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Vishnu-smriti (Vishnu sutra / Vaishnava Dharmasâstra)
Penances
XLVI.
1. Now follow the penances.
2. Let a man fast for three days;
3. And let him perform each day the three ablutions (at dawn, noon, and sunset);
4. And let him, at every ablution, plunge into the water three times;
5. And let him mutter the Aghamarshana three times, after having plunged into the water;
6. During day-time let him be standing;
7. At night let him continue in a sitting position;
8. At the close of the ceremony let him give a milch cow (to a Brâhmana).
9. Thus1 has the penance Aghamarshana been described.
10. Let a man for three days eat in the evening only; for other three days, in the morning only; for further three days, food (given to him) unsolicited; (and let him fast entirely for three days): that is the Prâgâpatya (the penance invented by Pragâpati).
11. Let him drink for three days hot water; for other three days, hot clarified butter; and for further three days, hot milk; and let him fast for three days: that is the Taptakrikkhra (hot penance).
12. Taking the same (liquids) cold is called the Sîtakrikkhra (cold penance).
13. The Krikkhrâtikrikkhra (the most difficult penance) consists in subsisting on milk only for twenty-one days.
14. Eating (nothing but) ground barley mixed with water for a whole month is called the Udakakrikkhra (water penance).
15. Eating nothing but lotus-fibres (for a whole month) is called the Mûlakrikkhra (root penance).
16. Eating nothing but Bèl fruit (for a whole month) is called the Srîphalakrikkhra (Bèl fruit penance).
17. Or2 (this penance is performed) by (eating) lotus-seeds.
18. A total fast for twelve days is called Parâka.
19. Subsisting for one day on the urine and fæces of a cow, milk, sour milk, butter, and water in which Kusa grass has been boiled, and fasting the next day, is called Sântapana (the tormenting penance).
20. Swallowing (the same six things, viz.) cow-urine and the rest, each for one day, is called Mahâsântapana (the particularly tormenting penance).
21. Swallowing each for three days is called Atisântapana (the extremely tormenting penance).
22. Swallowing oil-cakes, foam of boiled rice, buttermilk, water, and ground barley (each for one day), with a fasting day between (every, two days), is called Tulâpurusha (a man's weight).
23. Drinking water boiled with Kusa grass, leaves of the Palâsa and Udumbara trees, of lotuses, of the Sankhapushpî plant, of the banyan tree, and of the Brahmasuvarkalâ plant, each (for one day), is called Parnakrikkhra (leaves penance).
24. Let a man perform all those penances after having shorn his hair and his beard, and let him bathe at morning, noon, and evening every day, lying on a low couch, and restraining his passions,
25. And let him (while engaged in performing them) avoid to converse with women, Sûdras, or outcasts, and let him constantly, to the best of his ability, mutter purifying Mantras and make oblations in the fire.
XLVII.
1. Now follows the Kândrâyana (lunar penance).
2. Let a man eat single mouthfuls (of food) unchanged in size;3
3. And let him during the moon's increase add (successively) one mouthful (every day, so as to eat one mouthful on the first day of the moon's increase, two mouthfuls on the second day, and so on; fifteen mouthfuls on the day of full moon), and during the wane of the moon let him take off one mouthful (every day, so as to eat fourteen mouthfuls on the first day of the moon's wane, thirteen mouthfuls on the second, and one mouthful on the fourteenth day of the moon's wane), and on the day of new moon let him fast entirely: thus has the barley-shaped Kândrâyana been described.
4. Or the ant-shaped Kândrâyana (may be performed).
5. That Kândrâyana is called 'ant-shaped' in which the day of new moon is placed in the middle.
6. That one is, called 'barley-shaped' in which the day of full moon is placed in the middle.
7. If a man eats for a month eight mouthfuls a day, it is (the penance called) Yatikândrâyana (an hermit's Kândrâyana).
8. Eating (for a month) four mouthfuls each morning and evening is (the penance called) Sîsukândrâyana (a child's Kândrâyana).
9. Eating anyhow4 three hundred minus sixty mouthfuls a month is the penance called Sâmânyakândrâyâna (general Kândrâyana).
10. After having performed this penance, in a former age, the seven holy Rishis, Brahman, and Rudra acquired a splendid abode, O Earth.
XLVIII.5
1. Now if a man feels his conscience charged with some guilty act (such as performing a sacrifice for, or accepting a gift from, unworthy persons, or eating excrements) committed by himself (or if his conscience tells him that he has done more evil than good, or if he thinks himself less pure than others), let him boil a handful of barley-gruel for the sake of his own spiritual welfare.
2. Let him not make the (customary) Vaisvadeva offering after that.6
3. Neither must he make the Bali offerings.
4. Let him consecrate with Mantras the barley, before it has been put to the fire, while it is being boiled, and after it has been boiled.7
5. Let him watch the barley, while it is being boiled (muttering at the same time the following Mantra):
6. 'Soma, who is the highest priest among priests (gods), leader among the wise, Rishi among bards, the falcon among rapacious birds, the Svadhiti tree among trees, trickles murmuring through the filter8.' With these words he must fasten blades of Kusa grass (round the neck of the kettle).
7. The pulse having been boiled, he must pour it into another vessel and eat it.
8. Let him help himself to it, while muttering the Mantra, 'The gods, who have sprung up in the mind and satisfy the mind, who are gifted with great energy, and whose father is Daksha, shall protect and help us. To them be Namah (adoration), to them be Svâhâ (hail).'9
9. Then, after having sipped water, let him seize the centre (of the vessel) and mutter the Mantra:
10. 'Be satisfied in our stomach, O ye waters, and ye barley-corns, after having been bathed; they shall be salubrious to us, conferring bliss, causing health, divine, causing immortality, and increasers of Rita (truth and justice).'
11. One desirous of wisdom (must perform this rite) for three days;
12. A sinner, for six days.
13. Any of the mortal sinners (killers of a Brâhmana, stealers of gold, and the rest) becomes purified by swallowing it for seven days.
14. Swallowing it for twelve nights effaces even sins committed by an ancestor;
15. Swallowing it for a month, every sin (whether light or heavy, and whether committed by himself or by an ancestor).
16. And so does swallowing barley-corns dissolved in the excrements of a cow for twenty-one days (efface every sin).
17. 'Thou art barley, thou the king of grains, thou water mixed with honey; the Rishis have proclaimed thee an expeller of every kind of guilt and an instrument of purification.
18. 'You are clarified butter and honey, O ye barley-corns; you are water and ambrosia, O ye barley-corns. May you efface whatever sinful acts I have committed:
19. 'Sins committed by words, by acts, and by evil thoughts. Avert distress and ill-fortune from me, O ye barley-corns.
20. 'Purify food licked at by dogs or pigs, or defiled by leavings (of food), and (purify me from the stain) of disobedience towards mother and father, O ye barley-corns.
21. 'Purify for me food given by a multitude of persons, the food of a harlot, or of a Sûdra, food offered at a Srâddha, food rendered impure by the birth of a child in the house, the food of a thief, and food offered at a Navasrâddha (or new Srâddha, which takes place on the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh day after a person's demise).
22. 'Purify me, O ye barley-corns, from the sin of injuring a child or of causing (a punishment) to be inflicted on some one by the king, from theft of gold (or other high crimes), from the violation of a religious duty, from performing a sacrifice for an unworthy person, and from abusing a Brâhmana.'
