IX. On the Comw^cia/ and iSemfe Classes 287

•^^ X. On the ilfirerf Classes, and on Times of Distress 340
^^ XL On Penance SLnd Ej:y>iation 361
XI7
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1.
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THE
LAW S OF MENU,
SON OF BRAHMA'.
CHAP. I.
On the Creation; with a Summary qf the Ckmtents.
1. JMLENU sat reclined, with his attention fixed on chap. one object, the Supreme God ; when the divine Sages ^• approached Am, andy after mutual salutations in due form, delivered the following address :
2. ^ Deign, sovereign ruler, to apprize us of the sa- ' cred laws in their order,' as they must be followed by ' all the four classes, and by each of them, in their
* several degrees, together with the duties of every ^ mixed class;
3. ^ For thou. Lord, and thou only among mortals, ^ knowest the true sense, the first principle, and the
* prescribed ceremonies, of this universal, supernatural ^ Fi^da, unlimited in extent and unequalled in authority/
B 4. He,
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2 ON THE CREATION; WITH A
CHAP. 4. He, whose powers were measureless^ being thus ^- requested by the great Sages, whose thoughts were profound, saluted them all with reverence, and gave them a comprehensive answer, saying : ^ Be it heard !
5. ^ This universe existed only in the first divine idea ' yet unexpandedy as if involved in darkness, impercep- ^ tible, undefinable, undiscoverable by reason, and im- ^ discovered by revelation, as if it were wholly immers- ^ ed in sleep :
6. ^ Then the sole self-existing power, himself undis- ^ cerned, but making this world discernible, with five ^ elements and other principles of nature, appeared with ^ imdiminished glory, expanding his idea, or dispelling ' the gloom.
7. * He, whom the mind alone can perceive, whose ' essence eludes the external organs, who has no visible ' parts, who exists from eternity, even he, the soul of ' all beings, whom no being can comprehend, shone ' forth in person.
8. ' He, having willed to produce various beings from * his own divine substance, first with a thought created ' the waters, and placed in them a productive seed :
9. ' The seed became an egg bright as gold, blazing ' like the luminary with a thousand beams j and in that ' egg, he was bom himself, in the form of Brahma', ' the great forefather of all spirits.
10. * The waters are called ndrd, because they were
' the
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SUMMARY OF THE CONTENTS- a
the production of Nara, or the spirit of God ; and chap. since they were his first ayana^ or place of motion^ he ^• thence is named Na'raVana, or moving on the waters.
11. * From that which is, the first cause, not the object of sense, existing every where in substance^ not existing to our perception^ without beginning or end, was produced the divine male, famed in all worlds under the appellation of Brahma'.
12. ^ In that egg the great power sat inactive a whole year of the Creator, at the close of which, by his thought alone, he caused the egg to divide itself;
13. ^ And from its two divisions he framed the heaven above and the earth beneath: in the midst he placed the subtil ether, the eight regions, and the permanent receptacle of waters.
14. ^ From the supreme soul he drew forth Mind, existing substantially though imperceived by sense, immaterial; and before mind, or the reasoning power, he produced consciousness, the internal monitor, the ruler;
15. ' And, before them bothy he produced the great ^ principle of the soul, or first eoopansion of the divine ^ idea ; and all vital forms endued with the three quali- * ties of goodness, passion, and darkness ; and the five ^ perceptions of sense, and the five organs of sensation.
16. ^ Thus, having at once pervaded, with emanations ^ from the Supreme Spirit, the minutest portions of six
B 2 ^ principles
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4 ON THE CREATION; WITH A
CHAP. ^ principles immensely operative, consciousness and the ^' ' ^ve perceptions, He framed all creatures ;
* 17. ^ And since the minutest particles of visible na-
* ture have a dependence on those siw emanations from ^ God, the wise have accordingly given the name of ^ sarira or depending on six, that is, the ten organs on ' consciousness, and the Jive elements on as many percep- ' tions, to His image or appearance in visible nature:
18. ' Thence proceed the great elements, endued with
* peculiar powers, and Mind with operations infinitely ' subtil, the imperishable cause of all apparent forms.
