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Vishnu-smriti (Vishnu sutra / Vaishnava Dharmasâstra)
Rules for a Snâtaka
LXXI.
1. Now 1 he must not contemn any one (whether of equal rank, or of higher or lower rank than himself).
2. He must not mock those who have a limb too little or a limb too much, who are ignorant, or who are poor.2
3. He must not serve low people.
4. Let him not engage in work that may keep him from repeating (or teaching) the Veda.
5. Let him wear such a dress as becomes his age,
6. And his sacred knowledge, his descent, his means, and his country.
7. He must not be overbearing.
8. He must constantly consult the holy laws and other (salutary, precepts relating to the acquisition of wealth, wisdom, and freedom from disease).3
9. He must not wear a worn-out or filthy dress, if he has means (enough to procure a new one).
10. (Even though he lacks firewood or the like necessaries) he must not say to another man,
have got none.'
11. He must not wear a garland of flowers which has no smell at all, or an offensive smell, or which is red.
12. Let him wear a garland of water-flowers even though they be red.
13. And (he must wear) a staff made of bamboo;4
14. And a jar with water;
15. And a sacrificial string made of cotton thread;
16. And two golden ear-rings.
17. He must not look at the rising sun;
18. Nor at the setting (sun);
19. Nor (must he look at the sun) shining through an awning of cloth (under which he is lying).5
20. Nor at the sun reflected in a looking-glass or in water;6
21. Nor at the midday sun;
22, Nor at the face of any of his Gurus while hie is angry;
23. Nor at his own image reflected in oil or in water;
224. Nor reflected in a dirty looking-glass;
25. Nor at his wife eating;
26. Nor at a naked woman;
27. Nor at a man in the act of discharging urine (or voiding excrements);
28. Nor at an elephant (or other dangerous animal) broken loose from the rope that ties him;
29. Nor at a fight between bulls (or elephants or buffalos) or the like animals, while he is him self standing in a (crowd or any other) place, from which it would be difficult for him to effect his escape;7
30. Nor at one insane;
31. Nor at one intoxicated;
32. He must not throw any impure substances into the fire;
33. Nor blood; 34. Nor poison;
35. Neither (must he throw any of those substances) into water.
36. He must not step over a fire.
37. He must not warm his feet (by the fire).
38. He must not wipe (the dirt from his feet) with blades of Kusa grass.
39. He must not wash (his feet) in a vessel of white copper.
40. He must not (wash) one foot with the other,
41. He must not scratch the ground (with a piece of wood or the like).
42. He must not crush clods of earth.
43. He must not cut grass.
44. He must not tear his nails or the hairs (of his beard or others) with his teeth.
45. He must avoid gambling;
46. And the heat of the sun just risen.8
47. He must not wear a garment, or shoes, or a garland, or a sacrificial string which had before been worn by another.
48. He must not give advice to a Sûdra;
49. Nor (must he give him) the leavings of his food, nor the residue of an oblation (unless he is his own servant);
50. Nor (must he give him) sesamum;
51. Nor (must he point out) the sacred law to him;
52. Nor (must he prescribe) a penance (for him for atonement of a sin).
53. He must not scratch his head or his belly, with both hands joined.
54. He must not reject sour milk or the Sumanas flower (when offered to him).9
55. He must not take off his garland (from his head) himself (but he may cause another to do so).
56. Let him not rouse (a superior) from sleep.
57. He must not (by harsh speeches and the like) render disaffected one who is well affected towards him.
58. He must not speak to a woman in her courses;
59. Nor to barbarians or low-caste persons.
60. When a sacred fire, or an idol, or a Brâhmana is near, he must stretch forth his right hand (from his upper garment).
61. If he sees a cow trespassing upon another man's field, he must not announce it (to the owner of that field).
62. And if he sees a calf sucking (at the udder of a cow, he must not announce it to the owner of the latter).
63. He must not endeavour to please overbearing men (by flattering their pretensions).
64. He must not dwell in a kingdom governed by a Sûdra king;
65. Nor in one abounding with wicked people;
66. And he must not live (in a kingdom) in which there are no physicians;
67. Nor in one afflicted (with a disease or other calamity).
68. And (he must not stay) long on a mountain.
69. He must not (walk or otherwise) exert himself without a purpose.
70. He must not dance or sing.
71. He must not make a noise by slapping (his left arm, after having placed it upon his right shoulder, with his right hand).