XLIX.10
1. After having fasted during the eleventh day of the bright half of the month Mârgasîrsha, let a man worship, on the twelfth day, the venerable Vâsudeva (Vishnu).
2. (He shall worship him) with flowers, incense, unguents, lamps, eatables (such as milk), and repasts given to Brâhmanas.11
3. By performing this rite (on the twelfth day of the bright half of every month, from the month Mârgasîrsha to the month Kârttika) for one year, he is purified from every sin.
4. By performing it till he dies, he attains Svetadvîpa ('the white island,' the abode of Bhagavat).
5. By performing it for a year on each twelfth day of both halves of a month, he attains heaven.
6. By performing it (within the same intervals), till he dies, (he attains) the world of Vishnu.
7. The same (heavenly rewards are gained by him who performs this rite) on each fifteenth day (after having fasted during the fourteenth).
8. If he worships (according to the latter rite) Kesava (Vishnu) who has become one with Brahman, on the day of full moon, and Kesava absorbed in meditation, on the day of new moon, he will obtain a great reward.12
9. If in a year on a day of full moon the moon and the planet Jupiter are seen together in the sky, it is called a great full moon.
10. Gifts, fasts, and the like are declared to be imperishable on that day. The same is the case if a conjunction with the asterism. Sravanâ falls on the twelfth day of the bright half (of any month).
L.
1. Let a man make a hut of leaves in a forest and dwell in it;
2. And let him bathe (and perform his prayers) three times a day;
3. And13 let him collect alms, going from one village to another, and proclaiming his own deed;
4. And14 let him sleep upon grass:
5. This is called a Mahâvrata (great observance).
6. He who has killed a Brâhmana (unintentionally) must perform it for twelve years.
7. (He who has unintentionally killed) a Kshatriya or a Vaisya engaged in a sacrifice, for the same period.
8. Likewise, he who has killed (unintentionally) a pregnant woman, or15 a woman in her courses.
9. Or16 a woman who has bathed after temporary uncleanness;
10. Or17 a friend.
11. He who has (unintentionally) killed a king, must perform the Mahâvrata for twice the same number of years (or twenty-four years);
12. He who has (unintentionally) killed. a Kshatriya (not engaged in a sacrifice, nor a king), for one quarter of that time less (or for nine years);
13. He who has (unintentionally) killed a Vaisya (not engaged in a sacrifice), for half of that time (or for six years).
14. He who has (unintentionally) killed a (virtuous) Sûdra, for half of that time again (or for three years).
15. He who is performing any of those penances, must carry (on his stick) the skull of the person slain, like a flag.
16. Let a man serve cows for a month, his hair and beard having been shorn.
17. And let him sit down to rest when they rest;
18. And18 let him stand still when they stand still;
19. And19 let him give assistance to a cow that has met with an accident (such as getting into a slough, or falling into a pit).
20. And let him preserve them from (the attacks of lions and tigers and other) dangers.
21. Let him not seek shelter himself against cold (and hot winds) and similar dangers, without having previously protected the cows against them.
22. Let him wash himself with cow-urine (three times a day);
23. And20 let him subsist upon the (five) productions of a cow:
24. This is the Govrata (cow rite), which must be performed by him who has (unintentionally) killed a cow (belonging to a Kshatriya).
25. If a man has killed an elephant (intentionally), he must give five black (nîla) bulls.21
26. If he has killed (unintentionally) a horse, he must give a garment.
27. If he has (intentionally) killed an ass, he must give a bull one year old.
28. The same if he has (intentionally) killed a ram or a goat.
29. If he has (intentionally) killed a camel, he must give one Krishnala of gold.
30. If he has (intentionally) killed a dog, he must fast for three days.
31. If he has (unintentionally) killed a mouse, or a cat, or an ichneumon, or a frog, or a Dundubha snake, or a large serpent (a boa constrictor), he must fast one day, and on the next day he must give a dish of milk, sesamum, and rice mixed together to a Brâhmana, and give him an iron hoe as his 'fee.'
32. If he has killed (unintentionally) an iguana, or an owl, or a crow, or a fish, he must fast for three days.
33. If he has killed (intentionally) a Hamsa, or a crane, or a heron, or a cormorant, or an ape, or a falcon, or the vulture called Bhâsa, or a Brâhmanî duck, he must give a cow to a Brâhmana.
34. If he has killed a snake, (he must give) an iron spade.
35. If he has killed emasculated (cattle or birds)22, (he must give) a load of straw23.
36. If he has killed (intentionally) a boar, (he must give) a Kumbha of clarified butter.
37. If he has (intentionally) killed a partridge, (he must give) a Drona of sesamum.
38. If he has (intentionally) killed a parrot, (he must give) a calf two years old.
39. If he has (intentionally) killed a curlew, (he must give) a calf three years old.
40. If he has (unintentionally) killed a wild carnivorous animal, he must give a milch cow.
41. If he has (unintentionally) killed a wild animal not carnivorous, (he must give) a heifer.
42. If he has (intentionally) killed an animal not mentioned before, he must subsist upon milk for three days.
43. If he has (unintentionally) killed a bird (not mentioned before), he must eat at night only;
44. Or (if unable to do so), he must give a silver Mâsha.
45. If he has (unintentionally) killed an aquatic animal, he must fast (for a day and a night).
46. If he has killed a thousand (small) animals having bones, or an ox-load of animals that have no bones, he must perform the same penance as for killing a Sûdra.24
47. But, if he has killed animals having bones, he must (moreover) give some trifle to a Brâhmana (for each animal which he has killed); if he has killed boneless animals, he becomes purified by one stopping of the breath.
48. For cutting (unawares?) trees yielding fruit (such as the bread-fruit or mango trees), shrubs, creeping or climbing plants, or plants yielding blossoms (such as the jasmine tree), he must mutter a Vedic text (the Gâyatrî) a hundred times.
49. For killing (unintentionally) insects bred in rice or other food, or in (sweets and) the like, or in liquids (such as molasses), or elsewhere (in water and so on), or in flowers or fruits, the penance consists in eating clarified butter.
50. If a man has wantonly cut such plants as grow by cultivation. (such as rice and barley), or such as rise spontaneously in the wood (such as wild rice), he must wait on a cow and subsist upon milk for one day.
LI.
1. A drinker of spirituous liquor must abstain from all religious rites and subsist on grains separated from the husk for a year.
2. If a man has (knowingly) tasted any of the (twelve) unclean excretions of the body, or of the (twelve) intoxicating drinks, he must perform the Kândrâyana penance.
3. Likewise, if he has (knowingly) eaten garlic, or onions, or red garlic, or any plant which has a similar flavour (to that of garlic or onions), or the meat of village pigs, of tame cocks (and other tame birds), of apes, and of cows.
4. In all those cases men belonging to a twice-born caste have to be initiated a second time, after the penance is over.
5. On their second initiation, the tonsure, the girding with the sacred string, the wearing of the staff, and the begging of alms shall be omitted.
6. If a man has (unawares) eaten meat of a fivetoed animal, with the exception of the hare, the porcupine, the iguana, the rhinoceros, and the tortoise, he must fast for seven days.
7. If he has eaten the food of a multitude of persons, of a harlot, of a thief, or of a singer, he must subsist upon milk for seven days.