19. * This universe, therefore, is compacted from the ^ minute portions of those seven- divine and active prin- ' ciples, the great Soul, or first emanation, consciousness, ' and five perceptions ; a mutable universe from immuta- ' ble idea^.
20. ^ Among them each succeeding element acquires ' the quality of the preceding ; and, in as many degrees ' as each of them is advanced, with so many properties ' is it said to be endued.
21. * He too first assigned to all creatures distinct ' names, distinct acts, and distinct occupations ; as they ' had been revealed in the pre-existing Veda.
22. ^ He, the supreme Ruler, created an assemblage ' of inferior Deities, with divine attributes and pure ' souls ; and a number of Genii exquisitely delicate ;
* and he prescribed the sacrifice ordained from the be- ' ginning.
23. ' From
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SUMMARY OF THE CONTENTS. 5
23. ^ From fire, from air, and from the sun he milk- chap. ' ed out, flw it were^ the three primordial Vcdas^ named ^' ' IRch^ Yajush and SdmaUy for the due performance of
* the sacrifice.
24 ^ He gave being to time and the divisions of time, ' to the stars also, and to the planets, to rivers, oceans, ^ and mountains, to level plains, and uneven valleys.
25. ^ To devotion, speech, complacency, desire, and . ^ wrath, and to the creation, which shall presently be
' mentioned; for He willed the existence of all those ^ created things.
26. ^ For the sake of distinguishing actions. He ^ made a total difference between right and wrong, and
* enured these sentient creatures to pleasure and pain, ^ cold and heai^ and other opposite pairs.
27. * With very minute transformable portions, call- ' ed mAtrdsy of the five elements, all this perceptible ^ world was composed in fit order;,
28. ^ And in whatever occupation the supreme Lord ' first employed any vital soul, to that occupation the ^ same soul attaches itself spontaneously, when it re- ' ceives a new body again and again.
29. * Whatever quality, noxious or innocent, harsh
* or mild, unjust or just, false or true. He conferred ' on any being at its creation, the same quality enters ^ it of course on its future births;
30. ' As
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6 ON THE CREATION; WITH A
CHAP- 30. ^ As the six seasons of the year attain respec-
^' ' tively their peculiar marks in due time and of their
' own accord, even so the several acts of each em-
' bodied spirit attend it naturally.
31. ^ That the human race might be multiplied, He ' caused the Brdhmen, the Cshatnya^ the Faisya, and ^ the Sddra (so named from the scripture, protection^ ' wealthy and labour^ to proceed from his mouth, his ' arm, his thigh, and his foot.
32. ^ Having divided his own substance, the mighty ' Power became half male, half female, or nature active ' and passive ; and from that female he produced Vira'j :
33. ^ Know Me, O most excellent of Brdhmensy to ^ be that person, whom the male power Vira'j, having ^ performed austere devotion, produced by himself;
* Me, the secondary framer of all this visible world.
34. * It was I, who, desirous of giving birth to a race ^ of men, performed very difficult religious duties, and
* first produced ten Lords of created beings, eminent in ' holiness.
35. ^ Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, ^ Cratu, Prachb'tas, or Dacsha, Vasisht'ha, Bhrigu, ^ and Na'rada:
36. ^ They, abundant in glory, produced seven other ' Menus, together with deities, and the mansions of ' deities, and Maharshis, or great Sages, unlimited in ' power;
^ 37. Benevolent
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37- ^ Beaievolent genii, and fierce giants, blood-thirsty ICHAp. ^ savages, heavenly quiristers, nymphs and demons, huge ^' ' serpents and snakes of smaller gize, birds of mighty ' wing, and separate companies of PitriSy or progenitors ' of mankind;
38. ^ Lightnings and thunder-bolts, clouds and co-
* loured bows of Indra^ falling meteors, earth-rending ' vapours, comets, and luminaries of various degrees;
39. * Horse-faced sylvans, apes, fish, and a variety ' of birds, tame cattle, deer, men, and ravenous beasts ' with two rows of teeth ;
40. * Small and large reptiles, moths, lice, fleas, and ' common flies, with every biting gnat, and immovable
* substances of distinct sorts.
