You have recapitulated to me, most excellent Brahman, the particulars of the past Manvantaras; now give me some account of those which are to come. Sañjñā, the daughter of Viśvakarman, was the wife of the sun, and bore him three children, the Manu (Vaivaswata), Yama, and the goddess Yamī (or the Yamunā river). Unable to endure the fervours of her lord, Sañjñā gave him Chāyā as his handmaid, and repaired to the forests to practise devout exercises. The sun, supposing Chāyā to be his wife Sañjñā, begot by her three other children, Śanaiścara (Saturn), another Manu (Sāvarṇi), and a daughter Tapatī (the Tapti river). Chāyā, upon one occasion, being offended with Yama, the son of Sañjñā, denounced an imprecation upon him, and thereby revealed to Yama and to the sun that she was not in truth Sañjñā, the mother of the former. Being further informed by Chāyā that his wife had gone to the wilderness, the sun beheld her by the eye of meditation engaged in austerities, in the figure of a mare (in the region of Uttara Kuru ). Metamorphosing himself into a horse, he rejoined his wife, and begot three other children, the two Āswins and Revanta, and then brought Sañjñā back to his own dwelling. To diminish his intensity, Viśvakarman placed the luminary on his lathe, to grind off some of his effulgence; and in this manner reduced it an eighth, for more than that was inseparable. The parts of the divine Vaiṣṇava splendour, residing in the sun, that were filed off by Viśvakarman, fell blazing down upon the earth, and the artist constructed of them the discus of Viṣṇu, the trident of Śiva, the weapon of the god of wealth, the lance of Kārtikeya, and the weapons of the other gods: all these Viśvakarman fabricated from the superfluous rays of the sun. The son of Chāyā, who was called also a Manu, was denominated Sāvarṇi, from being of the same caste ( Savarṇa ) as his elder brother, the Manu Vaivaswata. He presides over the ensuing or eighth Manvantara; the particulars of which, and the following, I will now relate. In the period in which Sāvarṇi shall be the Manu, the classes of the gods will be Sutapas, Amitābhas, and Mukhyas; twenty-one of each. The seven Ṛṣis will be Dīptimat, Gālava, Rāma, Kripa, Drauṇi; my son Vyāsa will be the sixth, and the seventh will be Ṛṣyasriṅga. The Indra will be Bali, the sinless son of Virocana, who through the favour of Viṣṇu is actually sovereign of part of Pātāla. The royal progeny of Sāvarṇi will be Virajas, Arvarīvas, Nirmoha, and others. The ninth Manu will be Dakṣa -sāvarṇi. The Pāras, Marīcigarbhas, and Sudharmas will be the three classes of divinities, each consisting of twelve; their powerful chief will be the Indra Adbhuta. Savana, Dyutimat, Bhavya, Vasu, Medhatithi, Jyotishmān, and Satya will be the seven Ṛṣis. Dhritaketu, Driptiketu, Pañcahasta, Mahāmāyā, Prithuśrava, and others, will be the sons of the Manu. In the tenth Manvantara the Manu will be Brahmā -sāvarṇi: the gods will be the Sudhāmas, Viruddhas, and Śatasaṅkhyas: the Indra will be the mighty Śānti: the Ṛṣis will be Havishmān, Sukriti, Satya, Apāmmūrtti, Nābhāga, Apratimaujas, and Satyaketu: and the ten sons of the Manu will be Sukṣetra, Uttarnaujas, Hariṣeṇa, and others. In the eleventh Manvantara the Manu will be Dharma -sāvarṇi: the principal classes of gods will be the Vihangamas, Kāmagamas, and Nirmānaratis, each thirty in number; of whom Vṛṣa will be the Indra: the Ṛṣis will be Niścara, Agnitejas, Vapushmān, Viṣṇu, Āruni, Havishmān, and Anagha: the kings of the earth, and sons of the Manu, will be Savarga, Sarvadharma, Devānīka, and others. In the twelfth Manvantara the son of Rudra, Sāvarṇi, will be the Manu: Ritudhāmā will be the Indra: and the Haritas, Lohitas, Sumanasas, and Sukarmas will be the classes of gods, each comprising fifteen. Tapasvī, Sutapas, Tapomūrtti, Taporati, Tapodhriti, Tapodyuti, and Tapodhana will be the Ṛṣis: and Devavān, Upadeva, Devaśreṣṭa, and others, will be the Manu's sons, and mighty monarchs on the earth. In the thirteenth Manvantara the Manu will be Raucya: the classes of gods, thirty-three in each, will be the Sudhāmans, Sudharmans, and Sukarmans; their Indra will be Divaspati: the Ṛṣis will be Nirmoha, Tatwadersīn, Niṣprakampa, Nirutsuka, Dhritimat, Avyaya, and Sutapas: and Citrasena, Vicitra, and others, will be the kings. In the fourteenth Manvantara, Bhautya will be the Manu; Suchi, the Indra: the five classes of gods will be the Cākṣuṣas, the Pavitras, Kaniṣṭhas, Bhrājiras, and Vāvriddhas: the seven Ṛṣis will be Agnibāhu, Śuci, Śukra, Magadhā, Gridhra, Yukta, and Ajita: and the sons of the Manu will be Uru, Gabhīra, Bradhna, and others, who will be kings, and will rule over the earth. At the end of every four ages there is a disappearance of the Vedas, and it is the province of the seven Ṛṣis to come down upon earth from heaven to give them currency again. In every Krita age the Manu (of the period) is the legislator or author of the body of law, the Smriti: the deities of the different classes receive the sacrifices during the Manvantaras to which they severally belong: and the sons of the Manu them. selves, and their descendants, are the sovereigns of the earth for the whole of the same term. The Manu, the seven Ṛṣis, the gods, the sons of the Manu, who are the kings, and Indra, are the beings who preside over the world during each Manvantara. An entire Kalpa, oh Brahman, is said to comprise a thousand ages, or fourteen Manvantaras; and it is succeeded by a night of similar duration; during which, he who wears the form of Brahmā, Janārddana, the substance of all things, the lord of all, and creator of all, involved in his own illusions, and having swallowed up the three spheres, sleeps upon the serpent Śeṣa, amidst the ocean. Being after that awake, he, who is the universal soul, again creates all things as they were before, in combination with the property of foulness (or activity): and in a portion of his essence, associated with the property of goodness, he, as the Manus, the kings, the gods, and their Indras, as well as the seven Ṛṣis, is the preserver of the world. In what manner Viṣṇu, who is characterised by the attribute of providence during the four ages, effected their preservation, I will next, Maitreya, explain. In the Krita age, Viṣṇu, in the form of Kapila and other inspired teachers, assiduous for the benefit of all creatures, imparts to them true wisdom. In the Treta age he restrains the wicked, in the form of a universal monarch, and protects the three worlds. In the Dvāpara age, in the person of Veda-vyāsa, he divides the one Veda into four, and distributes it into innumerable branches: and at the end of the Kali or fourth age he appears as Kalki, and reestablishes the iniquitous in the paths of rectitude. In this manner the universal spirit preserves, creates, and at last destroys, all the world. Thus, Brahman, I have described to you the true nature of that great being who is all things, and besides whom there is no other existent thing, nor has there been, nor will there be, either here or elsewhere. I have also enumerated to you the Manvantaras, and those who preside over them. What else do you wish to hear?

Division of the Veda into four portions, by a Vyāsa, in every Dvāpara age. List of the twenty-eight Vyāsas of the present Manvantara. Meaning of the word Brahma. I have learnt from you, in due order, how this world is Viṣṇu; how it is in Viṣṇu; how it is from Viṣṇu: nothing further is to be known: but I should desire to hear how the Vedas were divided, in different ages, by that great being, in the form of Veda-vyāsa ? who were the Vyāsas of their respective eras? and what were the branches into which the Vedas were distributed? The branches of the great tree of the Vedas are so numerous, Maitreya, that it is impossible to describe them at length. I will give you a summary account of them. In every Dvāpara (or third) age, Viṣṇu, in the person of Vyāsa, in order to promote the good of mankind, divides the Veda, which is properly but one, into many portions: observing the limited perseverance, energy, and application of mortals, he makes the Veda fourfold, to adapt it to their capacities; and the bodily form which he assumes, in order to effect that classification, is known by the name of Veda-vyāsa. Of the different Vyāsas in the present Manvantara, and the branches which they have taught, you shall have an account. Twenty-eight times have the Vedas been arranged by the great Ṛṣis in the Vaivaswata Manvantara in the Dvāpara age, and consequently eight and twenty Vyāsas have passed away; by whom, in their respective periods, the Veda has been divided into four. In the first Dvāpara age the distribution was made by Swayambhu ( Brahmā ) himself; in the second, the arranger of the Veda (Veda-vyāsa) was Prajāpati (or Manu ); in the third, Uśanas; in the fourth, Vrihaspati; in the fifth, Savitri; in the sixth, Mrityu (Death, or Yama ); in the seventh, Indra; in the eighth, Vaśiṣṭha; in the ninth, Sāraswata; in the tenth, Tridhāman; in the eleventh, Trivṛṣan; in the twelfth, Bharadvāja; in the thirteenth, Antarīkṣa; in the fourteenth, Vapra; in the fifteenth, Trayyāruṇa; in the sixteenth, Dhanañjaya; in the seventeenth, Kritañjaya; in the eighteenth, Riṇa; in the nineteenth, Bharadvāja; in the twentieth, Gotama; in the twenty-first, Uttama, also called Haryātmā; in the twenty-second, Veṇa, who is likewise named Rājaśravas; in the twenty-third, Somaśushmāpaṇa, also Triṇavindu; in the twenty-fourth, Rikṣa, the descendant of Bhrigu, who is known also by the name Vālmīki; in the twenty-fifth, my father Śakti was the Vyāsa; I was the Vyāsa of the twenty-sixth Dvāpara, and was succeeded by Jaratkāru; the Vyāsa of the twenty-eighth, who followed him, was Kṛṣṇa Dwaipāyana. These are the twenty-eight elder Vyāsas, by whom, in the preceding Dvāpara ages, the Veda has been divided into four. In the next Dvāpara, Drauṇi (the son of Droṇa ) will be the Vyāsa, when my son, the Muni Kṛṣṇa Dwaipāyana, who is the actual Vyāsa, shall cease to be (in that character). The syllable Om is defined to be the eternal monosyllabic Brahma. The word Brahma is derived from the root Vriha (to increase), because it is infinite (spirit), and because it is the cause by which the Vedas (and all things) are developed. Glory to Brahma, who is addressed by that mystic word, associated eternally with the triple universe, and who is one with the four Vedas. Glory to Brahma, who, alike in the destruction and renovation of the world, is called the great and mysterious cause of the intellectual principle ( Mahat ); who is without limit in time or space, and exempt from diminution or decay; in whom (as connected with the property of darkness) originates worldly illusion; and in whom resides the end of soul (fruition or liberation), through the properties of light and of activity (or goodness and foulness). He is the refuge of those who are versed in the Sāṅkhya philosophy; of those who have acquired control over their thoughts and passions. He is the invisible, imperishable Brahma; varying in form, invariable in substance; the chief principle, self-engendered; who is said to illuminate the caverns of the heart; who is indivisible, radiant, undecaying, multiform. To that supreme Brahma be for ever adoration. That form of Vāsudeva, who is the same with supreme spirit, which is Brahma, and which, although diversified as threefold, is identical, is the lord, who is conceived by those that contemplate variety in creation to be distinct in all creatures. He, composed of the Rik, Sauna, and Yajur-Vedas, is at the same time their essence, as he is the soul of all embodied spirits. He, distinguished as consisting of the Vedas, creates the Vedas, and divides them by many subdivisions into branches: he is the author of those branches: he is those aggregated branches; for he, the eternal lord, is the essence of true knowledge.