8. And25 (if he has eaten) the food of a carpenter or of a leather manufacturer;
9. Or of a usurer, of a miser, of one who has performed the initiatory ceremony of a Soma-sacrifice, of a jailer, of an Abhisasta, or of a eunuch;26
10. Or of a dissolute woman, of a hypocrite, of a physician, of a hunter, of a hard-hearted or cruel person, and of one who eats the leavings of food;
11. Or of a woman who has neither husband nor son, of a goldsmith, of an enemy, or of an outcast:
12. Or of a malignant informer, of a liar, of one who has transgressed the law, and of one who sells himself, or who sells (molasses or other) liquids and condiments;
13. Or of a public dancer, of a weaver, of an ungrateful man, or of a dyer of clothes;
14. Or (the food) of a blacksmith, of a man of the Nishâda tribe (who subsist by fishing), of a stage-player27, of a worker in cane, or of a seller of weapons;
15. Or of a trainer of dogs, of a distiller of spirituous liquor, of an oil manufacturer, or of a washerman;
16. Or (the food) of a woman in her courses (whether belonging to her, or dressed for her), or of one who lives under one roof with the paramour of his wife;
17. Or (food) which has been looked at by the killer of an embryo (of a Brâhmana), or which has been touched by a woman in her courses, or nibbled by a bird28, or touched by a dog, or smelt at by a cow;
18. Or that which has been designedly touched with the foot, or that which has been sneezed at;
19. Or the food of insane, or wrathful, or sick persons;
20. Or (food that is given) in a disrespectful manner, or the meat (of animals killed) for no sacred purpose.29
21. After having (unawares) eaten the flesh of any sort of fish, excepting the Pâthîna, Rohita, Râgîva, Simhatunda, and Sakula fishes, he must fast for three days.
22. Likewise, after having (unawares) eaten the flesh of (any other) aquatic animal (such as the alligator, or the Gangetic porpoise).
23. After having (knowingly) drunk water from a vessel in which spirituous liquor had been kept, he must drink for seven days milk boiled together with the Sankhapushpî plant.
24. After having (knowingly drunk water) from a vessel in which an intoxicating beverage had been kept, (he must drink the same) for five days.
25. A Soma-sacrificer, who has (unawares) smelt the breath of a man who had been drinking spirituous liquor, must plunge into water, (suppress his breath) and mutter the Aghamarshana three times. and eat clarified butter afterwards.
26. For eating (designedly) the flesh of an ass, of a camel, or of a crow30, he must perform the Kândrâyana penance.
27. Likewise, for eating (knowingly) the flesh of an unknown (beast or bird), meat kept in a slaughterhouse, and31 dried meat.
28. For eating (unawares) the flesh of carnivorous beasts; (tigers- and others), or birds (hawks and others), he must perform the Taptakrikkhra.
29. For (knowingly) eating a sparrow, or (the heron called) Plava, or a Brâhmanî duck, or a Hamsa, or the (wild cock called) Raggudâla, or a Sârasa crane, or a Dâtyûha, or a male or female parrot, or a crane, or a heron, or a cuckoo, or a wagtail, he must fast for three days.
30. Likewise, for eating (unawares the flesh of) animals whose hoof is not cloven (such as horses), or of animals having a double row of teeth (such as the Rohita deer).
31. For eating (unawares) the flesh of any bird, excepting the francoline partridge, the Kâpiñgala, the (quail called) Lâvaka, the peahen, and the peacock, (he must fast) for a day and a night.
32. For eating (knowingly) insects (ants and others), he must drink for one day (water in which the plant) Brahmasuvarkalâ (has been boiled).
33. For eating (unawares) the flesh of dogs, he must perform the same penance32.
34. For eating (unawares the mushroom called) Khattrâka, or (the mushroom called) Kavaka, he must perform the Sântapana penance.
35. For eating (unawares) stale food, other than a mess prepared with barley (such as cakes), or with wheat (such as, gruel), or with milk (boiled with rice, or mixed with coagulated milk, or otherwise dressed), and dishes sprinkled with fat (such as clarified butter), sour gruel, and sweetmeats, he must fast (for one day).
36. Likewise, (for eating unawares) the juice flowing from an incision in a tree, (plants raised in) unclean substances (such as excrements and the like), and the red exudation of trees.
37. Also, (for eating unawares) the root of the water-lily; (and for eating) rice boiled with sesamum. or with beans, Samyâva33, rice boiled in milk with sugar, pastry, Sashkulî (cakes), or food destined for the gods, if those dishes have not been announced to the gods first; and (for eating) food destined for burnt-oblations.
38. Also, for tasting the milk of any animal, save the milk of cows, goats, and buffalos (and for tasting any eatables made of such milk)34.
39. Also, (for tasting the milk) of those animals (cows and the rest) within ten days after their giving birth to a young one.
40. And (for tasting) the milk of a cow whose milk flows of itself, of one that has just taken the bull35, or of one whose calf is dead36.
41. And (for tasting the milk of a cow) that has been feeding upon ordures.
42. And (for tasting) any such food as has turned sour (but not that which is sour by nature, like sorrel), except sour milk (and what is made with it).
43. A student, who partakes (unawares) of a Srâddha repast, must fast for three days.
44. And he must remain in water for a whole day (afterwards).
45. If he eats honey or meat (at any time), he must perform the Prâgâpatya penance.
46. If any one eats (unawares) the leavings of the food of a cat, of a crow, of an ichneumon, or of a rat, he must drink water in which the Brahmasuvarkalâ plant has been boiled.
47. For eating (unawares) what has been left by a dog, he must fast for one day, and drink Pañkagavya (afterwards).
48. For tasting (knowingly) the excrements of five-toed animals (excepting human excrements), he must (fast) for seven days (and drink Pañkagavya on the eighth).
49. If one (not a student) eats (unawares) of a Srâddha repast consisting of raw food, he must subsist on milk for seven days.
50. If a Brâhmana eats what has been left by a Sûdra, (he must also subsist on milk) for seven days.37
51. If he eats what has been left by a Vaisya, (he must subsist upon milk) for five days.
52. If he eats what has been left by a Kshatriya, (he must subsist upon milk) for three days.
53. If he eats what has been left by another Brâhmana, (he must subsist upon milk) for one day.
54. If a Kshatriya eats what has been left by a Sûdra, (he must undergo the same penance) for five days.
55. If he eats what has been left by a Vaisya, (he must undergo it) for three days;
56. And so must a Vaisya, if he eats what has been left by a Sûdra.
57. For (knowingly) eating (undressed) food, which has been left by a Kandâla (or Svapaka or other member of the seven lowest castes), he must fast for three days.
58. For (unawares) eating dressed food (left by such), the Parâka penance is ordained.
59. Let no Brâhmana ever eat (the flesh of) beasts which has not been consecrated with Mantras; but if it has been consecrated with Mantras, he may eat it, following the eternal rule (laid down in the Veda).
60. As many hairs as the beast has, which he has slain in this world, for so many days will the killer of a beast for other purposes than a (Srauta or Smârta) sacrifice, suffer terrible pangs in this world and in the next38.
61. It is for sacrifices that beasts have been created by the Self-existent (Brahman) himself. Sacrificing causes the whole universe to prosper; therefore is the slaughter (of beasts) for a sacrifice no slaughter.