41. ^ Thus was this whole assemblage of stationary ' and movable bodies framed by those high-minded ' beings, through the force of their own devotion, and ' at my command, with separate actions allotted to ' each.
42. * Whatever act is ordained for each of those ' creatures here below, that I will now declare to you, ' together with their order in respect to bui;h.
43. * Cattle and deer, and wild beasts with two rows ^ of teeth, giants, and blood-thirsty savages, and the ' race of men, are born from a secundine;
44. ^ Birds are hatched from eggs, so are snakes, ' crocodiles, fish without shells^ and tortoises, with other
^ animal
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8 ON THE CREATION; WITH A
CHAP. ^" ^ cw shell'Jish:
45. * From hot iribisture are bom biting gnats, lice, ' fleas, and common flies ; these, and whatever is of ^the same class, are produced by heat.
46. ' All vegetables, propagated by seed or by slips, ^ grow from shoots: some herbs, abounding in flowers ' and fruits, perish when the fruit is mature;
47. * Other plants, called lords of the forest, have no ^ flowers, but produce fruit ; and, whether they have ' flowers also, or fruit only, large woody plants of both ^ sorts are named trees.
48. f There are^ shrubs with many stalks from the ^ root upwards, and reeds with single roots but united ^ stems, all of different kinds, and grasses, and vines ' or climbers, and creepers, which spring from a seed ' or from a slip.
49. * These anhnals and vegetables^ encircled with ' multiform darkness, by reason - of past actions, have ' internal conscience, and are sensible of pleasure and ' pain.
50. ^ All transmigrations, recorded in sacred books, ' from the state of Brahma', to that of plants, happen ' continually in this tremendous world of beings; a ^ world always tending to decay.
51. ' He, whose powers are incomprehensible, hav- ' ing thus created both me and this universe, was
^ again
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SUMMARY OF THE CONTENTS. 9
^ agam absorbed in the supreme Spirit, changing the chap. ^ time of energy for the time of repose. ^•
52. ^ When that Power awakes, Cf^r, though slumber
* he not predicable of the sole eternal Mindy infinitely ^ wise and infinitely benevolent^ yet it is predicated of ^ Brahma', figuratively , as a general property of lifej
* then has this world its full expansion ; but, when he ^ slumbers with a tranquil spirit, then the whole system ^ fades away ;
53. * For, while he reposes, as it were, in calm sleep,
* embodied spirits, endued with principles of action, ^ depart from their several acts, and the mind itself ^ becomes inert ;
54. * And when they once are absorbed in that su- ' preme essence, then the divine soul of all beings ' withdraws his energy, and placidly slumbers;
55. ^ Then too this vital soul qf created bodies, with ^ all the organs of sense and of action, remains long ^ immersed in the first idea or in darkness, and per- ^ forms not its natural functions, but migrates from its
* corporeal frame :
56. ^ When, being again composed of minute ele- ^ mentary principles, it enters at once into vegetable
* or animal seed, it then assumes a new form.
57. ' Thus that immutable Power, by waking and re- ^ posing alternately, revivifies and destroys in eternal
c * succession.
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10 ON THE CREATION; WITH A
CHAP. ' succession, this whole assemblage of Iboomotive and ^' ' immovable creatures.
58. ' He, having enacted this code of laws, himself ^ taught it fully to me in the begiiming : afterwards I ^ tau^[]A it Mari'chi and the nine other holy sages.
59. * ITiis my son Bhrigu will repeat the divine code
* to you without omission; for that sage learned from ' me to recite the whole of it.'
60. Bhrigu, great and wise, having thus been ap- pointed by Menu to promulge his laws, addressed all the Eishis with an affectionate mind, saying : ^ Hear !
61. ^ From this Menu named Swa'yambhuva, or ^ Sprung from the self-eooistingj came six descendants,
* other Menus, or perfectly understatiding the scrip-
* turej each giving birth to a race of his own, all ex- ^ alted in dignity, eminent in power;
62. ^ SwaWchisha, Auttami, Ta'masa, Raivata like- ^ wise and Cha'cshusha, beaming with glory, and Vai- ^ VASWATA, child of the sun.