Division of the Veda, in the last Dvāpara age, by the Vyāsa Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana. Paila made reader of the Rich; Vaiśampāyana of the Yajush; Jaimini of the Shun; and Sumantu of the Atharvan. Sūta appointed to teach the historical poems. Origin of the four parts of the Veda. Saṃhitās of the Rig-veda. The original Veda, in four parts, consisted of one hundred thousand stanzas; and from it sacrifice of ten kinds, the accomplisher of all desires, proceeded. In the twenty-eighth Dvāpara age my son Vyāsa separated the four portions of the Veda into four Vedas. In the same manner as the Vedas were arranged by him, as Vedavyāsa, so were they divided in former periods by all the preceding Vyāsas, and by myself: and the branches into which they were subdivided by him were the same into which they had been distributed in every aggregate of the four ages. Know, Maitreya, the Vyāsa called Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana to be the deity Nārāyaṇa; for who else on this earth could have composed the Mahābhārata ? Into what portions the Vedas were arranged by my magnanimous son, in the Dvāpara age, you shall hear. When Vyāsa was enjoined by Brahmā to arrange the Vedas in different books, he took four persons, well read in those works, as his disciples. He appointed Paila reader of the Rich; Vaiśampāyana of the Yajush; and Jaimini of the Soma -veda: and Sumantu, who was conversant with the Atharva-veda, was also the disciple of the learned Vyāsa. He also took Sūta, who was named Lomaharṣaṇa, as his pupil in historical and legendary traditions. There was but one Yajur-veda; but dividing this into four parts, Vyāsa instituted the sacrificial rite that is administered by four kinds of priests: in which it was the duty of the Adhwaryu to recite the prayers (Yajush) (or direct the ceremony); of the Hotri, to repeat the hymns ( Ricas ); of the Udgātri, to chaunt other hymns ( Sāma ); and of the Brahman, to pronounce the formulæ called Atharva. Then the Muni, having collected together the hymns called Ricas, compiled the Rigveda; with the prayers and directions termed Yajuṣas he formed the Yajur-veda; with those called Sāma, Sāma-veda; and with the Atharvas he composed the rules of all the ceremonies suited to kings, and the function of the Brahman agreeably to practice. This vast original tree of the Vedas, having been divided by him into four principal stems, soon branched out into an extensive forest. In the first place, Paila divided the Rig-veda, and gave the two Saṃhitās (or collections of hymns) to Indrapramati and to Bāṣkali. Bāṣkali subdivided his Saṃhitā into four, which he gave to his disciples Baudhya, Agnimāṭhara, Yajñawalka, and Parāśara; and they taught these secondary shoots from the primitive branch. Indrapramati imparted his Saṃhitā to his son Maṇḍukeya, and it thence descended through successive generations, as well as disciples. Vedamitra, called also Śākalya, studied the same Saṃhitā, but he divided it into five Saṃhitās, which he distributed amongst as many disciples, named severally Sākapūrṇi made a different division of the original Saṃhitā into three portions, and added a glossary ( Nirukta ), constituting a fourth. The three Saṃhitās were given to his three pupils, Krauncha, Vaitālaki, and Valāka; and a fourth, (thence named) Niruktakrit, had the glossary. In this way branch sprang from branch. Another Bāṣkali composed three other Saṃhitās, which he taught to his disciples Kālāyani, Gārgya, and Kathājava. These are they by whom the principal divisions of the Rich have been promulgated.

Divisions of the Yajur-veda. Story of Yājñawalkya: forced to give up what he has learned: picked up by others, forming the Taittirīya -yajush. Yājñawalkya worships the sun, who communicates to him the Vājasneyī-yajush. Of the tree of the Yajur- veda there are twenty-seven branches, which Vaiśampāyana, the pupil of Vyāsa, compiled, and taught to as many disciples. Amongst these, Yājñawalkya, the son of Brahmarāta, was distinguished for piety and obedience to his preceptor. It had been formerly agreed by the Munis, that any one of them who, at a certain time, did not join an assembly held on mount Meru should iñcur the guilt of killing a Brahman, within a period of seven nights. Vaiśampāyana alone failed to keep the appointment, and consequently killed, by an accidental kick with his foot, the child of his sister. He then addressed his scholars, and desired them to perform the penance expiatory of Brahmanicide on his behalf. Without any hesitation Yājñawalkya refused, and said, “How shall I engage in penance with these miserable and inefficient Brahmans ?” On which his Guru, being incensed, commanded him to relinquish all that he had learnt from him. “You speak contemptuously,” he observed, “of these young Brahmans, but of what use is a disciple who disobeys my commands?” “I spoke,” replied Yājñawalkya, “in perfect faith; but as to what I have read from you, I have had enough: it is no more than this—” (acting as if he would eject it from his stomach); when he brought up the texts of the Yajush in substance stained with blood. He then departed. The other scholars of Vaiśampāyana, transforming themselves to partridges ( Tittiri ), picked up the texts which he had disgorged, and which from that circumstance were called Taittirīya; and the disciples were called the Charaka professors of the Yajush, from Caraṇa, ‘going through’ or ‘performing’ the expiatory rites enjoined by their master. Yājñawalkya, who was perfect in ascetic practices, addressed himself strenuously to the sun, being anxious to recover possession of the texts of the Yajush. “Glory to the sun,” he exclaimed, “the gate of liberation, the fountain of bright radiance, the triple source of splendour, as the Rig, the Yajur, and the Sāma Vedas. Glory to him, who, as fire and the moon, is one with the cause of the universe: to the sun, that is charged with radiant heat, and with the Suṣumna ray (by which the moon is fed with light): to him who is one with the notion of time, and all its divisions of hours, minutes, and seconds: to him who is to be meditated upon as the visible form of Viṣṇu, as the impersonation of the mystic Om: to him who nourishes the troops of the gods, having filled the moon with his rays; who feeds the Pitris with nectar and ambrosia, and who nourishes mankind with rain; who pours down or absorbs the waters in the time of the rains, of cold, and of heat. Glory be to Brahmā, the sun, in the form of the three seasons: he who alone is the dispeller of the darkness of this earth, of which he is the sovereign lord: to the god who is clad in the raiment of purity be adoration. Glory to the sun, until whose rising man is incapable of devout acts, and water does not purify, and touched by whose rays the world is fitted for religious rites: to him who is the centre and source of purification. Glory to Savitrī, to Sūrya, to Bhāskara, to Vivaswat, to Āditya, to the first-born of gods or demons. I adore the eye of the universe, borne in a golden car, whose banners scatter ambrosia.” Thus eulogized by Yājñawalkya, the sun, in the form of a horse, appeared to him, and said, “Demand what you desire.” To which the sage, having prostrated himself before the lord of day, replied, “Give me a knowledge of those texts of the Yajush with which even my preceptor is unacquainted.” Accordingly the sun imparted to him the texts of the Yajush called Ayātayāma (unstudied), which were unknown to Vaiśampāyana: and because these were revealed by the sun in the form of a horse, the Brahmans who study this portion of the Yajush are called Vājis (horses). Fifteen branches of this school sprang from Kaṇwa and other pupils of Yājñawalkya.

Divisions of the Sāma - veda: of the Atharva-veda. Four Paurāṇik Saṃhitās. Names of the eighteen Purāṇas. Branches of knowledge. Classes of Ṛṣis. YOU shall now hear, Maitreya, how Jaimini, the pupil of Vyāsa, divided the branches of the Sāma-veda. The son of Jaimini was Sumantu, and his son was Sukarman, who both studied the same Saṃhitā under Jaimini. The latter composed the Sāhasra Saṃhitā (or compilation of a thousand hymns, &c.), which he taught to two disciples, Hiraṇyanābha, also named Kauśalya (or of Kośala ), and Paushyinji. Fifteen disciples of the latter were the authors of as many Saṃhitās: they were called the northern chaunters of the Sāman. As many more, also the disciples of Hiraṇyanābha, were termed the eastern chaunters of the Sāman, founding an equal number of schools. Lokākṣi, Kuthumi, Kuṣīdī, and Lāṅgali were the pupils of Paushyinji; and by them and their disciples many other branches were formed. Whilst another scholar of Hiraṇyanābha, named Kriti, taught twenty-four Saṃhitās to as many pupils; and by them, again, was the Sāma-veda divided into numerous branches. I will now give you an account of the Saṃhitās of the Atharva -veda. The illustrious Muni Sumantu taught this Veda to his pupil Kabandha, who made it twofold, and communicated the two portions to Devaderśa and to Pathya. The disciples of Devaderśa were Maudga, Brahmabali, Śaulkāyani, and Pippalāda. Pathya had three pupils, Jājali, Kumudādi, and Śaunaka; and by all these were separate branches instituted. Śaunaka having divided his Saṃhitā into two, gave one to Babhru, and the other to Saindhavāyana; and from them sprang two schools, the Saindhavas and Muñjakeśas. The principal subjects of difference in the Saṃhitās of the Atharva-veda are the five Kalpas or ceremonials: the Nakṣatra Kalpa, or rules for worshipping the planets; the Vaitāna Kalpa, or rules for oblations, according to the Vedas generally; the Saṃhitā Kalpa, or rules for sacrifices, according to different schools; the Āṅgirasa Kalpa, incantations and prayers for the destruction of foes and the like; and the Sānti Kalpa, or prayers for averting evil. Accomplished in the purport of the Purāṇas, Vyāsa compiled a Paurāṇik Saṃhitā, consisting of historical and legendary traditions, prayers and hymns, and sacred chronology. He had a distinguished disciple, Sūta, also termed Romaharṣaṇa, and to him the great Muni communicated the Purāṇas. Sūta had six scholars, Sumati, Agnivarchas, Mitrayu, Śāṃśapāyana, Akritavraṇa, who is also called Kāśyapa, and Sāverṇi. The three last composed three fundamental Saṃhitās; and Romaharṣaṇa himself compiled a fourth, called Romaharṣaṇika. The substance of which four Saṃhitās is collected into this ( Viṣṇu ) Purāṇa. The first of all the Purāṇas is entitled the Brāhma. Those who are acquainted with the Purāṇas enumerate eighteen, or the Brāhma, Pādma, Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva, Bhāgavata, Nāradīya, Mārkaṇḍeya, Āgneya, Bhaviṣyat, Brahma Vaivartta, Laiṅga, Vārāha, Skānda, Vāmana, Kaurmma, Mātsya, Gārura, Brahmāṇḍa. The creation of the world, and its successive reproductions, the genealogies of the patriarchs and kings, the periods of the Manus, and the transactions of the royal dynasties, are narrated in all these Purāṇas. This Purāṇa which I have repeated to you, Maitreya, is called the Vaiṣṇava, and is next in the series to the Padma; and in every part of it, in its narratives of primary and subsidiary creation, of families, and of periods, the mighty Viṣṇu is declared in this Purāṇa. The four Vedas, the six Aṅgas (or subsidiary portions of the Vedas, viz. Śikṣā, rules of reciting the prayers, the accents and tones to be observed; Kalpa, ritual; Vyākaraṇa, grammar; Nirukta, glossarial comment; Chandas, metre; and Jyotish, (astronomy), with Mīmānsā (theology), Nyāya (logic), Dharma (the institutes of law), and the Purāṇas, constitute the fourteen principal branches of knowledge: or they are considered as eighteen, with the addition of these four; the Āyur-veda, medical science (as taught by Dhanwantari); Dhanur-veda, the science of archery or arms, taught by Bhrigu; Gāndharba-veda, or the drama, and the arts of music, dancing, &c., of which the Muni Bharata was the author; and the Artha śāstram, or science of government, as laid down first by Vrihaspati. There are three kinds of Ṛṣis, or inspired sages; royal Ṛṣis, or princes who have adopted a life of devotion, as Viswamitra; divine Ṛṣis, or sages who are demigods also, as Nārada; and Brahman Ṛṣis, or sages who are the sons of Brahmā, or Brahmans, as Vaśiṣṭha and others. I have thus described to you the branches of the Vedas, and their subdivisions; the persons by whom they were made; and the reason why they were made (or the limited capacities of mankind). The same branches are instituted in the different Manvantaras. The primitive Veda, that of the progenitor of all things, is eternal: these branches are but its modifications (or Vikalpas ). I have thus related to you, Maitreya, the circumstances relating to the Vedas, which you desired to hear. Of what else do you wish to be informed ?