62. The sin of him who kills deer for the sake of gain, is not so great (and visited less heavily) in the world to come, than the sin of him who eats meat which has not been offered to the gods.39
63. Plants, cattle, trees, amphibious animals, and birds, which have been destroyed for the purposes of sacrifice, obtain exaltation in another existence (in which they are born as Gandharvas, or other beings of a high rank).
64. When honouring a guest, at a sacrifice, or when worshipping the manes, or the gods, a man may slay cattle, but not otherwise on any account.
65. That twice-born man who, knowing the exact truth (promulgated) in the Veda, slays cattle for the sacrifices (ordained in the Veda), will convey himself and the cattle (slain by him) to a blissful abode.
66. A self-controlled40 man of a twice-born caste, whether he be a householder, or be dwelling with his spiritual teacher, or in the forest, must never slay an animal in opposition to the precepts of the Veda, even in cases of distress.
67. That slaughter which is in accordance with the precepts of the Veda, and has been fixed for this world of movable and immovable creatures, should be considered as no slaughter at all; because it is from the Veda that law shines forth.
68. He who hurts animals that do not hurt any one, merely in order to afford pleasure to himself, will never obtain happiness, whether living or dead41.
69. He who gives no living creature intentionally the pain of confining or killing (or hurting) it, from benevolence towards all (creatures), will enjoy everlasting happiness.
70. Whatever he thinks of, whatever he strives for, and whatever he desires in his heart, all that is easily obtained by him who does not injure any created being.
71. Meat cannot be obtained without injuring an animal, and the murder of animals excludes the murderer from heaven, therefore must meat be avoided.
72. Reflecting upon the origin of flesh42 and upon the (sin of) hurting or confining animated creatures, he must abstain from animal food of any kind.
73. He who transgresses not the law and eats not flesh like a Pisâka, is beloved by men and remains free from disease.
74. He who gives his consent to the killing of an animal, he who cuts it up, he who kills it, the purchaser and the seller, he who prepares it, he who serves it up, and he who eats it, all these are denominated slaughterers of an animal.
75. There is no greater sinner than he who, without giving their share to the manes and to the gods, wants to increase his own flesh with the flesh of another creature.
76. Those two, he who performs a horse-sacrifice annually for a hundred years and he who does not eat meat, shall both obtain the same recompense for their virtue.
77. By eating (wild rice or other) sacred fruits or roots, and by living upon such grains as are the food of hermits, a man does not reap so high a reward as by avoiding meat
78. (An eater of flesh must say within himself), Me he (mâm sa) will eat in the next world, whose flesh I am tasting here. This, say the learned, is the derivation of the word flesh (mâmsa).
LII.
1. He who has stolen the gold (of a Brâhmana), must bring a club to the king, proclaiming his deed.
2. Whether the king kills him with it, or dismisses him unhurt, he is purified.
3. Or (in case he committed the theft unawares), he must perform the Mahâvrata43 for twelve years.
4. He who appropriates (knowingly) a deposit, (must perform the same penance.)
5. He who steals (knowingly) grain or valuable objects44, (or prepared food belonging to a Brâhmana,) (must perform) the Krikkhra45 for a year.
6. For stealing male or female slaves (not belonging to a Brâhmana, and for seizing) a well or pool (actually containing water), or a field, the Kândrâyana (penance must be performed).
7. (For stealing) articles of small value (such as tin or lead, not exceeding twenty-five Panas in value), the Sântapana (penance must be performed).
8. (For stealing) sweetmeats, (rice or other) food, (milk or other) drinks, a bed, a seat, flowers, roots, or fruit, drinking Pañkagavya (is ordained as penance).46
9. (For stealing) grass, firewood, trees, rice in the husk, sugar, clothes, skins, or flesh, the thief must fast for three days.
10. (For stealing knowingly) precious stones, pearls or coral, copper, silver, iron, or white copper. he must eat grain separated from the husk for twelve days.
11. For stealing (unawares) cotton, silk, wool or other (stuffs), he must subsist for three days upon milk.
12. For stealing two-hoofed or one-hoofed animals, he must fast for three days.
13. For stealing birds, or perfumes, or medicinal herbs, or cords, or basket-work, he must fast for one day.
14. Though a thief may have restored to the owner the stolen property (either openly or) in some indirect manner47, he must still perform a penance, in order to purify himself from guilt.
15. Whatever a man takes from others, unchecked (by the dictates of religion), of that will he be bereft in every future birth.
16. Because life, religious merit, and pleasure depend upon wealth, therefore let a man take care not to injure the wealth (of others by robbing them) by any means.
17. Among those two, he who injures animal life, and be who injures wealth, the one who injures wealth shall incur the heavier penalty.
LIII.
1. One who has (unawares) had illicit sexual intercourse48, must perform the Prâgâpatya penance for a year, according to the rule of the Mahâvrata, clad in a garment of bark, and living in a forest.
2. The same (penance is ordained) for sexual intercourse with the wife of another man (who belongs to his own caste, but is no Guru of his).
3. For intercourse with a cow, the Govrata (must be performed).49
4. For intercourse with a man, for unnatural crimes with a woman, (for wasting his manhood) in the air, (for intercourse with a woman) in water, by day, or in a go-cart50, he must bathe dressed in his clothes.
5. By intercourse (knowingly) with a Kandâla woman51, he becomes her equal in caste.
6. For intercourse unawares with such, he must perform the Kândrâyana twice.
7. For intercourse (knowingly) with cattle (other) than cows) or with a public prostitute, (he must perform) the Prâgâpatya penance.
8. A woman who has committed adultery once, must perform that penance which has been prescribed for an adulterer.52
9. That guilt which a Brâhmana incurs by intercourse with a Kandâla woman one night, he can only remove by subsisting upon alms, and constantly repeating (the Gâyatrî) for three years.
LIV.
1. If a man associates with one guilty of a crime, he must perform the same penance as he.
2. A Brâhmana who has drunk water from a well in which a five-toed animal has perished, or which has been defiled in the highest degree, must fast for three days.
3. A Kshatriya (must fast) for two days (in the same case).
4. A Vaisya (must fast) for one day (and one night).
5. A Sûdra (must fast) for a night only.
6. And all (the former, but not a Sûdra) must drink Pañkagavya, when their penance has been completed.
7. If a Sûdra drinks Pañkagavya, or if a Brâhmana drinks spirituous liquor, they both go to the hell called Mahâraurava53.
8. If a man has not connection with his wife in the natural season, unless it be on the days of the full and new moon, or because she is ill, he must fast for three days.
9. A false witness54 must perform the penance ordained for killing a Brâhmana.
10. He who has (unawares) voided excrements without water (being near), must bathe in his clothes, pronounce the 'great words55,' and offer a burnt-oblation56.
11. One who has been surprised asleep by the sun rising or setting, must bathe in his clothes and mutter the Gâyatrî one hundred -and eight times.
12. He who has been bitten by a dog, a jackal, a tame pig, an ass, an ape, a crow, or a public prostitute, shall approach a river and (standing in it, shall) stop his breath sixteen times.
13. One who forgets the Vedic texts which he has studied, or who forsakes the sacred fires, must subsist upon alms for a year, bathing at the tree Savanas (morning, noon, and evening, sleeping upon the ground, and eating one meal a day.