63. ^ The seven Menus, (or those first created, who
* are to be followed by seven more^ of whom SwaVam- ^ BHUVA is the chief, have produced and supported this ^ world of moving and stationary beings, each in his
* own antaruy or the period of his reign.
64. ^ Eighteen nimishas, or twinklings of an eye, are
* one cdshfhd; thirty cdshfhds, one cold i thirty calds,
^ one
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SUMBCART OF THE CONTENTS. 11
^ one fMihArta: and Just so many tmihdrtM l6t man- chap, ^ kind consider as the duration of their day and night. ^'
65. ^ The sun causes the distribution of day and ' nighty both divine and human; night being intended ^ for the repose of various beings, and day for their
* exertion.
66. ^ A month of mortals is a day and a night of ^ the JPitris or patriarchs inhabiting the m^on ; and the ^ division of a month being into equal halves, the half ^ beginning from the full moon is their day for actions; ^ and that beginning from the new moon is their night
* for slumber.
67. ^ A year of m4>rtals is a day and a night of the ' Gods, or regents of the universe seated round the ^ north pole ; and again their division is this, . their ^ day is the northern, and their night the southern
* course of the sun.
68. ^ Learn now the duration of a day and a night ^ of Brahma', and of the several ages which shall be ^ mentioned in order succinctly.
69. ^ Sages have given the name of Cnta to an age ^ containing four thousand years of the Gods; the ^ twilight preceding it consists of as many hundreds, ^ and the twilight following it, of the same number:
70. * In the other three ages^ with their twilights ^ preceding and following, are thousands and hun- ^ dreds diminished by one.
c 2 71. ^ The
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12 ON EHE CREATION; WITH A
CHAP. 71. ^' ' enumerated, being added together, their sum, or twelve thousand, is called the age of the Gods :
72. * And, by reckoning a thousand such divine ages, . a day of Brahma' may be known : his night also has an equal duration :
73. ^ Those persons best know the divisions of the days and nights, who understand that the day of Brahma', which endures to the end of a thousand such ages, gives rise to virtuous exertions ; and that his night endures as long as his day.
74. ^ At the close of his night, having long re- posed, he awakes, and awaking, exerts intellect, or reproduces the great principle of animation^ whose property it is to exist unperceived by sense :
75. ^ Intellect, called into action by his will to cre- ate worlds, performs again the work of creation; and thence first emerges the subtil ether, to which philosophers ascribe the quality of conveying sound;
76. * From ether, effecting a transmutation in form, springs the pure and potent air, a vehicle of all scents ; and air is held endued with the quality of touch :
77. * Then from air, operating a change, rises light or fire^ making objects visible, dispelling gloom, spreading bright rays ; and it is declared to have the quality of figure ;
78. ' But
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SUMMARY OF THE CONTENTS.
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78- * But from light, a change bemg effected, comes chap. water with the quality of taste ; and from water is '• deposited earth with the quality of smell: such were they created in the beginning.
79. * The before-mentioned age of the Gods, or twelve thousand of their years, being multiplied by seventy-one, constitutes what is here named a Men- wantara, or the reign of a Menu.
80. ^ There are numberless Menwantaras ; creations also and destructions of worlds, innumerable : the Being supremely exalted performs all this, with as much ease as if in sport; again and again, for the sake of conferring happiness.
81. Mn the (Mta age the Genius of truth and right, in the form of a Bull, stands firm on his four feet ; nor does any advantage accrue to men from iniquity ;
82. ^ But in the following ages, by reason of unjust gains, he is deprived successively of one foot ; and even just emoliunents, through the prevalence of theft, falsehood, and fraud, are gradually diminished by a fourth part.
83. ^ Men, free from disease, attain all sorts of prosperity, and live four hundred years in the Crita age ; but, in the Trka and the succeeding ages, their life is lessened gradually by one quarter.
84. ^ The life of mortals, which is mentioned in the Vedtty the rewards of good works, and the powers
' of
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14 ON THE CREATION ; WITH A
CHAP. '• * mea to the order of the four ages.
85. * Some duties are performed by good men in the
* Crita age; others, in the Treth; some, in the Dwd-
* para; others, in the Call; in proportion as those ^ ages decrease in length.