By what means men are exempted from the authority of Yama, as narrated by Bhīṣma to Nakula. Dialogue between Yama and one of his attendants. Worshippers of Viṣṇu not subject to Yama. How they are to be known. You have indeed related to me, most excellent Brahman, all that I asked of you; but I am desirous to hear one thing which you have not touched on. This universe, composed of seven zones, with its seven subterrestrial regions, and seven spheres—this whole egg of Brahmā.—is every where swarming with living creatures, large or small, with smaller and smallest, and larger and largest; so that there is not the eighth part of an inch in which they do not abound. Now all these are captives in the chains of acts, and at the end of their existence become slaves to the power of Yama, by whom they are sentenced to painful punishments. Released from these inflictions, they are again born in the condition of gods, men, or the like: and thus living beings, as the Śāstras apprise us, perpetually revolve. Now the question I have to ask, and which you are so well able to answer, is, by what acts men may free themselves from subjection to Yama? This question, excellent Muni, was once asked by Nakula of his grandfather Bhīṣma; and I will repeat to you the reply made by the latter. Bhīṣma said to the prince, “There formerly came on a visit to me a friend of mine, a Brahman, from the Kaliṅga country, who told me that he had once proposed this question to a holy Muni, who retained the recollection of his former births, and by whom what was, and what will be, was accurately told. Being importuned by me, who placed implicit faith in his words, to repeat what that pious personage had imparted to him, he at last communicated it to me; and what he related I have never met with elsewhere. ”Having, then, on one occasion, put to him the same question which you have asked, the Kaliṅga Brahman recalled the story that had been told him by the Muni—the great mystery that had been revealed to him by the pious sage, who remembered his former existence—a dialogue that occurred between Yama and one of his ministers. “Yama beholding one of his servants with his noose in his hand, whispered to him, and said, ‘Keep clear of the worshippers of Madhusūdana. I am the lord of all men, the Vaiṣṇavas excepted. I was appointed by Brahmā, who is reverenced by all the immortals, to restrain mankind, and regulate the consequences of good and evil in the universe. But be who obeys Hari, as his spiritual guide, is here independent of me; for Viṣṇu is of power to govern and control me. As gold is one substance still, however diversified as bracelets, tiaras, or earrings, so Hari is one and the same, although modified in the forms of gods, animals, and man. As the drops of water, raised by wind from the earth, sink into the earth again when the wind subsides, so the varieties of gods, men, and animals, which have been detached by the agitation of the qualities, are reunited, when that disturbance ceases, with the eternal. He who through holy knowledge diligently adores the lotus foot of that Hari, who is reverenced by the gods, is released from all the bonds of sin; and you must avoid him as you would avoid fire fed with oil.’ ”Having heard these injunctions of Yama, the messenger addressed the lord of righteousness, and said, ‘Tell me, master, how am I to distinguish the worshipper of Hari, who is the protector of all beings?’ Yama replied, ‘You are to consider the worshipper of Viṣṇu, him who never deviates from the duties prescribed to his caste; who looks with equal indifference upon friend or enemy; who takes,; nothing (that is not his own), nor injures any being. Know that person of unblemished mind to be a worshipper of Viṣṇu. Know him to be a devout worshipper of Hari, who has placed Janārddana in his pure mind, which has been freed from fascination, and whose soul is undefiled by the soil of the Kali age. Know that excellent man to be a worshipper of Viṣṇu, who, looking upon gold in secret, holds that which is another’s wealth but as grass, and devotes all his thoughts to the lord. Pure is he as a mountain of clear crystal; for how can Viṣṇu abide in the hearts of men with malice and envy, and other evil passions? the glowing heat of fire abides not in a cluster of the cooling rays of the moon. He who lives pure in thought, free from malice, contented, leading a holy life, feeling tenderness for all creatures, speaking wisely and kindly, humble and sincere, has Vāsudeva ever present in his heart. As the young Sāl-tree by its beauty declares the excellence of the juices which it has imbibed from the earth, so when the eternal has taken up his abode in the bosom of any one, that man is lovely amidst the beings of this world. Depart, my servant, quickly from those men whose sins have been dispersed by moral and religious merit, whose minds are daily dedicated to the imperceptible deity, and who are exempt from pride, uncharitableness, and malice. In the heart in which the divine Hari, who is without beginning or end, abides, armed with a sword, a shell, and a mace, sin cannot remain; for it cannot coexist with that which destroys it, as darkness cannot continue in the world when the sun is shining. The eternal makes not his abode in the heart of that man who covets another's wealth, who injures living creatures, who speaks harshness and untruth, who is proud of his iniquity, and whose mind is evil. Janārddana occupies not his thoughts who envies another's prosperity, who calumniates the virtuous, who never sacrifices nor bestows gifts upon the pious, who is blinded by the property of darkness. That vile wretch is no worshipper of Viṣṇu, who through avarice is unkind to his nearest friends and relations, to his wife, children, parents, and dependants. The brute-like man whose thoughts are evil, who is addicted to unrighteous acts, who ever seeks the society of the wicked, and suffers no day to pass without the perpetration of crime, is no worshipper of Vāsudeva. Do you proceed afar off from those in whose hearts Ananta is enshrined; from him whose sanctified understanding conceives the supreme male and ruler, Vāsudeva, as one with his votary, and with all this world. Avoid those holy persons who are constantly invoking the lotus-eyed Vāsudeva, Viṣṇu, the supporter of the earth, the immortal wielder of the discus and the shell, the asylum of the world. Come not into the sight of him in whose heart the imperishable soul resides, for he is defended from my power by the discus of his deity: he is designed for another world (for the heaven of Viṣṇu).' “'Such,' said the Kaliṅga Brahman, ‘were the instructions communicated by the deity of justice, the son of the sun, to his servants, as they were repeated to me by that holy personage, and as I have related them to you, chief of the house of Kuru ’ (Bhīṣma). So also, Nakula, I have faithfully communicated to you all I heard from my pious friend, when he came from his country of Kaliṅga to visit me. I have thus explained to you, as was fitting, that there is no protection in the ocean of the world except Viṣṇu; and that the servants and ministers of Yama, the king of the dead himself, and his tortures, are all unavailing against one who places his reliance on that divinity.” I have thus, resumed Parāśara, related to you what you wished to hear, and what was said by the son of Vivaswat. What else do you wish to hear?

How Viṣṇu is to be worshipped, as related by Aurva to Sagara. Duties of the four castes, severally and in common: also in time of distress. Inform me, venerable teacher, how the supreme deity, the lord of the universe, Viṣṇu, is worshipped by those who are desirous of overcoming the world; and what advantages are reaped by men, assiduous in his adoration, from the propitiated Govinda. The question you have asked was formerly put by Sagara to Aurva. I will repeat to you his reply. Sagara having bowed down before Aurva, the descendant of Bhrigu, asked him what were the best means of pleasing Viṣṇu, and what would be the consequence of obtaining his favour. Aurva replied, “He who pleases Viṣṇu obtains all terrestrial enjoyments; heaven and a place in heaven; and what is best of all, final liberation: whatever he wishes, and to whatever extent, whether much or little, he receives it, when Achyuta is content with him. In what manner his favour is to be secured, that also I will, oh king, impart to you, agreeably to your desire. The supreme Viṣṇu is propitiated by a man who observes the institutions of caste, order, and purificatory practices: no other path is the way to please him. He who offers sacrifices, sacrifices to him; he who murmurs prayer, prays to him; he who injures living creatures, injures him; for Hari is all beings. Janārddana therefore is propitiated by him who is attentive to established observances, and follows the duties prescribed for his caste. The Brahman, the Kṣatriya, the Vaiśya, and the Śūdra, who attends to the rules enjoined his caste, best worships Viṣṇu. Keśava is most pleased with him who does good to others; who never utters abuse, calumny, or untruth; who never covets another's wife or another's wealth, and who bears ill-will towards none; who neither beats nor slays any animate or inanimate thing; who is ever diligent in the service of the gods, of the. Brahmans, and of his spiritual preceptor; who is always desirous of the welfare of all creatures, of his children, and of his own soul; in whose pure heart no pleasure is derived from the imperfections of love and hatred. The man, oh monarch, who conforms to the duties enjoined by scriptural authority for every caste and condition of life, is he who best worships Viṣṇu: there is no other mode.” Aurva having thus spoken, Sagara said to him, “Tell me then, venerable Brahman, what are the duties of caste and condition: I am desirous of knowing them.” To which Aurva answered and said, “Attentively listen to the duties which I shall describe as those severally of the Brahman, the Kṣatriya, the Vaiśya, and the Śūdra. The Brahman should make gifts, should worship the gods with sacrifices, should be assiduous in studying the Vedas, should perform ablutions and libations with water, and should preserve the sacred flame. For the sake of subsistence he may offer sacrifices on behalf of others, and may instruct them in the Śāstras; and he may accept presents of a liberal description in a becoming manner (or from respectable persons, and at an appropriate season). He must ever seek to promote the good of others, and do evil unto none; for the best riches of a Brahman are universal benevolence. He should look upon the jewels of another person as if they were pebbles; and should, at proper periods, procreate offspring by his wife. These are the duties of a Brahman. ”The man of the warrior tribe should cheerfully give presents to Brahmans, perform various sacrifices, and study the scriptures. His especial sources of maintenance are arms and the protection of the earth. The guardianship of the earth is indeed his especial province: by the discharge of this duty a king attains his objects, and realizes a share of the merit of all sacrificial rites. By intimidating the bad, and cerishing the good, the monarch who maintains the discipline of the different castes secures whatever region he desires. “ Brahmā, the great parent of creation, gave to the Vaiśya the occupations of commerce and agriculture, and the feeding of flocks and herds, for his means of livelihood; and sacred study, sacrifice, and donation are also his duties, as is the observance of fixed and occasional rites. ”Attendance upon the three regenerate castes is the province of the Śūdra, and by that he is to subsist, or by the profits of trade, or the earnings of mechanical labour. He is also to make gifts; and he may offer the sacrifices in which food is presented, as well as obsequial offerings. "Besides these their respective obligations, there are duties equally iñcumbent upon all the four castes. These are, the acquisition of property, for the support of their families; cohabitation with their wives, for the sake of progeny; tenderness towards all creatures, patience, humility, truth, purity, contentment, decency of decoration, gentleness of speech, friendliness; and freedom from envy and repining, from avarice, and from detraction. These also are the duties of every condition of life. “In times of distress the peculiar functions of the castes may be modified, as you shall hear. A Brahman may follow the occupations of a Kṣatriya or a Vaiśya; the Kṣatriya may adopt those of the Vaiśya; and the Vaiśya those of the Kṣatriya: but these two last should never descend to the functions of the Śūdra, if it be possible to avoid them; and if that be not possible, they must at least shun the functions of the mined castes. I will now, Rājā, relate to you the duties of the several Āsramas or conditions of life.”

"When the youth has been invested with the thread of his caste, let him diligently prosecute the study of the Vedas, in the house of his preceptor, with an attentive spirit, and leading a life of continence. He is to wait upon his Guru, assiduously observant of purificatory practices, and the Veda is to be acquired by him, whilst he is regular in the performance of religious rites. In the morning Sandhya he is first to salute the sun; in the evening, fire; and then to address his preceptor with respect. He must stand when his master is standing; move when he is walking; and sit beneath him when he is seated: he must never sit, nor walk, nor stand when his teacher does the reverse. When desired by him, let him read the Veda attentively, placed before his preceptor; and let him eat the food he has collected as alms, when permitted by his teacher. Let him bathe in water which has first been used for his preceptor's ablutions; and every morning bring fuel and water, and whatsoever else may be required. “When the scriptural studies appropriate to the student have been completed, and he has received dismissal from his Guru, let the regenerate man enter into the order of the householder; and taking unto himself, with lawful ceremonies, house, wife, and wealth, discharge to the best of his ability the duties of his station; satisfying the manes with funeral cakes; the gods with oblations; guests with hospitality; the sages with holy study; the progenitors of mankind with progeny; the spirits with the residue of oblations; and all the world with words of truth. A householder secures heaven by the faithful discharge of these obligations. There are those who subsist upon alms, and lead an erratic life of self-denial, at the end of the term during which they have kept house. They wander over the world to see the earth, and perform their ablutions, with rites enjoined by the Vedas, at sacred shrines: houseless, and without food, and resting for the night at the dwelling at which they arrive in the evening. The householder is to them a constant refuge and parent: it is his duty to give them a welcome, and to address them with kindness; and to provide them, whenever they come to his house, with a bed, a seat, and food. A guest disappointed by a householder, who turns away from his door, transfers to the latter all his own misdeeds, and bears away his religious merit. In the house of a good man, contumely, arrogance, hypocrisy, repining, contradiction, and violence are annihilated: and the householder who fully performs this his chief duty of hospitality is released from every kind of bondage, and obtains the highest of stations after death. ”When the householder, after performing the acts iñcumbent on his condition, arrives at the decline of life, let him consign his wife to the care of his sons, and go himself to the forests. Let him there subsist upon leaves, roots, and fruit; and suffer his hair and beard to grow, and braid the former upon his brows; and sleep upon the ground: his dress must be made of skin or of Kāśa or Kuśa grasses; and he must bathe thrice a day; and he must offer oblations to the gods and to fire, and treat all that come to him with hospitality: he must beg alms, and present food to all creatures: he must anoint himself with such unguents as the woods afford; and in his devotional exercises he must be endurant of heat and cold. The sage who diligently follows these rules, and leads the life of the hermit (or Vānaprastha ), consumes, like fire, all imperfections, and conquers for himself the mansions of eternity. “The fourth order of men is called that of the mendicant; the circumstances of which it is fit, oh king, that you should hear from me. Let the unimpassioned man, relinquishing all affection for wife, children, and possessions, enter the fourth order. Let him forego the three objects of human existence (pleasure, wealth, and virtue), whether secular or religious, and, indifferent to friends, be the friend of all living beings. Let him, occupied with devotion, abstain from wrong, in act, word, or thought, to all creatures, human or brute; and equally avoid attachment to any. Let him reside but for one night in a village, and not more than five nights at a time in a city; and let him so abide, that good-will, and not animosity, may be engendered. Let him, for the support of existence, apply for alms at the houses of the three first castes, at the time when the fires have been extinguished, and people have eaten. Let the wandering mendicant call nothing his own, and suppress desire, anger, covetousness, pride, and folly. The sage who gives no cause for alarm to living beings need never apprehend any danger from them. Having deposited the sacrificial fire in his own person, the Brahman feeds the vital flame, with the butter that is collected as alms, through the altar of his mouth; and by means of his spiritual fire he proceeds to his own proper abode. But the twice-born man, who seeks for liberation, and is pure of heart, and whose mind is perfected by self-investigation, secures the sphere of Brahmā, which is tranquil, and is as a bright flame that emits not smoke.”