14. For setting one's self up by false statements, and for falsely accusing or abusing a Guru, he must subsist upon milk for a month.57
15. An atheist, one who leads the life of a member of the Kandâla or of other low castes that dwell outside the village (Bâhyas)58 an ungrateful man, one who buys or sells with false weights, and one who deprives Brâhmanas of their livelihood (by robbing them of a grant made to them by the king or private persons, or by other bad practices), all those persons59 must subsist upon alms for a year.
16. An unmarried elder brother whose younger brother is married, a younger brother married before the elder, an unmarried elder sister whose younger sister is married, the relative who gives such a damsel in marriage, and the priest who officiates at such a marriage, must perform the Kândrâyana.
17, He who sells living beings, land, religious merit (obtained by a sacrifice or otherwise), or Soma, must perform the Taptakrikkhra.60
18. He who sells fresh ginger61, (edible) plants (such as rice or barley), perfumes, flowers, fruits, roots, skins, canes, (winnowing baskets or fans and the like) made of split bamboo, chaff, potsherds, hair, ashes, bone, cow-milk or curds, oil-cakes, sesamum, or oil, must perform the Prâgâpatya.
19. He who sells the fruit of the Sleshmâtaka tree, lac, bees-wax, shells, mother-of-pearl, tin, lead, iron, copper, or, (sacrificial) vessels made of the horn of the rhinoceros, must perform the Kândrâyana.
20. He who sells dyed cloth, tin62, precious stones, perfumes, sugar, honey, liquids or condiments (other than sugar, salt, and the like), or wool, must fast for three days.
21. He who sells meat, salt, lac, or milk, must perform the Kândrâyana.
22. And63 all those persons (mentioned in Sûtras 17-21) must be initiated a second time.
23. He who has been riding (voluntarily) upon a camel64, or upon an ass, and he who has (purposely) bathed, or slept, or eaten, quite naked, must stop his breath three times.
24. By muttering attentively the Gâyatrî three thousand times, (by dwelling) upon the pasture of cows, (and) by subsisting on milk for a month, he becomes free from the sin of accepting unlawful presents.
25. He who has (knowingly) offered a sacrifice for an unworthy person (such as a low-caste person, or an outcast), he who has performed the funeral rites for a stranger, he who has practised magic rites (in order to destroy an enemy), and he who has performed a sacrifice of the kind called Ahîna65, (all those persons) may rid themselves of their sins by performing three Krikkhra (Prâgâpatya) penances.
26. Those twice-born men, by whom the Gâyatrî has not been repeated (and the other initiatory ceremonies performed), as the law directs, must be made to perform three (Prâgâpatya) penances and must be initiated according to custom.66
27. Those twice-born men who are anxious to make an atonement for having committed an illegal act67, or for having neglected the study of the Veda, must be made to perform the same penance.
28. Those Brâhmanas who have acquired property by base acts (such as living by the occupations of a lower caste, or accepting unlawful presents) become free from sin by relinquishing it, and by muttering (Veda texts) and practising austerities.
29. For omitting one of the regular acts enjoined in the revealed (and traditional) law, and for a breach of the rules laid down for a Snâtaka68, a fast is ordained as atonement.
30. For attacking a Brâhmana (by raising a stick or a weapon against him), the Krikkhra (Prâgâpatya) penance must be performed; for striking him, the Atikrikkhra; and for fetching blood from him, the Krikkhrâtikrikkhra.69
31. With sinners, who have not expiated their crime, let a man not transact business of any kind. But a man who knows the law must not blame (or shun) those who have expiated it.
32. Let him not, however, live (or have any intercourse) with those who have killed children, or with ungrateful persons, or with those who have slain one come for protection, or a woman, even though such sinners may have obtained their absolution, as directed by the law.
33. (An old man) who has passed his eightieth year, a youth under the age of sixteen, women, and sick persons have only to perform half of every penance70.
34. In order to remove those sins for which no particular mode of expiation has been mentioned, penances must be prescribed, which shall be in accordance with the ability of the offender, and with the heaviness of his offence.
LV.
1. Now follow the penances for secret sins.
2. The killer of a Brâhmana is purified, if, having approached a river (and bathed in it), he restrains his breath sixteen times, and takes only one meal, consisting of food fit for offerings, each day, for a month.71
3. At the end of this rite he must give a milch cow.72
4. By performing the same rite and by muttering (while standing in the water) the Aghamarshana73 (instead of stopping his breath), a drinker of spirituous liquor74 becomes free from sin.
5. (By performing the same rite and) muttering the Gâyatrî one thousand and ten times (each day), a stealer of gold becomes free from guilt.
6. One who has connection with a Guru's wife75 (becomes free from sin) by fasting for three days and muttering the Purushasûkta76 and (at the same time) offering a burnt-oblation.
7. Even as the horse-sacrifice, the king of sacrifices, removes all sin, the hymn of Aghamarshana likewise removes all sin.
8. Let a twice-born man stop his breath, in order to rid himself of all sin; all sins committed by a twice-born man may be removed by repeated Prânâyâmas.
9. It is called a Prânâyâma, if a man, stopping the breath (which comes from the mouth and from the nostrils), recites the Gâyatrî three times, together with the Vyâhritis ('words')77, with the sacred syllable Om, and with the (text called) Siras78.
10. The lord of creatures (Brahman) has milked out from the three Vedas the letter A, the letter U, and the letter M (of which the sacred syllable Om is composed), and (the three sacred words) Bhûh, Bhuvah, Svah (earth, the atmosphere, and heaven).
11. The lord of creatures, the supreme deity, has also milked out from the three Vedas successively the three verses of the sacred stanza which begins with the word 'tad,' and is called Sâvitrî (or Gâyatrî).
12. By muttering, every morning and evening, that syllable and that stanza, preceded by the three 'words,' a Brâhmana will obtain that religious merit which the (study of the) Veda confers, just as if he had actually studied the Veda.
13. By repeating those three (Om, the 'words,' and the Gâyatrî every day) for a month out of the village, a thousand times, a twice-born man is purified even from a mortal sin, as a snake (is freed) from its withered skin.
14. Any member of the Brâhmana, Kshatriya, or Vaisya castes, who does not know those three texts, or fails to recite them in the proper season, meets with reproach among the virtuous.
15. The three imperishable 'great words,' preceded by the syllable Om, and the Gâyatrî consisting of three divisions, have to be recognised as the mouth (or beginning) of the Veda79.
16. He who repeats that stanza (preceded by the syllable Om and the three 'words') carefully every day for three years, will be absorbed in the highest Brahman after death, move as freely as air, and become as pure as air.
17. The monosyllable (Om) is the highest Brahman, the stoppings of the breath are the best of austerities, but nothing is more exalted than the Gâyatrî; (declaring the) truth is better than silence.
18. All religious acts ordained in the Veda, (whether) consisting in burnt-oblations or sacrifices (or alms-giving or other pious observances), perish (after the merit obtained by them has been exhausted); but the syllable Om (akshara) must be known to be imperishable (akshara), as it is identical with Brahman, the lord of creatures.
19. The act of reciting (the syllable Om, the 'words,' and the Gâyatrî) is ten times better than the (Gyotishtoma or other) sacrifices prescribed (by the Veda); it is a hundred times better when muttered in a low voice; it is a thousand times better when repeated mentally only.