86. * In the Crita the prevailing virtue is declared ' to be in devotion; in the Trkh^ divine knowledge j in ^ the Dwaparay holy sages call sacrifice the duty ^ chiefly performed; in the Ca/i, liberality alone.
87. ^ For the sake of preserving this universe, the
* Being, supremely glorious, allotted separate duties to ' those who sprang respectively from his mouth, his ^ arm, his thigh, and his foot.
88. ' To Brahmens he assigned the duties of read- ' ing the Veda^ of teaching it, of sacrificing, of as- ' sisting others to sacrifice, of giving alms, if they he ^ rich, and, if indigent, of receiving gifts :
89. ' To defend the people, to give alms, to sacri- ' fice, to redd the Flkla, to shun the allurements of ' sensual gratification, are, in a few words, the duties ' of a Cshatriya :
90. ^ To keep herds of cattle, to bestow largesses, ^ to sacrifice, to read the scripture, to carry on trade, ' to lend at interest, and to cultivate land are pre- ^ scribed or permitted to a Vaisya :
91. ' One
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SUMMARY OF THE CONTENTS.
1ft
I.
91. ^ One principal duty the supreme Ruler MMgns char ' to a Sudra; namely^ to s^e the . before •'mentioned ^ classes, without depreciating their worth.
4
92/ * Man is declaned purer above the navel; but
* the self-creating Power declared the purest part of ^ him to be his mouth.
93. / Since the BriJimen sprang from the most ex- ^ cellent part, since he was the first bom, and since ' he possesses the Veday he is by right the chief of
* this whole creation.
94. * Him, the Being, who exists of himself, pro- ' duced in the beginning from his own mouth, that,
* having performed holy rites, he might present cla- ^ rified butter to the Gods, and cakes of rice to the ^ progenitors of mankind, for the preservation of this ^ world :
95. ' What created being then can surpass Him, ^-with whose mouth the Grods of the firmament con- ^ tinually feast on clarified butter, and the manes of ^ ancestors, on hallowed cakes }
96. ^ Of created things, the most excellent are ^ those which are animated; of the animated, those ' which subsist by intelligence; of the intelligent, ^ mankind ; and of men, the sacerdotal class ;
97. ' Of priests, those eminent in learning ; of the
* learned, those who know their duty; of those who
* know it, such as perform it virtuously; and of the
^ virtuous.
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16 ON THE CREATION; WITH A
CHAP. ^' * acquaintance with scriptural doctrine.
98. ^ The very birtt of Brahmens is a constant incar- ^ nation of Dherma, Xjtod of Justice ; for the Brahmen
* is bom to promote justice, and to procure ultimate ^ happiness.
99. ^ When a Brahmen springs to light, he is bom ^ above the world, the chief of all creatures, assigned ^ to guard the treasury of duties, religious and civil.
100. ^ Whatever exists in the universe, is all in
* eflFect, though not in form, the wealth of the Brah- ^ m^en; since the Brahmen is entitled to it all by his
* primogenitm'e and eminence of birth :
101 • ^ The Brahman eats but his own food ; wears
* but his own apparel: and bestows but his own in ^ alms : through the benevolence of the Brahmen^ in- ^ deed, other mortals enjoy life.
102. ^ To declare the sacerdotal duties, and those ^ of the other classes in due order, the sage Menu, ^ sprung from the self- existing, promulged this code
* of laws :
103. ' A code which must be studied with extreme ^ care by every learned Brahmen^ and fully explained ' to his disciples, but must he taught by no other ^ man of an inferior class.
104. ' The Brahmen who studies this book, having
' performed
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SUMMARY OF THE CONTENTS. 17
^ performed sacred rites, is perpetually free from of- chap.
* fence in thought, in word, and in deed ; ^'
105. * He confers purity on his living family, on ^ his ancestors, and on his descendants, as far as the ^ seventh person ; and He alone deserves to possess ^ this whole earth.
106. * This most excellent code produces every thing
* auspicious; this code increases understanding; this
* code procures fame and long life; this code leads ^ to supreme bliss.