SAGARA then addressed Aurva, and said, “You have described to me, venerable Brahman, the duties of the four orders and of the four castes. I am now desirous to hear from you the religious institutes which men should individually observe, whether they be invariable, occasional, or voluntary. Describe these to me; for all things are known, chief of Bhrigu 's race, unto you.” To this Aurva replied, “I will communicate to you, oh king, that which you have asked, the invariable and occasional rites which men should perform: do you attend. ”When a son is born, let his father perform for him the ceremonies proper on the birth of a child, and all other initiatory rites, as well as a Śrāddha, which is a source of prosperity. Let him feed a couple of Brahmans, seated with their faces to the east; and according to his means offer sacrifices to the gods and progenitors. Let him present to the manes balls of meat mixed with curds, barley, and jujubes, with the part of his hand sacred to the gods, or with that sacred to Prajāpati. Let a Brahman perform such a Śrāddha, with all its offerings and circumambulations, on every occasion of good fortune. “Next, upon the tenth day after birth, let the father give a name to his child; the first term of which shall be the appellation of a god, the second of a man, as Śarman or Varman; the former being the appropriate designation of a Brahman, the latter of a warrior; whilst Gupta and Dāsa are best fitted for the names of Vaiśyas and Śūdras. A name should not be void of meaning; it should not be indecent, nor absurd, nor ill-omened, nor fearful; it should consist of an even number of syllables; it should not be too long nor too short, nor too full of long vowels; but contain a due proportion of short vowels, and be easily articulated. After this and the succeeding initiatory rites, the purified youth is to acquire religious knowledge, in the mode that has been described, in the dwelling of his spiritual guide. ”When he has finished his studies, and given the parting donation to his preceptor, the man who wishes to lead the life of a householder must take a wife. If he does not propose to enter into the married state, he may remain as a student with his teacher, first making a vow to that effect, and employ himself in the service of his preceptor and of that preceptor's descendants; or he may at once become a hermit, or adopt the order of the religious mendicant, according to his original determination. “If he marry, he must select a maiden who is of a third of his age; one who has not too much hair, but is not without any; one who is not very black nor yellow complexioned, and who is not from birth a cripple or deformed. He must not marry a girl who is vicious or unhealthy, of low origin, or labouring under disease; one who has been ill brought up; one who talks improperly; one who inherits some malady from father or mother; one who has a beard, or who is of a masculine appearance; one who speaks thick or thin, or croaks like a raven; one who keeps her eyes shut, or has the eyes very prominent; one who has hairy legs, or thick ancles; or one who has dimples in her cheeks when she laughs. Let not a wise and prudent man marry a girl of such a description: nor let a considerate man wed a girl of a harsh skin; or one with white nails; or one with red eyes, or with very fat hands and feet; or one who is a dwarf, or who is very tall; or one whose eyebrows meet, or whose teeth are far apart, and resemble tusks. Let a householder marry a maiden who is in kin at least five degrees remote from his mother, and seven from his father, with the ceremonies enjoined by law. ”The forms of marriage are eight, the Brahmā, Daiva, the Ārsha, Prājāpatya, Asūra, Gāndharba, Rākṣasa, and Paiśāca; which last is the worst: but the caste to which either form has been enjoined as lawful by inspired sages should avoid any other mode of taking a wife. The householder who espouses a female connected with him by similarity of religious and civil obligations, and along with her discharges the duties of his condition, derives from such a wife great benefits."

Of the Sadācāras, or perpetual obligations of a householder. Daily purifications, ablutions, libations, and oblations: hospitality: obsequial rites: ceremonies to be observed at meals, at morning and evening worship, and on going to rest. SAGARA again said to Aurva, “Relate to me, Muni, the fixed observances of the householder, by attending to which he will never be rejected from this world or the next.” Aurva replied to him thus: “Listen, prince, to an account of those perpetual observances, by adhering to which both worlds are subdued. Those who are called Sādhus (saints) are they who are free from all defects; and the term Sat means the same, or Sādhu: those practices or observances ( Ācāras ) which they follow are therefore called Sadācāras, the institutions or observances of the pious.' The seven Ṛṣis, the Manus, the patriarchs, are they who have enjoined and who have practised these observances. Let the wise man awake in the Muhūrtta of Brahmā. (or in the third Muhūrtta, about two hours before sunrise), and with a composed mind meditate on two of the objects of life (virtue and wealth), and on topics not incompatible with them. Let him also think upon desire, as not conflicting with the other two; and thus contemplate with equal indifference the three ends of life, for the purpose of counter- acting the unseen consequences of good or evil acts. Let him avoid wealth and desire, if they give uneasiness to virtue; and abstain from virtuous or religious acts, if they involve misery, or are censured by the world. Having risen, he must offer adoration to the sun; and then, in the south-east quarter, at the distance of a bowshot or more, or any where remote from the village, void the impurities of nature. The water that remains after washing his feet he must throw away into the courtyard of the house. A wise man will never void urine on his own shadow, nor on the shadow of a tree, nor on a cow, nor against the sun, nor on fire, nor against the wind, nor on his Guru, nor men of the three first castes; nor will he pass either excrement in a ploughed field, or pasturage, or in the company of men, or on a high road, or in rivers and the like, which are holy, or on the bank of a stream, or in a place where bodies are burnt; or any where quickly. By day let him void them with his face to the north, and by night with his face to the south, when he is not in trouble. Let him perform these actions in silence, and without delay; covering his head with a cloth, and the ground with grass. Let him not take, for the purposes of cleanliness, earth from an ant-hill, nor a rat-hole, nor from water, nor from the residue of what has been so used, nor soil that has been employed to plaster a cottage, nor such as has been thrown up by insects, or turned over by the plough. All such kinds of earth let him avoid, as means of purification. One handful is sufficient after voiding urine; three after passing ordure: then ten handfulls are to be rubbed over the left hand, and seven over both hands. Let him then rince his mouth with water that is pure, neither fetid, nor frothy, nor full of bubbles; and again use earth to cleanse his feet, washing them well with water. He is to drink water then three times, and twice wash his face with it; and next touch with it his head, the cavities of the eyes, ears, and nostrils, the forehead, the navel, and the heart. Having finally washed his mouth, a man is to clean and dress his hair, and to decorate his person, before a glass, with unguents, garlands, and perfumes. He is then, according to the custom of his caste, to acquire wealth, for the sake of subsistence; and with a lively faith worship the gods. Sacrifices with the acid juice, those with clarified butter, and those with offerings of food, are comprehended in wealth: wherefore let men exert themselves to acquire wealth for these purposes. ”As preparatory to all established rites of devotion the householder should bathe in the water of a river, a pond, a natural channel, or a mountain torrent; or he may bathe upon dry ground, with water drawn from a well, or taken from a, river, or other source, where there is any objection to bathing on the spot. When bathed, and clad in clean clothes, let him devoutly offer libations to the gods, sages, and progenitors, with the parts of the hand severally sacred to each. He must scatter water thrice, to gratify the gods; as many times, to please the Ṛṣis; and once, to propitiate Prajāpati: he must also make three libations, to satisfy the progenitors. He must then present, with the part of the hand sacred to the manes, water to his paternal grandfather and great-grandfather, to his maternal grandfather, great-grandfather, and his father; and at pleasure to his own mother and his mother's mother and grandmother, to the wife of his preceptor, to his preceptor, his maternal uncle, and other relations, to a dear friend, and to the king. Let him also, after libations have been made to the gods and the rest, present others at pleasure for the benefit of all beings, reciting inaudibly this prayer; ‘May the gods, demons, Yakṣas, serpents, Rākṣasas, Gandharvas, Pisācas, Guhyakas, Siddhas, Kushmāṇḍas, trees, birds, fish, all that people the waters, or the earth, or the air, be propitiated by the water I have presented to them. This water is given by me for the alleviation of the pains of all those who are suffering in the realms of hell. May all those who are my kindred, and not my kindred, and who were my relations in a former life, all who desire libations from me, receive satisfaction from this water. May this water and sesamum, presented by me, relieve the hunger and thirst of all who are suffering from those inflictions, wheresoever they may be.’ Presentations of water, given in the manner, oh king, which I have described, yield gratification to all the world: and the sinless man, who in the sincerity of faith pours out these voluntary libations, obtains the merit that results from affording nutriment to all creatures. “Having then rinced his mouth, he is to offer water to the sun, touching his forehead with his hands joined, and with this prayer; ‘Salutation to Vivaswat, the radiant, the glory of Viṣṇu; to the pure illuminator of the world; to Savitrī, the granter of the fruit of acts.’ He is then to perform the worship of the house, presenting to his tutelary deity water, flowers, and incense. He is next to offer oblations with fire, not preceded by any other rite, to Brahmā. Having invoked Prajāpati, let him pour oblations reverently to his household gods, to Kāśyapa and to Anumati, in succession. The residue of the oblation let him offer to the earth, to water, and to rain, in a pitcher at hand; and to Dhātri and Vidhātri at the doors of his house, and in the middle of it to Brahmā. Let the wise man also offer the Bali, consisting of the residue of the oblations, to Indra, Yama, Varuṇa, and Soma, at the four cardinal points of his dwelling, the east and the rest; and in the north-east quarter he will present it to Dhanwantari. After having thus worshipped the domestic deities, he will next offer part of the residue to all the gods (the Viśvadevas ); then, in the north-west quarter, to Vāyu (wind); then, in all directions, to the points of the horizon, to Brahmā, to the atmosphere, and to the sun; to all the gods, to all beings, to the lords of beings, to the Pitris, to twilight. Then taking other rice, let the householder at pleasure cast it upon a clean spot of ground, as an offering to all beings, repeating with collected mind this prayer; ‘May gods, men, animals, birds, saints, Yakṣas, serpents, demons, ghosts, goblins, trees, all that desire food given by me; may ants, worms, moths, and other insects, hungered and bound in the bonds of acts; may all obtain satisfaction from the food left them by me, and enjoy happiness. May they who have neither mother, nor father, nor relations, nor food, nor the means of preparing it, be satisfied and pleased with the food presented for their contentment. Inasmuch as all beings, and this food, and I, and Viṣṇu are not different, I therefore give for their sustenance the food that is one with the body of all creatures. May all beings, that are comprehended in the fourteen orders of existent things, be satisfied with the food bestowed by me for their gratification, and be delighted.’ Having uttered this prayer, let the devout believer cast the food upon the ground, for the nourishment of all kinds of beings; for the householder is thence the supporter of them all. Let him scatter food upon the ground for dogs, outcasts, birds, and all fallen and degraded persons. ”The householder is then to remain at eventide in his courtyard as long as it takes to milk a cow, or longer if he pleases, to await the arrival of a guest. Should such a one arrive, he is to be received with a hospitable welcome; a seat is to be offered to him, and his feet are to be washed, and food is to be given him with liberality, and he is to be civilly and kindly spoken to; and when he departs, to be sent away by his host with friendly wishes. A householder should ever pay attention to a guest who is not an inhabitant of the same village, but who comes from another place, and whose name and lineage are unknown. He who feeds himself, and neglects the poor and friendless stranger in want of hospitality, goes to hell. Let a householder who has a knowledge of Brahmā reverence a guest, without inquiring his studies, his school, his practices, or his race. “A householder should also at the perpetual Śrāddha entertain another Brahman, who is of his own country, whose family and observances are known, and who performs the five sacramental rites. He is likewise to present to a Brahman learned in the Vedas four handfulls of food, set apart with the exclamation Hanta; and he is to give to a mendicant religious student three handfulls of rice, or according to his pleasure when he has ample means. These, with the addition of the mendicant before described, are to be considered as guests; and he who treats these four descriptions of persons with hospitality acquits himself of the debt due to his fellow men. The guest who departs disappointed from any house, and proceeds elsewhere, transfers his sins to the owner of that mansion, and takes away with him such a householder's merits. Brahmā, Prajāpati, Indra, fire, the Vasus, the sun, are present in the person of a guest, and partake of the food that is given to him. Let a man therefore be assiduous in discharging the duties of hospitality; for he who eats his food without bestowing any upon a guest feeds only upon iniquity. ”In the next place the householder must provide food for a married damsel, remaining in her father's dwelling; for any one who is ill; for a pregnant woman; for the aged and the infants of his house; and then he may eat himself. He who eats whilst these are yet unfed is guilty of sin in this life, and when he dies is condemned in hell to feed upon phlegm. So he who eats without performing ablutions is fed in hell with filth; and he who repeats not his prayers, with matter and blood: he who eats unconsecrated food, with urine; and he who eats before the children and the rest are fed is stuffed in Tartarus with ordure. Hear therefore, oh king of kings, how a householder should feed, so that in eating no sin may be iñcurred, that invariable health and increased vigour may be secured, and all evils and hostile machinations may be averted. Let the householder, having bathed, and offered libations to the gods and manes, and decorated his hand with jewels, proceed to take his meal, after having repeated the introductory prayers, and offered oblations with fire, and having given food to guests, to Brahmans, to his elders, and to his family. He must not eat with a single garment on, nor with wet hands and feet, but dressed in clean clothes, perfumed, and wearing garlands of flowers: he must not eat with his face to any intermediate point of the horizon, but fronting the east or the north: and thus, with a smiling countenance, happy and attentive, let him partake of food, of good quality, wholesome, boiled with clean water, procured from no vile person nor by improper means, nor improperly cooked. Having given a portion to his hungry companions, let him take his food without reproach out of a clean handsome vessel, which must not be placed upon a low stool or bed. He must not eat in an unfit place or out of season, nor in an incommodious attitude; nor must he first cast any of his meal into the fire. Let his food be made holy with suitable texts; let it be good of its kind; and it must not be stale, except in the case of fruit or meat; nor must it be of dry vegetable substances, other than jujubes or preparations of molasses; but never must a man eat of that of which the juices have been extracted. Nor must a man eat so as to leave no residue of his meal, except in the case of flour, cakes, honey, water, curds, and butter. Let him, with an attentive mind, first taste that which has a sweet flavour: he may take salt and sour things in the middle course, and finish with those which are pungent and bitter. The man who commences his meal with fluids, then partakes of solid food, and finishes with fluids again, will ever be strong and healthy. In this manner let him feed without fault, silent, and contented with his food; taking, without uttering a word, to the extent of five handfulls, for the nutriment of the vital principle. Having eaten sufficiently, the householder is then to rinse his mouth, with his face turned towards the east or the north; and having again sipped water, he is to wash his hands from the wrist downwards. With a pleased and tranquil spirit he is then to take a seat, and call to memory his tutelary deity; and then he is thus to pray: ‘May fire, excited by air, convert this food into the earthly elements of this frame, and in the space afforded by the etherial atmosphere cause it to digest, and yield me satisfaction! May this food, in its assimilation, contribute to the vigour of the earth, water, fire, and air of my body, and afford unmixed gratification! May Agasti, Agni, and submarine fire effect the digestion of the food of which I have eaten; may they grant me the happiness which its conversion into nutriment engenders; and may health ever animate my form! May Viṣṇu, who is the chief principle of all invested with bodily structure and the organs of sense, be propitiated by my faith in him, and influence the assimilation of the invigorating food which I have eaten! For verily Viṣṇu is the eater and the food and the nutriment: and through this belief may that which I have eaten be digested.’ “Having repeated this prayer, the householder should rub his stomach with his hand, and without indolence perform such rites as confer repose, passing the day in such amusements as are authorized by holy writings, and are not incompatible with the practices of the righteous; until the Sandhyā, when he must engage in pious meditation. At the Sandhyā, at the close of the day he must perform the usual rites before the sun has quite set; and in the morning he must perform them before the stars have disappeared. The morning and evening rites must never be neglected, except at seasons of impurity, anxiety, sickness, or alarm. He who is preceded by the sun in rising, or sleeps when the sun is setting, unless it proceed from illness and the like, iñcurs guilt which requires atonement; and therefore let a man rise before the sun in the morning, and sleep not until after be has set. They who sinfully omit both the morning and the evening service go after death to the hell of darkness. In the evening, then, having again dressed food, let the wife of the householder, in order to obtain the fruit of the Vaiśvadeva rite, give food, without prayers, to outcasts and unclean spirits. Let the householder himself, according to his means, again shew hospitality to any guest who may arrive, welcoming him with the salutation of evening, water for his feet, a seat, a supper, and a bed. The sin of want of hospitality to a guest who comes after sunset is eight times greater than that of turning away one who arrives by day. A man should therefore most especially shew respect to one who comes to him in the evening for shelter, as the attentions that gratify him will give pleasure to all the gods. Let the householder, then, according to his ability, afford a guest food, potherbs, water, a bed, a mat, or, if he can do no more, ground on which to lie. ”After eating his evening meal, and having washed his feet, the householder is to go to rest. His bed is to be entire, and made of wood: it is not to be scanty, nor cracked, nor uneven, nor dirty, nor infested by insects, nor without a bedding: and he is to sleep with his head either to the east or to the south; any other position is unhealthy. In due season a man should approach his wife, when a fortunate asterism prevails, in an auspicious moment, and on even nights, if she is not unbathed, sick, unwell, averse, angry, pregnant, hungry, or over-fed. He should be also free from similar imperfections, should be neatly attired and adorned, and animated by tenderness and affection. There are certain days on which unguents, flesh, and women are unlawful, as the eighth and fourteenth. lunar days, new moon and full moon, and the entrance of the sun into a new sign. On these occasions the wise will restrain their appetites, and occupy themselves in the worship of the gods, as enjoined by holy writ, in meditation, and in prayer; and he who behaves differently will fall into a hell where ordure will be his food. Let not a man stimulate his desires by medicines, nor gratify them with unnatural objects, or in public or holy places. Let him not think incontinently of another's wife, much less address her to that end; for such a man will be born in future life as a creeping insect. He who commits adultery is punished both here and hereafter; for his days in this world are cut short, and when dead he falls into hell. Thus considering, let a man approach his own wife in the proper season, or even at other times."