20. The four Pâkayagñas80 (small or domestic offerings), together with the sacrifices prescribed (in the Veda), though all united, are not equal to a sixteenth part of the sacrifice performed by reciting (those sacred prayers).
21. A Brâhmana may beyond doubt obtain final emancipation by solely repeating (those prayers), whether he perform any other religious observance or no; one who is benevolent towards all creatures (and does not slay them for sacrifices) is justly, called a Brâhmana (or one united to Brahman).
LVI.81
1. Now then82 follow the purifying Mantras from all the Vedas.
2. By muttering them, or reciting them at a burnt-oblation, the twice-born are purified from their sins. (They are as follows:)
3. The Aghamarshana;83
4. The Devakrita;84
5. The Suddhavatîs;85
6. The Taratsamandîya;86
7. The Kûshmândîs;87
8. The Pâvamânîs;88
9. The Durgâsâvitrî;89
10. The Atishangas;90
11. The Padastobhas;91
12. The Vyâhriti Sâmans;92
13. The Bhârundas;93
14. The Kandrasâman;94
15. The two Sâmans called Purushavrata;95
16. The Ablinga;96
17. The Bârhaspatya;97
18. The Gosûkta;98
19. The Âsvasûkta;99
20. The two Sâmans called Kandrasûkta;100
21. The Satarudriya;101
22. The Atharvasiras;102
23. The Trisuparna;103
24. The Mahâvrata;104
25. The Nârâyanîya;105
26. And the Purushasûkta;106
2 7. The three Âgyadohas107, the Rathantara108, the Agnivrata109, the Vâmadevya110, and the Brihatsâman111, properly chanted, purify man from sin; and if he wishes he may obtain through them recollection of his existence in a former life.
LVII.
1. Now112 (the following persons) must be avoided:
2. Vrâtyas (i. e. those for whom the ceremony of initiation has not been performed)
3. Outcasts;113
4. Descendants within the third degree' of an outcast mother or father, if they (or their outcast ancestors) have not been purified (by a penance).114
5. (As a rule) the food of all such persons must not be eaten, nor gifts be accepted from them,115.
6. He must avoid accepting repeated gifts from those whose presents must not be accepted116.
7. By accepting such gifts, Brâhmanas lose their divine lustre.
8. And he who, not knowing the law regarding acceptance of gifts, accepts (illicit) gifts, sinks, to hell together with the giver.
9. He who, being worthy to receive gifts, does not accept them, obtains that world which is destined for the liberal-minded (after death).
10. Firewood, water, roots, fruits, protection, meat, honey, a bed, a seat, a house, flowers, sour milk, and vegetables he must not disdain to accept when they are offered to him.
11. Even if an offender (but not a mortal sinner) has beckoned and offered alms to him, which had been brought previously for the purpose, the lord of creatures has declared that they may be accepted from him.117
12. Neither will the manes eat (his funeral oblations offered to them) for fifteen years, nor will the fire convey his burnt-offerings (to the gods) if he rejects such alms.
13. If he wishes to provide for his (parents or other) Gurus or for (his wife or other) such persons as he is bound to maintain, or if he wants to worship the manes or the gods, he may accept gifts from any one; but he must not satisfy himself with them.
14. But even in those cases, and though he be worthy to receive presents, let him not accept them from a dissolute woman, from a eunuch, from an outcast, or from an enemy.
15. And if his parents are dead, or if he is living apart from them in a house of his own, he must never, while seeking to obtain food for himself, accept alms from any other persons but those who are of respectable descent (and belong to a twice-born caste).
16. One who ploughs the ground for half the crop (and gives the other half to the king or a private person, who is the owner), a friend of the family, a (house-)slave, a herdsman, a barber, and one who announces himself (with the words 'I am your slave'): the food of all such may be eaten, although they are Sûdras.118
Footnotes
1. Nand. thinks that the word iti, 'thus,' has a double meaning {footnote p. 150} here, and refers to another kind of Aghamarshana penance at the same time, which is described by Sankha, and consists simply in fasting for three days and muttering the Aghamarshana hymn three times.
2. According to Nand., the particle vâ, 'or,' here indicates another alternative, that of performing this penance with Âmalakas (Emblica Officinalis Gaertn.)
3. 'Unchanged in size' means of that size precisely which the law prescribes.' Yâgñavalkya (III, 324) states that each daily {footnote p. 151} portion must have the size of a peacock's egg, and Gautama (XXVII, 10) prescribes that the size of a mouthful shall be such as not to cause a distortion of the mouth in swallowing it. (Nand.)
4. 'Anyhow,' i. e, otherwise than ordained above, as e. g. eating four mouthfuls on one day, and twelve on the next day; or fasting on one day, and eating sixteen mouthfuls on the following day; or fasting for two days, and eating twenty-four mouthfuls on the third {footnote p. 153} day; or fasting for three days, and eating thirty-two mouthfuls on the fourth day. (Nand.)
5. Gaut. XIX, 13.
6. Regarding the regular oblations which have to be offered at meal times &c. to the Visvedevâs and to all beings (bhûtâni), see LIX, 22, 24; LXVIII, 1-22.
7. The Mantras are given below, 17-22.
8. Rig-veda IX, 96, 6. Regarding the translation of this verse, see Dr. Zimmer's remarks, Altindisches Leben, p. 207.
9. Taittirîya Samhitâ I, 2, 3, 1. See also Vâgasaneyi Samhitâ IV, II, &c.
10. 'He must worship Vâsudeva either with sixteen acts, muttering one out of the sixteen verses of the Purushasûkta with each single act, the first act being the invocation of the gods, and {footnote p. 156} the last the dismissal of the assembled Brâhmanas; or he must worship him with the "five offerings," perfumes, and the rest, muttering at the same time the "twelve syllables" (Om namo bhagavate vâsudevâya, "Om, adoration to the venerable Vâsudeva (Nand.)
11. 'He must worship him with those offerings and with burnt-oblations. The burnt-oblation, which must consist either of sesamum, or of barley, or of clarified butter, has to be accompanied by the recitation of the Purushasûkta or of the "twelve syllables."' (Nand.)
12. According to Nand., the two forms of Vishnu mentioned here must be considered as two separate deities, the one having to be invoked with the words 'Adoration to Brahmakesava,' and the {footnote p. 157} other with the words 'Adoration to Yogakesava.' 'A great reward' he interprets by 'a shape identical with that of Brahman.'
13. Nand., quoting Gautama XXII, 5, takes the particle ka, 'and,' to imply that he should also make way for any Ârya, whom he meets.
14. 'The particle ka here means, according to Nand., that he ought to remain chaste, as ordained by Gautama, XXII, 4.
15. Nand. infers from texts of Praketas, Yama, and Parâsara, that the particle vâ, 'or,' here refers to pregnant cows, and to women whose confinement is close at hand, or who are married to one who has kindled his sacred fire, or for whom all the sacred rites have been duly performed from their birth.
16. Nand. refers the particle vâ, 'or,' to women of high rank and to a rival wife, or a mother, or a daughter, or a sister, or a daughter-in-law, or a wife, who is of the same caste as her husband.
17. 'The particle vâ includes children here.' (Nand.
18. According to Nand., the particle ka here refers to the {footnote p. 159} precept of Parâsara, that he should drink water when the cows drink, and lie down when they lie down.