107. * In this book appears the system of law in ^ its full extent, with the good and bad properties ^ of human actions, and the immemorial customs of
the four classes.
108. ^ Immemorial custom is transcendent law, ap- / proved in the sacred scripture, and in the codes
^ of divine legislators : let every man, therefore, of ^ the three principal classes, who has a due reverence ^ for the stiprerne spirit which dwells in him, diligently ^ and constantly observe immemorial custom :
109. * A man of the priestly, military, or commer- ^ cial class, who deviates from immemorial usage, ^ tastes not the fruit of the Veda; but, by an exact ' observance of it, he gathers that fruit in perfection.
110. ' Thus have holy sages, well knowing that law ^ is grounded on immemorial custom, embraced, as ^ the root of all piety, good usages long established.
D 111. ^ The
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18 ON THE CREATION ; WITH A
CHAP. 111. * The creation of this universe, the forms of
^' ' institution and education, with the observances and
' behaviour of a student in theology ; the best rules
' for the ceremony on his return from the mansion of
' his preceptor;
112. ' The law of marriage in general, and^of nup- ^ tials in different forms ; the regulations for the great
* sacraments, and the manner, primevally settled, of ^ performing obsequies ;
113. ^ The modes of gaining subsistence, and the ^ rules to be observed by the master of a family ; the ^ allowance and prohibition of diet, with the purifica- ' tion of men and utensils ;
114. * Laws concerning women, the devojion of her- ^ mits, and of anchorets wholly intent on final beati-
* tude, the whole duty of a king, and the judicial ' decision of controversies,
115. ' With the law of evidence and examination; \ laws concerning husband and wife, canons of inheri-
* tance; the prohibition of gaming, and the punish- ' ments of criminals ;
116. ^ Rules ordained for the mercantile and servile ^ classes, with the origin of those that are mixed; the ^ duties and rights of all the classes in time of distress ' for subsistence ; and the penances for expiating sins ;
117. ^ The several transmigrations in this universe,
* caused by offences of three kinds^ with the ultimate
* bliss
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SUMMARY OF THE CONTENTS. 19
* bliss attending good actions, on the full trial of vice chap. ^ and virtue ;
118. ^ All these titles of law, promulgated by |Menu,
* and occasionally the customs of diflFerent countries,
* different tribes, and different families, with rules con- ^ ceming hereticks and companies of traders, are dis- cussed in this code.
119. * Bven as Menu, at my request, formerly re- ' vealed this divine Sdsira, hear it now from me with-
* out any diminution or addition.
D 2 CHAR
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CHAP. 11.
On Education ; or on the Sacerdotal Class, and the First
Order.
CHAP. 1. ^ Know that system of duties, which is revered
^ by such as are learned in the Fedasy and impressed,
* as the means of attaining beatitude, on the hearts ' of the just, who are ever exempt from hatred and ' inordinate aflFection.
2. * Self-love is no laudable motive, yet an exemp-
* tion from self-love is not to he found in this world :
* on self-love is grounded the study- of scripture, and ' the practice of actions recommended in it.
3. ^ Eager, desire to act has its root in expectation ' of some advantage; and with such expectation are ^ sacrifices performed; the rules of religious austerity ^ and abstinence from sins are all known to arise
* from hope of remuneration.
4. * Not a single act here below appears ever to be ' done by a man free from self-love; whatever he ^ performs, it is wrought from his desire of a re-
* ward.
5. * He, indeed, who should persist in discharging ' these duties without any view to their fruit, would ^ attain hereafter the state of the immortals, and even
' in
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ON EDUCATION.
21
' in this life, would enjoy all the virtuous gratifica- chap. ' tions, that his fancy could suggest. '^•
6. ' The roots of law are the whole Fiduy the or- ^ dinanees and moral practices of such as perfectly ^ understand it, the immemorial customs of good men,
* and, in cases quite indifferent j self-satisfaction.
7. * Whatever law has been ordained for any per- ' son by Menu, that law is fuUy declared in the ' Feda : for He was perfect in divine knowledge :
8. ^ A man of true learning, who has viewed this ^ complete system with the eye of sacred wisdom, ^ cannot fail to perform all those duties, which are
* ordained on the authority of the Veda.