"Let a respectable householder ever venerate the gods, kine, Brahmans, saints, aged persons, and holy teachers. Let him observe the two daily Sandhyās, and offer oblations to fire. Let him dress in untorn garments, use delicate herbs and flowers, wear emeralds and other precious stones, keep his hair smooth and neat, scent his person with agreeable perfumes, and always go handsomely attired, decorated with garlands of white flowers. Let him never appropriate another's property, nor address him with the least unkindness. Let him always speak amiably and with truth, and never make public another's faults. Let him not desire another's prosperity, nor seek his enmity. Let him not mount upon a crazy vehicle, nor take shelter under the bank of a river (which may fall upon him). A wise man will not form a friendship nor walk in the same path with one who is disesteemed, who is a sinner or a drunkard, who has many enemies, or who is lousy, with a harlot or her gallant, with a pauper or a liar, with a prodigal, a slanderer, or a knave. Let not a man bathe against the strength of a rapid stream, nor enter a house on fire, nor climb to the top of a tree; nor (in company) clean his teeth or blow his nose, nor gape without covering his mouth, nor clear his throat, nor cough, nor laugh loudly, nor emit wind with noise, nor bite his nails, nor cut grass, nor scratch the ground, nor put his beard into his mouth, nor crumble a clod of clay; nor look upon the chief planetary bodies when he is unclean. Let him not express disgust at a corpse, for the odour of a dead body is the produce of the moon. Let a decent man ever avoid by night the place where four roads meet, the village tree, the grove adjacent to the place where bodies are burnt, and a loose woman. Let him not pass across the shadow of a venerable person, of an image, of a deity, of a flag, of a heavenly luminary. Let him not travel alone through a forest, nor sleep by himself in an empty house. Let him keep remote from hair, bones, thorns, filth, remnants of offerings, ashes, chaff, and earth wet with water in which another has bathed. Let him not receive the protection of the unworthy, nor attach himself to the dishonest. Let him not approach a beast of prey; and let him not tarry long when he has risen from sleep. Let him not lie in bed when he is awake, nor encounter fatigue when it is time to rest. A prudent man will avoid, even at a distance, animals with tusks and horns; and he will shun exposure to frost, to wind, and to sunshine. A man must neither bathe, nor sleep, nor rinse his mouth whilst he is naked: he must not wash his mouth, or perform any sacred rite, with his waistband unfastened: and he must not offer oblations to fire, nor sacrifice to the gods, nor wash his mouth, nor salute a Brahman, nor utter a prayer, with only one garment on. Let him never associate with immoral persons: half an instant is the limit for the intercourse of the righteous with them. A wise man will never engage in a dispute with either his superiors or inferiors: controversy and marriage are to be permitted only between equals. Let not a prudent man enter into contention: let him avoid uprofitable enmity. A small loss may be endured; but he should shun the wealth that is acquired by hostility. “When a man has bathed, he must not wipe his limbs with a towel nor with his hands, nor shake his hair, nor rinse his mouth before he has risen. Let him not (when sitting) put one foot over another, nor stretch forth his foot, in the presence of a superior, but sit with modesty in the posture called Vīrāsana (or on his knees). He must never pass round a temple upon his left hand, nor perform the ceremony of circumambulating any venerable object in the reverse direction. A decent man will not spit, nor eject any impurity, in front of the moon, fire, the sun, water, wind, or any respectable person; nor will he void urine standing, nor upon the highway: he will never step over phlegm, ordure, urine, or blood; nor is the expectoration of the mucus of the throat allowable at the time of eating, offering sacrifices or oblations, or repeating prayers, or in the presence of a respectable person. ”Let not a man treat women with disrespect, nor let him put entire faith in them. Let him not deal impatiently with them, nor set them over matters of importance. A man who is attentive to the duties of his station will not go forth from his house without saluting the chaplets, flowers, gems, clarified butter, and venerable persons in it. At proper seasons he will salute respectfully the places where four roads meet, when engaged in offering oblations with fire. Let him liberally relieve the virtuous who are poor, and reverence those who are learned in the Vedas. He who is a worshipper of the gods and sages, who gives cakes and water to the manes, and who exercises hospitality, obtains the highest regions after death. He who speaks wisely, moderately, and kindly, goes to those worlds which are the inexhaustible sources of happiness. He who is intelligent, modest, devout, and who reverences wisdom, his superiors, and the aged, goes to heaven. “On the days called Parvas, on periods of impurity, upon unseasonable thunder, and the occurrence of eclipses or atmospheric portents, a wise man must desist from the study of the Vedas. The pious man who suppresses anger and envy, who is benevolent to all, and allays the fears of others, secures, as the least of his rewards, enjoyment in Svarga. A man should carry an umbrella, as a defence against sun and rain; he should bear a staff when he goes by night, or through a wood; and he should walk in shoes, if he desires to keep his body from harm. As he goes along he should not look up, nor about him, nor afar off, but keep his eyes upon the ground to the extent of a couple of yards. ”The householder who expels all sources of imperfection is in a great degree acquitted of the three ordinary objects of existence, desire, wealth, and virtue; sinless amongst the sinful; speaking amicably to all men; his whole soul melting with benevolence; final felicity is in his grasp. The earth is upheld by the veracity of those who have subdued their passions, and, following righteous practices, are never contaminated by desire, covetousness, and wrath. Let therefore a wise man ever speak the truth when it is agreeable, and when the truth would inflict pain let him hold his peace. Let him not utter that which, though acceptable, would be detrimental; for it were better to speak that which would be salutary, although it should give exceeding offence. A considerate man will always cultivate, in act, thought, and speech, that which is good for living beings, both in this world and in the next."