19. According to Nand., the particle ka here implies another precept of Parâsara, that he should not take notice of a cow grazing or drinking water upon his own ground or that of another.
20. 'The particle ka, implies that he should also mutter the Gomatî hymn, as Sâtâtapa says.' (Nand.)
21. 'He is called a bull whose colour is red, whose mouth and tail are of a yellowish-white colour, and whose hoofs and horns are white.' (Yâgñapârsva, quoted by Nand.)
22. Thus according to Nand., who declares himself against the interpretation of shanda by 'a eunuch;' see, however, Kullûka on M. XI, 134, and Dr. Bühler's rendering of Gaut. XXII, 23.
23. Nand. adds, 'and a Mâsha of lead;' see the passages just referred to.
24. Nand. thinks that the former Sloka refers to intentional, and the latter to unintentional murder of those animals.
25. 'As shown by ka, "and," other persons who have a dishonourable profession, such as fishermen, have also to be understood.' (Nand.)
26. Abhisasta means 'accused of a heinous crime,' i.e. 'a person of bad repute.' (Nand.) See also Dr. Bühler's notes on Âpast. I, 9, 24, 6, and on Gaut. XVII, 17.
27. 'This is the usual meaning of the term rangâvatârin. Nand. explains it by 'wrestlers and the like.'
28. Nand. considers the term patatrin to refer to crows only in this place. Kullûka (on M. IV, 208) interprets it by 'crows and the like.' See also Gaut. XVII, 10.
29. See Dr. Bühler's notes on Gaut. XVI 19, 31.
30. Nand. argues from a passage of Praketas, that the flesh of the following other animals, dogs, jackals, cocks, boars, carnivorous animals in general, Gangetic porpoises, apes, elephants, horses, tame hogs, cows, and human beings, is also implied here. But if that were the case, Sûtra 26 would be partly a mere repetition of, and partly opposed to, the rules laid down in Sûtras 33 and 22.
31. Nand. infers from a passage of the Brâhma-purâna, that the use of the particle ka further implies a prohibition to eat the flesh on the back, or flesh which had been interred in the ground, or covered with earth, fried meat, and the flesh of the uterus.
32. 'And he must perform the Sântapana penance mentioned in the next Sûtra, as the use of the particle ka implies.' (Nand.)
33. Nand. interprets this term by utkarikâ, which, according to Wilson, is a sort of sweetmeat made with milk, treacle, and clarified butter. Kullûka (on M. V, 7) has a somewhat different interpretation.
34. Nand. infers from the use of the particle ka that the same penance is ordained for tasting any other production of those animals, as e. g. their excrements.
35. Sandhinî means 'a cow that has just taken the bull,' or 'a female animal that gives milk once a day,' or 'a cow that is milked by the calf of another cow.' (Nand.) Haradatta (see Âpast. I, 5, 17, 23; Gaut. XVII, 25) interprets it by 'an animal giving milk while big with young.' For other interpretations, see the Petersburg Dictionary.
36. 'The particle ka indicates that animals bearing twins have also to be included in this prohibition.' (Nand.) See Gaut. loc. cit.
37. Nand. explains that he should drink Pañkagavya alternately with milk. This explanation extends to the following Sûtras also (up to Sûtra 56). He further argues from another Smriti text that the term Sûdra means 'Sûdras and women' here.
38. My translation follows Nand. It is, however, doubtful, whether the reading is correct; see Manu V, 38.
39. This is because the former kills animals in order to support his family, whereas the latter eats meat merely in order to tickle his palate. (Nand.)
40. Nand. interprets the term âtmavân by samnyâsî, 'an ascetic, or member of the fourth order,' apparently because the first three orders are mentioned in this Sloka. I have followed Kullûka's interpretation (on M.V, 43).
41. 'But it is no sin to kill tigers or other beasts of prey.' (Nand.)
42. The human soul is enveloped in six sheaths, three of which come from the father, and three from the mother. The three that come from the mother are skin, flesh, and blood. Now flesh is said in the Sruti to be derived from the menstrual discharge, and the latter is one of the species of forbidden food. (Nand.)
43. See L, 1-5.
44. By dhana, 'valuable objects,' the objects mentioned below (in 10.), copper and the rest, are meant. (Nand.)
45. Nand. does not explain the meaning of Krikkhra, which is a general term for 'a heavy penance.' It probably denotes the Prâgâpatya penance here, as in a number of other law texts (e. g. below, LIV, 26), and in the corresponding text of Manu in particular. See Kullûka on M. XI, 163.
46. Nand. explains that these Sûtras refer to a small amount of those articles which are mentioned in them.
47. As under pretext of handing over to him the dowry, of a wife.' (Nand.)
48. The crime intended here is explained by Nand. as being illicit intercourse with a step-mother, who belongs to the Sûdra caste.
49. See L, 16-24.
50. 'Or in a cart drawn by asses or by other beasts of draught, as the particle ka implies.' (Nand.)
51. 'Or with a woman of an equally degraded caste, such as tile Svapaka caste and others.' (Nand.)
52. See Sûtra 2.
53. See XLIII, 5. Nand. infers from an anonymous Smriti passage, that the first part of this Sûtra refers not only to Sûdras, but to women also, and not only to the drinking of Pañkagavya, {footnote p. 176}but also to the offering of burnt-oblations and the muttering of prayers.
54. According to Nand., this particular species of criminals is only quoted as an instance of anupâtakinah (criminals in the third degree, see XXXVI), who are all intended in this Sûtra.
55. See LV, 10.
56. The particle ka implies that he must touch a cow besides, as Manu directs (XI, 203).' (Nand.)
57. See XXXVII, 1, 3.
58. 'Or nâstikavritti means "one who receives his substance from an atheist."' See also Gaut. XV, 16.
59. 'The use of the particle ka implies that calumniators are also intended.' (Nand.)
60. See XLVI, 11.
61. The term ârdra, which Nand. interprets by ârdrakam, might also be connected with the following word, and both together be translated by 'fresh plants.' See Y. III, 38.
62. Tin, perfumes, and, of the articles enumerated in Sûtra 21, {footnote p. 178} lac, and milk have already been mentioned in Sûtras 18 and 19. Nand. tries to remove the difficulty in the second case, by stating the perfumes mentioned here to be perfumes of a different kind, and in the fourth case, by asserting that the milk of female buffalos, &c. is meant in Sûtra 2 1. But he interprets the two other terms as given above. Probably the passage is interpolated.
63. Nand. infers from the use of the particle ka that this rule applies equally to the persons mentioned in the next Sûtra.
64. 'The use of the particle vâ, "or," implies that riding upon a cow, and other such animals, is also intended here.' (Nand.)
65. This kind of sacrifice is defined by Nand. as one connected with repeated drinking of the Soma juice, and lasting from two to twelve days. Medhâtithi (on Manu XI, 198) simply defines {footnote p. 179} it as a sacrifice extending over two days or more; Kullûka (ibid.) states that it lasts three days or more, and that it is said in the Veda to cause impurity. See also Weber, Ind. Stud. X, 355.
66. The recitation and repetition of the Gâyatrî is one of the chief elements of the ceremony of initiation. The words with which the pupil must address his teacher on this occasion are given by Nand.; they are quoted from Âsv. I, 21, 4, and Sânkh. II, 5, 10-11. See also Gaut. I, 46, with Dr. Bühler's note.