72. He must not make vulgar speeches.
73. He must not tell an untruth.
74. He must not say disagreeable things.
75. He must not strike any one upon a vital part.10
76. He must not despise himself if he wishes to enjoy long life.
77. He must often repeat his prayers at each twilight (if he wishes to live long).
78. He must not play with (venomous) serpents or with weapons.
79. He must not touch the cavities of his body without a cause.11
80. He must not raise a stick against another man.
81. One who deserves punishment he must strike in order to punish him.
82. (He must strike) him upon his back with a shoot of bamboo or with a rope.
83. He must take care not to revile a god, a Brâhmana, the Sâstras, or the high-minded (Rishis).
84. And (he must avoid) gain and pleasure repugnant to duty.12
85. (He must avoid) even lawful acts which may give offence to mankind.13
86. On the days of new and full moon let him make a propitiatory offering.
87. He must not cut even grass (on those two days).
88. He must adorn himself (with garlands, sandal, and the like).14
89. Thus he must observe established customs.
90. Those customs, which have been explicitly ordained in revealed and in traditional texts, and which are practised by the virtuous, must always be observed by a righteous man with subdued passions.
91. By adhering to established usage he attains to old age; this is the way to obtain that state in the next life which he desires, and imperishable riches, this is the way to destroy the effect of (bodily) marks foreboding future misfortunes.
92. He who observes the usages established among the virtuous, who is a believer in revelation, and free from ill-will, lives a hundred years, even though he does not possess any external marks of prosperity.
Footnotes
1. 'This chapter treats of the duties of a Snâtaka (see XXVIII, 42, note). The particle atha, 'now,' however, signifies that some of these duties are common to the Snâtaka and to the householder, whose special duties have been treated in the previous chapters. (Nand.)
2. The particle ka refers to ugly persons and the rest, enumerated by Manu IV, 141. (Nand.)
3. The use of the particle ka implies, according to Nand., that his frame of mind and his speech should also be in conformity with his age, &c., as ordained by Manu IV, 18.
4. Nand., arguing from texts of Baudhâyana and of Manu (IV, 36), takes the use of the particle ka in Sûtras 13 and 14 to {footnote p. 226} imply that a Snâtaka must wear three garments, an under garment, an upper garment, and a mantle, and in Sûtra 16, that he must carry about him a bushel of Kusa grass.
5. This rule appears to refer, likewise, to the custom of suspending, by a tree or a post, an upper garment or a piece of cloth, in order to ward off the rays of the sun.
6. The particle ka here is used, according to Nand., in order to include 'the sun, while it is eclipsed,' as mentioned by Manu IV, 37.
7. 'As, shown by ka, a place where arrows, spears, or other missiles are falling down, is also intended here.' (Nand.)
8. Besides the above interpretation of the term bâlâtapa, which is proposed by Kullûka also (on M. IV, 69), Nand. mentions two others: 1. the heat of that time of the day when the cows are collected for milking; 2. the heat of the autumn season. The particle ka, according to Nand., is used in order to include the smoke of a burning corpse and the other forbidden objects mentioned by Manu IV, 69.
9. Nand. states that this rule does not contain a vain repetition of the rule laid down above (LVII, 10), as the latter refers to householders and the former to Snâtakas.
10. 'Others' take this Sutra to mean, that he must not make public another man's misconduct. (Nand.) This interpretation is proposed by Vigñânesvara, on Yâgñavalkya I, 153.
11. See XXIII, 51.
12. '"Or repugnant to the final liberation," as the use of the particle ka implies.' (Nand.) See Manu VI, 37.
13. The use of the particle ka, Nand. argues from Manu IV, 176, implies that acts which may cause future pain should also be avoided.
14. The use of the particle ka, according to Nand., implies that he must also observe auspicious rites and established customs, as ordained by Manu IV, 145. The latter injunction is, however, expressly given in the next Sûtra.
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