Of Śrāddhas, or rites in honour of ancestors, to be performed on occasions of rejoicing. Obsequial ceremonies. Of the Ekoddiṣṭa or monthly Śrāddha, and the Sapiṇḍana or annual one. By whom to be performed. "The bathing of a father without disrobing is enjoined when a son is born; and he is to celebrate the ceremony proper for the event, which is the Śrāddha offered upon joyous occasions. With composed mind, and thinking on nothing else, the Brahman should offer worship to both the gods and progenitors, and should respectfully circumambulate, keeping Brahmans on his left hand, and give them food. Standing with his face to the east, he should present, with the parts of the hand sacred to the gods and to Prajāpati, balls of food, with curds, unbruised grain, and jujubes; and should perform, on every accession of good fortune, the rite by which the class of progenitors termed Nāndīmukha is propitiated. A householder should diligently worship the Pitris so named, at the marriage of a son or daughter, on entering a new dwelling, on giving a name to a child, on performing his tonsure and other purificatory ceremonies, at the binding of the mother's hair during gestation, or on first seeing the face of a son, or the like. The Śrāddha on such occasions, however, has been briefly alluded to. Hear now, oh king, the rules for the performance of obsequial rites. “Having washed the corpse with holy water, decorated it with garlands, and burnt it without the village, the kinsmen, having bathed with their clothes on, are to stand with their faces to the south, and offer libations to the deceased, addressing him by name, and adding, ‘wherever thou mayest be.’ They then return, along with the cattle coming from pasture, to the village; and upon the appearance of the stars retire to rest, sleeping on mats spread upon the earth. Every day (whilst the mourning lasts) a cake or ball of food is to be placed on the ground, as an offering to the deceased; and rice, without flesh, is to be daily eaten. Brahmans are to be fed for as many days as the mourner pleases, for the soul of the defunct derives satisfaction accordingly as his relatives are content with their entertainment. On the first day, or the third, or seventh, or ninth (after the death of a person), his kinsmen should change their raiment, and bathe out of doors, and offer a libation of water, with ( tila ) sesamum-seeds. On the fourth day the ashes and bones should be collected: after which the body of one connected with the deceased by offerings of funeral cakes may be touched (by an indifferent person), without thereby iñcurring impurity; and those who are related only by presentation of water are qualified for any occupation. The former class of relatives may use beds, but they must still refrain from unguents and flowers, and must observe continence, after the ashes and bones have been collected (until the mourning is over). When the deceased is a child, or one who is abroad, or who has been degraded, or a spiritual preceptor, the period of uncleanness is but brief, and the ceremonies with fire and water are discretional. The food of a family in which a kinsman is deceased is not to be partaken of for ten days; and during that period, gifts, acceptance, sacrifice, and sacred study are suspended. The term of impurity for a Brahman is ten days; for a Kṣatriya, twelve; for a Vaiśya, half a month; and a whole month for a Śūdra. On the first day after uncleanness ceases, the nearest relation of the deceased should feed Brahmans at his pleasure, but in uneven numbers, and offer to the deceased a ball of rice upon holy grass placed near the residue of the food that has been eaten. After the guests have been fed, the mourner, according to his caste, is to touch water, a weapon, a goad, or a staff, as he is purified by such contact. He may then resume the duties prescribed for his caste, and follow the avocation ordinarily pursued by its members. ”The Śrāddha enjoined for an individual is to be repeated on the day of his death (in each month for a year), but without the prayers and rites performed on the first occasion, and without offerings to the Viśvadevas. A single ball of food is to be offered to the deceased, as the purification of one person, and Brahmans are to be fed. The Brahmans are to be asked by the sacrificer if they are satisfied; and upon their assent, the prayer, ‘May this ever satisfy such a one’ (the deceased) is to be recited. "This is the Śrāddha called Ekoddiṣṭa, which is to be performed monthly to the end of a twelvemonth from the death of a person; at the expiration of which the ceremony called Sapiṇḍana is to be observed. The practices of this rite are the same as those of the monthly obsequies, but a lustration is to be made with four vessels of water, perfumes, and sesamum: one of these vessels is considered as dedicated to the deceased, the other three to the progenitors in general; and the contents of the former are to be transferred to the other three, by which the deceased becomes included in the class of ancestors, to whom worship is to be addressed with all the ceremonies of the Śrāddha. The persons who are competent to perform the obsequies of relations connected by the offering of the cake are the son, grandson, great grandson, a kinsman of the deceased, the descendants of a brother, or the posterity of one allied by funeral offerings. In absence of all these, the ceremony may be instituted by those related by presentations of water only, or those connected by offerings of cakes or water to maternal ancestors. Should both families in the male line be extinct, the last obsequies may be performed by women, or by the associates of the deceased in religious or social institutions, or by any one who becomes possessed of the property of a deceased kinsman. “Obsequial rites are of three descriptions, initiative, intermediate, and subsequent. The first are those which are observed after the burning of the corpse until the touching of water, weapons, &c. (or until the cessation of uncleanness). The intermediate ceremonies are the Srāddhas called Ekoddiṣṭa, which are offered every month: and the subsequent rites are those which follow the Sapiṇḍikaraṇa, when the deceased is admitted amongst the ancestors of his race; and the ceremonies are thenceforth general or ancestral. The first set of rites (as essential) are to be performed by the kindred of the father or mother, whether connected by the offering of the cake or of water, by the associates of the deceased, or by the prince who inherits his property. The first and the last rites are both to be performed by sons and other relations, and by daughter's sons, and their sons; and so are the sacrifices on the day of the person's death. The last class, or ancestral rites, are to be performed annually, with the same ceremonies as are enjoined for the monthly obsequies; and they may be also performed by females. As the ancestral rights are therefore most universal, I will describe to you, oh king, at what seasons, and in what manner, they should be celebrated.”

"Let the devout performer of an ancestral oblation propitiate Brahmā, Indra, Rudra, the Āśvins, the sun, fire, the Vasus, the winds, the Viśvadevas, the sages, birds, men, animals, reptiles, progenitors, and all existent things, by offering adoration to them monthly, on the fifteenth day of the moon's wane (or dark fortnight), or on the eighth day of the same period in certain months, or at particular seasons, as I will explain. “When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurādhā, Viśākhā, or Svāti; and for twelve years when it is Puṣya, Ardrā, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhaniṣṭhā, Purvabhādrapadā, or Śatābhiṣā. Hear also an account of another class of Srāddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumāra, the son of Brahmā, to the magnanimous Purūravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśākha (April, May), and the ninth of Kārtika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Māgha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugādya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agrahāyaṇa, Māgha, and Phālguna (December—February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manvantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śrāddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Māgha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuṇa presides (Satābhiṣā), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhaniṣṭhā is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Ārdrā is the lunar mansion. ”He who, after having offered food and libations to the Pitris, bathes in the Ganges, Satlaj, Vipāśā (Beyah), Sarasvatī, or the Gomatī at Naimiṣa, expiates all his sins. The Pitris also say, ‘After having received satisfaction for a twelvemonth, we shall further derive gratification by libations offered by our descendants at some place of pilgrimage, at the end of the dark fortnight of Māgha.’ The songs of the Pitris confer purity of heart, integrity of wealth, prosperous seasons, perfect rites, and devout faith; all that men can desire. Hear the verses that constitute those songs, by listening to which all those advantages will be secured, oh prince, by you. ‘That enlightened individual who begrudges not his wealth, but presents us with cakes, shall be born in a distinguished family. Prosperous and affluent shall that man ever be, who in honour of us gives to the Brahmans, if he is wealthy, jewels, clothes, land, conveyances, wealth, or any valuable presents; or who, with faith and humility, entertains them with food, according to his means, at proper seasons. If he cannot afford to give them dressed food, he must, in proportion to his ability, present them with unboiled grain, or such gifts, however trifling, as he can bestow. Should he be utterly unable even to do this, he must give to some eminent Brahman, bowing at the same time before him, sesamum-seeds adhering to the tips of his fingers, and sprinkle water to us, from the palms of his hands, upon the ground; or he must gather, as he may, fodder for a day, and give it to a cow; by which he will, if firm in faith, yield us satisfaction. If nothing of this kind is practicable, he must go to a forest, and lift up his arms to the sun and other regents of the spheres, and say aloud—I have no money, nor property, nor grain, nor any thing whatever it for an ancestral offering. Bowing therefore to my ancestors, I hope the progenitors will be satisfied with these arms tossed up in the air in devotion.’ These are the words of the Pitris themselves; and he who endeavours, with such means as he may possess, to fulfil their wishes, performs the ancestral rite called a Śrāddha."