67. 'I.e. Brâhmanas and others who have gained their livelihood (in times of distress) by such occupations as are lawful for other castes only, and who, when the times of distress are over, wish to atone for those actions.' (Nand.)
68. Regarding the meaning of this term, see above, XXVIII, 42, note. The rules to be observed by a Snâtaka are given in Chapter LXXI.
69. For the Atikrikkhra penance, see M. XI, 214.
70. Nand. adds, that a youth under the age of sixteen, who has not been initiated, and old women, as well as girls who have not yet attained maturity, must only perform a quarter of it, as directed in a Smriti.
71. Nand. infers from a text of Manu (XI, 249), that this rule refers to one who has killed a Brâhmana intentionally.
72. This rule, Nand. infers from a passage of Yâgñavalkya (III, 305), applies also to the penances mentioned in the following Sûtra.
73. Rig-veda X, 190.
74. 'I. e. one who has knowingly drunk it, the penance for drinking it unknowingly being stated by Yâgñavalkya (III, 304).' (Nand.)
75. Nand. infers from M. XI, 251, 252, that these two Sûtras also refer to penances for crimes intentionally committed.
76. Rig-veda X, 90.
77. The three Vyâhritis, 'words,' or Mahâvyâhritis, 'great words,' are quoted in the next Sloka.
78. It begins with the words, 'O ye waters, who are splendour and ambrosia.' (Nand., and Mitâksharâ on Y. I, 23.)
79. 'To explain this, Nand. quotes a passage of Âsvalâyana (Grihya-sûtra III, 2, 3, where, however, part only of this quotation is found) to the effect that the study of the Veda has to be begun by pronouncing Om, the 'words,' and the Gâyatrî.
80. 'The four Pâkayagñas are the offerings to gods, goblins (or "all beings,"), manes, and men, together with the offering to {footnote p. 184} Brahman.' (Nand.; see LIX, 20-25.) Kullûka, on the contrary (on M. II, 86), refers the term Pâkayagña to the four first only out of those five offerings, and this interpretation, besides being more simple than Nand.'s, is preferable for several other reasons. First, the 'offering to Brahman' includes the daily recitation of the Gâyatrî, which is mentioned here as opposed to the four Pâkayagñas. Secondly, the number of four Pâkayagñas is equally given in the Kâthaka Grihya-sûtra; and Devapâla, in his Commentary on that work, gives a definition of them, which agrees in the main with Kullûka's. 'Four' Pâkayagñas are mentioned in the Grihya-sûtras of Kausika, Pâraskara, and Sânkhâyana also. See Weber, Ind. Stud. X, 48. Thirdly, the Pâkayagñas are brought in here as opposed to the Vidhiyagñas or 'sacrifices prescribed by the Veda.' This is probably because the latter are offered in the triad of sacred fires, whereas the term Pâkayagña, in its narrower use, denotes the oblations offered in the domestic fire. Hence, it might come to include the 'offering to men,' i. e. the feeding of a guest, but certainly not the study of the Veda.
82. 'Now then,' i. e. the previous chapter containing an enumeration of secret sins, an enumeration of the purifying Mantras, by which they may be expiated, follows next. (Nand.)
83. Rig-veda X, 190, 1. (This and the following references are based upon Nand.'s statements.)
84. Vâgasaneyi Samhitâ VIII, 13.
85. Rig-veda VIII, 84, 7-9.
86. Rig-veda IX, 58.
87. Vâgas. Samh, XX, 14-16 (Taitt. Ârany. X, 3-5).
88. The term Pâvamânyah in its most common use denotes the ninth book of the Rig-veda, but Nand. here refers it to Taitt. Brâhm. I, 4, 8.
89. Rig-veda I, 99, 1.
90. Sâma-veda II, 47-49. Regarding this and the following Sâmans see also Benfey, Ind. Stud. III, 199 seq., Burnell's Index to the Ârsheya Brâhmana, and S. Goldschmidt's remarks in his edition of the Âranyaka Samhitâ, Transactions of the Berlin Academy, 1868, p. 246 seq.
91. Sâma-veda II, 578-580.
92. 'The Vyâhriti Sâmans, i. e. bhûh and the four others.' (Nand.) The four others are, bhuvah, svah, satyam, purushah. See Ûyagâna III, 2, 10, in Satyavrata Sâmâsramî's edition of the Sâma-veda Samhitâ.
93. 'Bhârunda is the name of certain Sâmans, twenty-one in number, which begin with the words, yat te krishnah sakuna (Rig-veda X, 16, 6). They are contained in the Âranyagâna.' (Nand.) The reading of the last word is doubtful. At all events, the verse quoted by Nand. does not occur in the Âranyagâna. It may be that the Sâmans called Ekavimsatyanugâna are meant, which are found in that work, though they do not contain the verse referred to.
94. Sâma-veda I, 147.
95. Âranyaka Samhitâ IV, 33, 34, in Goldschmidt's edition, = Rig-veda X, 90, 1, 4.
96. Sâma-veda II, 1,87.
97. Sâma-veda, I, 91.
98. Sâma-veda I, 122.
99. The same text as in the preceding Sûtra.
100. Sâma-veda I, 350. Nand. infers from a passage of Vâsishtha (XXVIII, 12) that ka refers to Sâma-veda II, 812, and I, 153.
101. Kâthaka XVII, 11--16, &c.
102. 'The text beginning with the words, brahmâ devânâm prathamah sambabhûva, "Brahman rose first among the gods."' (Nand.) The Atharvasira Upanishad has the words, very near the beginning, aham ekah prathamam âsît. See the Calcutta edition.
103. Taitt. Ârany. X, 48-50.
104. Sâma-veda I, 91.
105. Taitt. Ârany. X passim.
106. Rig-veda X, 90, 1. Nand. infers from a passage of Vâsishtha (XXVIII, 13) that ka refers to Rig-veda X, 71, and I, 90, 6-8.
107. Sâma-veda I, 67.
108. Sâma-veda I, 233.
109. Sâma-veda I, 27.
110. Sâma-veda I, 169.
111. Sâma-veda I, 234.
112. 'There are two classes of sinners, the repentant and the unrepenting. The penances to be performed by the former having been enumerated, he goes on in the present chapter to state that the latter must be avoided.' (Nand.)
113. See XXXV, 1-5.
114. Nand. refers the term 'in the third degree' to the three ascendants of the parents. The same infers from a passage of Gautama (XX, 1) that the particle ka is used in order to include a murderer of a king also.
115. Nand. infers from another text of Gautama (XX, 8) that it is also forbidden to converse with them.
116. 'It is no sin then, in one who is in distress, to accept a present once from them.' (Nand.) See 14.
117. The use of the particle ka implies that Kusa grass &c. is likewise intended, as Yâgñavalkya (I, 214) says.' (Nand.)
118. The reason of this rule, according to Nand., lies in this, that {footnote p. 189} all the castes mentioned in this Sûtra are not properly Sûdras, but the offspring of unions between parents of a different caste, herdsmen being, according to Parâsara, the offspring of a Kshatriya with a Sûdra damsel, &c. The same considers the use of the particle ka to imply that potters are also intended. See Gaut. XVII, 6.
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