"Hear next, oh prince, what description of Brahman should be fed at ancestral ceremonies. he should be one studied in various triplets of the Rich and Yajur Vedas; one who is acquainted with the six supplementary sciences of the Vedas; one who understands the Vedas; one who practises the duties they enjoin; one who exercises penance; a chanter of the principal Sāma - veda, an officiating priest, a sister's son, a daughter's son, a son-in-law, a father-in-law, a maternal uncle, an ascetic, a Brahman who maintains the five fires, a pupil, a kinsman; one who reverences his parents. A man should first employ the Brahmans first specified in the principal obsequial rite; and the others (commencing with the ministering priest) in the subsidiary ceremonies instituted to gratify his ancestors. “A false friend, a man with ugly nails or black teeth, a ravisher, a Brahman who neglects the service of fire and sacred study, a vender of the Soma plant, a man accused of any crime, a thief, a calumniator, a Brahman who conducts religious ceremonies for the vulgar; one who instructs his servant in holy writ, or is instructed in it by his servant; the husband of a woman who has been formerly betrothed to another; a man who is undutiful to his parents; the protector of the husband of a woman of the servile caste, or the husband of a woman of the servile caste; and a Brahman who ministers to idols—are not proper persons to be invited to au ancestral offering. On the first day let a judicious man invite eminent teachers of the Vedas, and other Brahmans; and according to their directions determine what is to be dedicated to the gods, and what to the Pitris. Associated with the Brahmans, let the institutor of an obsequial rite abstain from anger and incontinence. He who having eaten himself in a Śrāddha, and fed Brahmans, and appointed them to their sacred offices, is guilty of incontinence, thereby sentences his progenitors to shameful suffering. In the first place, the Brahmans before described are to be invited; but those holy men who come to the house without an invitation are also to be entertained. The guests are to be reverently received with water for their feet, and the like; and the entertainer, holding holy grass in his hand, is to place them, after they have rinsed their mouths, upon seats. An uneven number of Brahmans is to be invited in sacrifices to the manes; an even or uneven number in those presented to the gods; or one only on each occasion. ”Then let the householder, inspired by religious faith, offer oblations to the maternal grandfather, along with the worship of the Viśvadevas, or the ceremony called Vaiśvadeva, which comprehends offerings to both paternal and maternal ancestors, and to ancestors in general. Let him feed the Brahmans who are appropriated to the gods, and to maternal ancestors, with their faces to the north; and those set apart for the paternal ancestors, and ancestors in general, with their faces to the east. Some say that the viands of the Śrāddha should be kept distinct for these two sets of ancestors, but others maintain that they are to be fed with the same food, at the same time. Having spread Kuśa grass for seats, and offered libations according to rule, let the sensible man invoke the deities, with the coñcurrence of the Brahmans who are present. Let the man who is acquainted with the ritual offer a libation to the gods with water and barley, having presented to them flowers, perfumes, and incense. Let him offer the same to the Pitris, placed upon his left; and with the consent of the Brahmans, having first provided seats of Kuśa grass doubled, let him invoke with the usual prayers the manes to the ceremony, offering a libation, on his left hand, of water and sesamum. He will then, with the permission of the Brahmans, give food to any guest who arrives at the time, or who is desirous of victuals, or who is passing along the road; for holy saints and ascetics, benefactors of mankind, are traversing this earth, disguised in various shapes. On this account let a prudent man welcome a person who arrives at such a season; for inattention to a guest frustrates the consequences of an ancestral offering. “The sacrificer is then to offer food, without salt or seasoning, to fire, three several times, with the consent of the assistant Brahmans; exclaiming first, ‘To fire, the vehicle of the oblations; to the manes Svāhā !’ Next addressing the oblation to Soma, the lord of the progenitors; and giving the third to Vaivaswata. He is then to place a very little of the residue of the oblation in the dishes of the Brahmans; and next, presenting them with choice viands, well dressed and seasoned, and abundant, he is to request them civilly to partake of it at their pleasure. The Brahmans are to eat of such food attentively, in silence, with cheerful countenances, and at their ease. The sacrificer is to give it to them, not churlishly, nor hurriedly, but with devout faith. ”Having next recited the prayer for the discomfiture of malignant spirits, and scattered sesamum-seeds upon the ground, the Brahmans who have been fed are to be addressed, in common with the ancestors of the sacrificer, in this manner: ‘May my father, grandfather, and great grandfather, in the persons of these Brahmans, receive satisfaction! May my father, grandfather, and great grandfather derive nutriment from these oblations to fire! May my father, grandfather, and great grandfather derive satisfaction from the balls of food placed by me upon the ground! May my father, grandfather, and great grandfather be pleased with what I have this day offered them in faith! May my maternal grandfather, his father, and his father, also enjoy contentment from my offerings! May all the gods experience gratification, and all evil beings perish! May the lord of sacrifice, the imperishable deity Hari, be the acceptor of all oblations made to the manes or the gods! and may all malignant spirits, and enemies of the deities, depart from the rite.’ “When the Brahmans have eaten sufficiently, the worshipper must scatter some of the food upon the ground, and present them individually with water to rinse their mouths; then, with their assent, he may place upon the ground balls made up of boiled rice and condiments, along with sesamum-seeds. With the part of his hand sacred to the manes he must offer sesamum-seeds, and water from his joined palms; and with the same part of his hand he must present cakes to his maternal ancestors. He should in lonely places, naturally beautiful, and by the side of sacred streams, diligently make presents (to the manes and the Brahmans). Upon Kuśa grass, the tips of which are pointed to the south, and lying near the fragments of the meat, let the householder present the first ball of food, consecrated with flowers and incense, to his father; the second to his grandfather; and the third to his great grandfather; and let him satisfy those who are contented with the wipings of his hand, by wiping it with the roots of Kuśa grass. After presenting balls of food to his maternal ancestors in the same manner, accompanied by perfumes and incense, he is to give to the principal Brahmans water to rinse their mouths; and then, with attention and piety, he is to give the Brahmans gifts, according to his power, soliciting their benedictions, accompanied with the exclamation ‘Swadhā !’ Having made presents to the Brahmans, he is to address himself to the gods, saying, ‘May they who are the Viśvadevas be pleased with this oblation!’ Having thus said, and the blessings to be solicited having been granted by the Brahmans, he is to dismiss first the paternal ancestors, and then the gods. The order is the same with the maternal ancestors and the gods in respect to food, donation, and dismissal. Commencing with the washing of the feet, until the dismissing of the gods and Brahmans, the ceremonies are to be performed first for paternal ancestors, and then for ancestors on the mother's side. Let him dismiss the Brahmans with kindly speeches and profound respect, and attend upon them at the end of the Śrāddha; until permitted by them to return. The wise man will then perform the invariable worship of the Viśvadevas, and take' his own meal along with his friends, his kinsmen, and his dependants. ”In this manner an enlightened householder will celebrate the obsequial worship of his paternal and maternal ancestors, who, satisfied by his offerings, will grant him all his desires. Three things are held pure at obsequies, a daughter's son, a Nepal blanket, and sesamum-seeds; and the gift, or naming, or sight of silver is also propitious. The person offering a Śrāddha should avoid anger, walking about, and hurry; these three things are very objectionable. The Viśvadevas, and paternal and maternal ancestors, and the living members of a man's family are all nourished by the offerer of ancestral oblations. "The class of Pitris derives support from the moon, and the moon is sustained by acts of austere devotion. Hence the appointment of one who practises austerities is most desirable. A Yogi set before a thousand Brahmans enables the institutor of obsequial rites to enjoy all his desires."

Things proper to be offered as food to deceased ancestors: prohibited things. Circumstances vitiating a Śrāddha: how to be avoided. Song of the Pitris, or progenitors, heard by Ikṣvāku. "Ancestors are satisfied for a month with offerings of rice or other grain, with clarified butter, with fish, or the flesh of the hare, of birds, of the hog, the goat, the antelope, the deer, the gayal, or the sheep, or with the milk of the cow, and its products. They are for ever satisfied with flesh (in general), and with that of the long-eared white goat in particular. The flesh of the rhinoceros, the Kālaśāka potherb, and honey, are also especial sources of satisfaction to those worshipped at ancestral ceremonies. The birth of that man is the occasion of satisfaction to his progenitors who performs at the due time their obsequial rites at Gaya. Grains that spring up spontaneously, rice growing wild, Panic of both species (white or black), vegetables that grow in forests, are fit for ancestral oblations; as are barley, wheat, rice, sesamum, various kinds of pulse, and mustard. On the other hand, a householder must not offer any kind of grain that is not consecrated by religious ceremonies on its first coming into season; nor the pulse called Rājamāṣa, nor millet, nor lentils, nor gourds, nor garlick, nor onions, nor nightshade, nor camels' thorn, nor salt, nor the efflorescence of salt deserts, nor red vegetable extracts, nor any thing that looks like salt, nor any thing that is not commendable; nor is water fit to be offered at a Śrāddha that has been brought by night, or has been abandoned, or is so little as not to satisfy a cow, or smells badly, or is covered with froth. The milk of animals with undivided hoofs, of a camel, a ewe, a deer, or a buffalo, is unfit for ancestral oblations. If an obsequial rite is looked at by a eunuch, a man ejected from society, an outcast, a heretic, a drunken man, or one diseased, by a cock, a naked ascetic, a monkey, a village hag, by a woman in her courses or pregnant, by an unclean person, or by a carrier of corpses, neither gods nor progenitors will partake of the food. The ceremony should therefore be performed in a spot carefully enclosed. Let the performer cast sesamum on the ground, and drive away malignant spirits. Let him not give food that is fetid, or vitiated by hairs or insects, or mixed with acid gruel, or stale. Whatever suitable food is presented with pure faith, and with the enunciation of name and race, to ancestors, at an obsequial oblation, becomes food to them (or gives them nourishment). In former times, O king of the earth! this song of the Pitris was heard by Ikṣvāku, the son of Manu, in the groves of Kalāpa (on the skirts of the Himālaya mountains): 'Those of our descendants shall follow a righteous path who shall reverently present us with cakes at Gaya. May he be born in our race who shall give us, on the thirteenth of Bhādrapada and Māgha, milk, honey, and clarified butter; or when he marries a maiden, or liberates a black bull, or performs any domestic ceremony agreeable to rule, accompanied by donations to the Brahmans !"

Of heretics, or those who reject the authority of the Vedas: their origin, as described by Vaśiṣṭha to Bhīṣma: the gods, defeated by the Daityas, praise Viṣṇu: an illusory being, or Buddha, produced from his body. Thus, in former days, spake the holy Aurva to the illustrious monarch Sagara, when he inquired concerning the usages proper to be practised by mankind; and thus I have explained to you the whole of those observances against which no one ought to transgress. You have told me, venerable sir, that an ancestral rite is not to be looked upon by certain persons, amongst whom you mentioned such as were apostates. I am desirous to learn whom you intended by that appellation; what practices bestow such a title upon a man; and what is the character of the individual to whom you alluded. The Rig, Yajur, and Sāma Vedas constitute the triple covering of the several castes, and the sinner who throws this off is said to be naked (or apostate). The three Vedas are the raiment of all the orders of men, and when that is discarded they are left bare. On this subject hear what I heard my grandfather, the pious Vaśiṣṭha, relate to the magnanimous Bhīṣma: There was formerly a battle between the gods and demons, for the period of a divine year, in which the gods were defeated by the demons under the command of Hrāda. The discomfited deities fled to the northern shore of the milky ocean, where engaging in religious penance they thus prayed to Viṣṇu: “May the first of beings, the divine Viṣṇu, be pleased with the words that we are about to address to him, in order to propitiate the lord of all worlds; from which mighty cause all created things have originated, and into whom they shall again dissolve! Who is able to declare his praise? We, who have been put to shame by the triumph of our foes, will glorify thee, although thy true power and might be not within the reach of words. Thou art earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, crude matter, and primeval soul: all this elementary creation, with or without visible form, is thy body; all, from Brahmā to a stock, diversified by place and time. Glory to thee, who art Brahmā, thy first form, evolved from the lotus springing from thy navel, for the purpose of creation. Glory to thee, who art Indra, the sun, Rudra, the Vasus, fire, the winds, and even also ourselves. Glory to they, Govinda, who art all demons, whose essence is arrogance and want of discrimination, unchecked by patience or self-control. Glory to thee, who art the Yakṣas, whose nature is charmed with sounds, and whose frivolous hearts perfect knowledge cannot pervade. Glory to thee, who art all fiends, that walk by night, sprung from the quality of darkness, fierce, fraudulent, and cruel. Glory to thee, Janārddana, who art that piety which is the instrument of recompensing the virtues of those who abide in heaven. Glory to thee, who art one with the saints, whose perfect nature is ever blessed, and traverses unobstructed all permeable elements. Glory to thee, who art one with the serpent race, double-tongued, impetuous, cruel, insatiate of enjoyment, and abounding with wealth. Glory to thee, who art one with the Ṛṣis, whose nature is free from sin or defect, and is identified with wisdom and tranquillity. Glory to thee, oh lotus-eyed, who art one with time, the form that devours, without remorse, all created things at the termination of the Kalpa. Glory to thee, who art Rudra, the being that dances with delight after he has swallowed up all things, the gods and the rest, without distinction. Glory to thee, Janārddana, who art man, the agent in developing the results of that activity which proceeds from the quality of foulness. Glory to thee, who art brute animals, the universal spirit that tends to perversity, which proceeds from the quality of darkness, and is eñcumbered with the twenty-eight kinds of obstructions. Glory to thee, who art that chief spirit which is diversified in the vegetable world, and which, as the essence of sacrifice, is the instrument of accomplishing the perfection of the universe. Glory to thee, who art every thing, and whose primeval form is the objects of perception, and heaven, and animals, and men, and gods. Glory to thee, who art the cause of causes, the supreme spirit; who art distinct from us and all beings composed of intelligence and matter and the like, and with whose primeval nature there is nothing that can be compared. We bow to thee, O lord, who hast neither colour, nor extension, nor bulk, nor any predicable qualities; and whose essence, purest of the pure, is appreciable only by holy sages. We bow to thee, in the nature of Brahma, untreated, undecaying; who art in our bodies, and in all other bodies, and in all living creatures; and besides whom there is nothing else. We glorify that Vāsudeva, the sovereign lord of all, who is without soil, the seed of all things, exempt from dissolution, unborn, eternal, being in essence the supreme condition of spirit, and in substance the whole of this universe.” Upon the conclusion of their prayers, the gods beheld the sovereign deity Hari, armed with the shell, the discus, and the mace, riding on Garuḍa. Prostrating themselves before him, they addressed him, and said, “Have compassion upon us, O lord, and protect us, who have come to thee for succour from the Daityas. They have seized upon the three worlds, and appropriated the offerings which are our portion, taking care not to transgress the precepts of the Veda. Although we, as well as they, are parts of thee, of whom all beings consist, yet we behold the world impressed by the ignorance of unity, with the belief of its separate existence. Engaged in the duties of their respective orders, and following the paths prescribed by holy writ, practising also religious penance, it is impossible for us to destroy them. Do thou, whose wisdom is immeasurable, instruct us in some device by which we may be able to exterminate the enemies of the gods.” When the mighty Viṣṇu heard their request, he emitted from his body an illusory form, which he gave to the gods, and thus spake This deceptive vision shall wholly beguile the Daityas, so that, being led astray from the path of the Vedas, they may be put to death; for all gods, demons, or others, who shall be opposed to the authority of the Veda, shall perish by my might, whilst exercised for the preservation of the world. Go then, and fear not: let this delusive vision precede you; it shall this day be of great service unto you, oh gods!"

Buddha goes to the earth, and teaches the Daityas to contemn the Vedas: his sceptical doctrines: his prohibition of animal sacrifices. Meaning of the term Bauddha. Jainas and Bauddhas; their tenets. The Daityas lose their power, and are overcome by the gods. Meaning of the term Nagna. Consequences of neglect of duty. Story of Śatadhanu and his wife Śaivyā. Communion with heretics to be shunned. After this, the great delusion, having proceeded to earth, beheld the Daityas engaged in ascetic penances upon the banks of the Narmadā river; and approaching them in the semblance of a naked mendicant, with his head shaven, and carrying a bunch of peacock's feathers, he thus addressed them in gentle accents: “Ho, lords of the Daitya race! wherefor is it that you practise these acts of penance? is it with a view to recompense in this world, or in another?” “Sage,” replied the Daityas, “we pursue these devotions to obtain a reward hereafter; why should you make such an inquiry?” “If you are desirous of final emancipation,” answered the seeming ascetic, “attend to my words, for you are worthy of a revelation which is the door to ultimate felicity. The duties that I will teach you are the secret path to liberation; there are none beyond or superior to them: by following them you shall obtain either heaven or exemption from future existence. You, mighty beings, are deserving of such lofty doctrine.” By such persuasions, and by many specious arguments, did this delusive being mislead the Daityas from the tenets of the Vedas; teaching that the same thing might be for the sake of virtue and of vice; might be, and might not be; might or might not contribute to liberation; might be the supreme object, and not the supreme object; might be effect, and not be effect; might be manifest, or not be manifest; might be the duty of those who go naked, or who go clothed in much raiment: and so the Daityas were seduced from their proper duties by the repeated lessons of their illusory preceptor, maintaining the equal truth of contradictory tenets; and they were called Arhatas, from the phrase he had employed of “Ye are worthy (Arhatha) of this great doctrine;” that is, of the false doctrines which he persuaded them to embrace. The foes of the gods being thus induced to apostatize from the religion of the Vedas, by the delusive person sent by Viṣṇu, became in their turn teachers of the same heresies, and perverted others; and these, again, communicating their principles to others, by whom they were still further disseminated, the Vedas were in a short time deserted by most of the Daitya race. Then the same deluder, putting on garments of a red colour, assuming a benevolent aspect, and speaking in soft and agreeable tones, addressed others of the same family, and said to them, “If; mighty demons, you cerish a desire either for heaven or for final repose, desist from the iniquitous massacre of animals (for sacrifice), and hear from me what you should do. Know that all that exists is composed of discriminative knowledge. Understand my words, for they have been uttered by the wise. This world subsists without support, and engaged in the pursuit of error, which it mistakes for knowledge, as well as vitiated by passion and the rest, revolves in the straits of existence.” In this manner, exclaiming to them, “Know!” (Budhyadwam), and they replying, “It is known” (Budhyate), these Daityas were induced by the arch deceiver to deviate from their religious duties (and become Bauddhas), by his repeated arguments and variously urged persuasions, When they had abandoned their own faith, they persuaded others to do the same, and the heresy spread, and many deserted the practices enjoined by the Vedas and the laws. The delusions of the false teacher paused not with the conversion of the Daityas to the Jaina and Bauddha heresies, but with various erroneous tenets he prevailed upon others to apostatize, until the whole were led astray, and deserted the doctrines and observances iñculcated by the three Vedas. Some then spake evil of the sacred books; some blasphemed the gods; some treated sacrifices and other devotional ceremonies with scorn; and others calumniated the Brahmans. “The precepts,” they cried, “that lead to the injury of animal life (as in sacrifices) are highly reprehensible. To say that casting butter into flame is productive of reward, is mere childishness. If Indra, after having obtained godhead by multiplied rites, is fed upon the wood used as fuel in holy fire, he is lower than a brute, which feeds at least upon leaves. If an animal slaughtered in religious worship is thereby raised to heaven, would it not be expedient for a man who institutes a sacrifice to kill his own father for a victim? If that which is eaten by one at a Śrāddha gives satisfaction to another, it must be unnecessary for one who resides at a distance to bring food for presentation in person.” “First, then, let it be determined what may be (rationally) believed by mankind, and then,” said their preceptor, “you will find that felicity may be expected from my instructions. The words of authority do not, mighty Asuras, fall from heaven: the text that has reason is alone to be acknowledged by me, and by such as you are.” By such and similar lessons the Daityas were perverted, so that not one of them admitted the authority of the Vedas. When the Daityas had thus declined from the path of the holy writings, the deities took courage, and gathered together for battle. Hostilities accordingly were renewed, but the demons were now defeated and slain by the gods, who had adhered to the righteous path. The armour of religion, which had formerly protected the Daityas, had been discarded by them, and upon its abandonment followed their destruction. Thus, Maitreya, you are to understand that those who have seceded from their original belief are said to be naked, because they have thrown off the garment of the Vedas. According to the law there are four conditions or orders of men (of the three first castes), the religious student, the householder, the hermit, and the mendicant. There is no fifth state; and the unrighteous man who relinquishes the order of the householder, and does not become either an anchoret or a mendicant, is also a naked (seceder). The man who neglects his permanent observances for one day and night, being able to perform them, iñcurs thereby sin for one day; and should he omit them, not being in trouble, for a fortnight, he can be purified only by arduous expiation. The virtuous must stop to gaze upon the sun after looking upon a person who has allowed a year to elapse without the observance of the perpetual ceremonies; and they must bathe with their clothes on should they have touched him: but for the individual himself no expiation has been declared. There is no sinner upon earth more culpable than one in whose dwelling the gods, progenitors, and spirits, are left to sigh unworshipped. Let not a man associate, in residence, sitting, or society, with him whose person or whose house has been blasted by the sighs of the gods, progenitors, and spirits. Conversation, interchange of civilities, or association with a man who for a twelvemonth has not discharged his religious duties, is productive of equality of guilt; and the person who eats in the house of such a man, or sits down with him, or sleeps on the same couch with him, becomes like him instantaneously. Again; he who takes his food without shewing reverence to the gods, progenitors, spirits, and guests, commits sin. How great is his sin! The Brahmans, and men of the other castes, who turn their faces away from their proper duties, become heretics, and are classed with those who relinquish pious works. Remaining in a place where there is too great an intermixture of the four castes is detrimental to the character of the righteous. Men fall into hell who converse with one who takes his food without offering a portion to the gods, the sages, the manes, spirits, and guests. Let therefore a prudent person carefully avoid the conversation, or the contact, and the like, of those heretics who are rendered impure by their desertion of the three Vedas. The ancestral rite, although performed with zeal and faith, pleases neither gods nor progenitors if it be looked upon by apostates. It is related that there was formerly a king named Śatadhanu, whose wife Śaivyā was a woman of great virtue. She was devoted to her husband, benevolent, sincere, pure, adorned with every female excellence, with humility, and discretion. The Rājā and his wife daily worshipped the god of gods, Janārddana, with pious meditations, oblations to fire, prayers, gifts, fasting, and every other mark of entire faith, and exclusive devotion. On one occasion, when they had fasted on the full moon of Kārtika, and had bathed in the Bhagirathī, they beheld, as they came up from the water, a heretic approach them, who was the friend of the Rājā's military preceptor. The Rājā, out of respect to the latter, entered into conversation with the heretic; but not so did the princess; reflecting that she was observing a fast, she turned from him, and cast her eyes up to the sun. On their arrival at home, the husband and wife, as usual, performed the worship of Viṣṇu, agreeably to the ritual. After a time the Rājā, triumphant over his enemies, died; and the princess ascended the funeral pile of her husband. In consequence of the fault committed by Śatadhanu, by speaking to an infidel when he was engaged in a solemn fast, he was born again as a dog. His wife was born as the daughter of the Rājā of Kāśī, with a knowledge of the events of her preexistence, accomplished in every science, and endowed with every virtue. Her father was anxious to give her in marriage to some suitable husband, but she constantly opposed his design, and the king was prevented by her from accomplishing her nuptials. With the eye of divine intelligence she knew that her own husband had been regenerate as a dog, and going once to the city of Vaidiśā she saw the dog, and recognised her former lord in him. Knowing that the animal was her husband, she placed upon his neck the bridal garland, accompanying it with the marriage rites and prayers: but he, eating the delicate food presented to him, expressed his delight after the fashion of his species; at which she was much ashamed, and, bowing reverently to him, thus spake to her degraded spouse: “Recall to memory, illustrious prince, the ill-timed politeness on account of which you have been born as a dog, and are now fawning upon me. In consequence of speaking to a heretic, after bathing in a sacred river, you have been condemned to this abject birth. Do you not remember it?” Thus reminded, the Rājā recollected his former condition, and was lost in thought, and felt deep humiliation. With a broken spirit he went forth from the city, and falling dead in the desert, was born anew as a jackal. In the course of the following year the princess knew what had happened, and went to the mountain Kolāhala to seek for her husband. Finding him there, the lovely daughter of the king of the earth said to her lord, thus disguised as a jackal, “Dost thou not remember, oh king, the circumstance of conversing with a heretic, which I called to thy recollection when thou wast a dog?” The Rājā, thus addressed, knew that what the princess had spoken was true, and thereupon desisted from food, and died. He then became a wolf; but his blameless wife knew it, and came to him in the lonely forest, and awakened his remembrance of his original state. “No wolf art thou,” she said, “but the illustrious sovereign Śatadhanu. Thou wast then a dog, then a jackal, and art now a wolf.” Upon this, recollecting himself, the prince abandoned his life, and became a vulture; in which form his lovely queen still found him, and aroused him to a knowledge of the past. “Prince,” she exclaimed, “recollect yourself: away with this uncouth form, to which the sin of conversing with a heretic has condemned you!” The Rājā was next born as a crow; when the princess, who through her mystical powers was aware of it, said to him, “Thou art now thyself the eater of tributary grain, to whom, in a prior existence, all the kings of the earth paid tribute.” Having abandoned his body, in consequence of the recollections excited by these words, the king next became a peacock, which the princess took to herself, and petted, and fed constantly with such food as is agreeable to birds of its class. The king of Kāśī instituted at that time the solemn sacrifice of a horse. In the ablutions with which it terminated the princess caused her peacock to be bathed, bathing also herself; and she then reminded Śatadhanu how he had been successively born as various animals. On recollecting this, he resigned his life. He was then born as the son of a person of distinction; and the princess now assenting to the wishes of her father to see her wedded, the king of Kāśī caused it to be made known that she would elect a bridegroom from those who should present themselves as suitors for her hand. When the election took place, the princess made choice of her former lord, who appeared amongst the candidates, and again invested him with the character of her husband. They lived happily together, and upon her father's decease Śatadhanu ruled over the country of Videha. He offered many sacrifices, and gave away many gifts, and begot sons, and subdued his enemies in war; and having duly exercised the sovereign power, and cerished benignantly the earth, he died, as became his warrior birth, in battle. His queen again followed him in death, and, conformably to sacred precepts, once more mounted cheerfully his funeral pile. The king then, along with his princess, ascended beyond the sphere of Indra to the regions where all desires are for ever gratified, obtaining ever-during and unequalled happiness in heaven, the perfect felicity that is the rarely realised reward of conjugal fidelity. Such, Maitreya, is the sin of conversing with a heretic, and such are the expiatory effects of bathing after the solemn sacrifice of a horse, as I have narrated them to you. Let therefore a man carefully avoid the discourse or contact of an unbeliever, especially at seasons of devotion, and when engaged in the performance of religious rites preparatory to a sacrifice. If it be necessary that a wise man should look at the sun, after beholding one who has neglected his domestic ceremonies for a month, how much greater need must there be of expiation after encountering one who has wholly abandoned the Vedas? one who is supported by infidels, or who disputes the doctrines of holy writ? Let not a person treat with even the civility of speech, heretics, those who do forbidden acts, pretended saints, scoundrels, sceptics, and hypocrites. Intercourse with such iniquitous wretches, even at a distance, all association with schismatics, defiles; let a man therefore carefully avoid them. These, Maitreya, are the persons called naked, the meaning of which term you desired to have explained. Their very looks vitiate the performance of an ancestral oblation; speaking to then destroys religious merit for a whole day. These are the unrighteous heretics to whom a man must not give shelter, and speaking to whom effaces whatever merit he may that day have obtained. Men, indeed, fall into hell as the consequence of only conversing with those who unprofitably assume the twisted hair, and shaven crown; with those who feed without offering food to gods, spirits, and guests; and those who are excluded from the presentation of cakes, and libations of water, to the manes.