9. * No doubt, that man who shall follow the rules ' prescribed in the Sirati and in the Smrili, will ac- ' quire fame in this life, and, in the next, ine3q)res-
* sible happiness:
10. ^ By Srutiy or what was heard from abovej is
* meant the Feda; and by Smnti, or what was remem- ' hered from the heginrdngy the body of law: those two ^ must not be oppugned by heterodox arguments ;
* since from those two, proceeds the whole system of
* duties.
11. ^ Whatever man of the three highest classes, ' having addicted himself to heretical books, shall ^ treat with contempt those two roots of law, he must
' be
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22 ON EDUCATION; OR
CHAP. « be driven, as an Atheist and a scorner of revelation, ' from the company of the virtuous.
12. * The scripture, the codes of law, approved ' usage, and, in aU indifferent cases, self-satisfaction,
* the wise have openly declared tp be the quadruple ' description of the juridical system.
13. ^ A knowledge of right is a sufficient incentive ' for men unattached to wealth or to sensuality ; and ' to those who seek a knowledge of right, the su-
* preme authority is divine revelation ;
14. ^ But, when there are two sacred texts, appa-
* rently inconsistent j both are held to be law; for both ^ are pronounced by the wise to be valid and recon- ' cilable ;
15. ^ Thus in the FMa are these texts: ^* let the ^' sacrifice be when the sun has arisen,'' and, "before it " has risen,'' and, ** when neither sun nor stars can " be seen :" the sacrifice, therefore, may be performed ^ at any or all of those times.
16. ^ He, whose life is regulated by holy texts, from ^ his conception even to his funeral pile, has a decided
* right to study this code; but no other man what- ^ soever.
17. * Between the two divine rivers Saraswati and ^ Drhhadwat{, lies the tract of land, which the sages
* have named Brahmdvertay becattse it was frequented
* by Gods:
18. ' The
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THE FIRST ORDER. 23
18. * The custom preserved by immemorial tradition chap.
* in that eoraitry, among the four pure classes, and
* among those which are mixed, is called approved ^ usage.
19. * Curucshkra, Matsya, Panckala, or Canyacuhjay
* and Surasena^ or Mathurh^ form the region called ^ Brahtnarshi^ distinguished from Brahmmerta:
20. ^ From a Bremen who was born in that coun-
* try, let all men on earth learn their several usages.
21. * That country which lies between Himawat and
* Ftndkya, to the east of Finasana, and to the west ' of Prayaga^ is celebrated by the title of Medkya- f desuy or the central region.
22. ^ As far as the eastern, and as far as the wesit-
* ern oceans, between the two mountains just men- ,
* tioned, lies the tract which the wise have named ^ Aryaverta^ or inhabited hy respectable men.
23. ^ That land, on which the black antelope natu* ^ rally grazes, is held fit for the performance of sa-
* crifices ; but the land of MtecKhas or those who speak ^ barbarously, differs widely from it.
24. ' Let the three first classes invariably dwell in ^ those before-mentioned countries ; but a Sudra, dis-
* tressed for subsistence, may sojourn wherever he ^ chuses.
25. ' Thus has the origin of law been succinctly
^ declared
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ON EDUCATION; OR
CHAP. ^ unioerse: now learn the laws of the several classes.
26. ^ With auspicious acts prescribed by the Veda^ ' must ceremonies on conception, and so forth, be ^ duly performed, which purify the bodies of the three ' classes in this life, and qualify them for the next.
27. ^ By oblations to fire during the mother's preg-
* nancy, by holy rites on the birth of the child, by the ' tonsure of his head with a lock of hair left on it, ' by the ligation of the sacrificial cord, are the se- ^ minal and uterine taints of the three classes wholly ' removed:
28. ' By studying the Veda^ by religious observ-
* ances, by oblations to fire, by the ceremony of ^ Traividya^ by oflFering to the Gods and Manes, by ^ the procreation of children, by the five great sacra- ' ments, and by solemn sacrifices, this human body is ' rendered fit for a divine state.
29. * Before the section of the navel string a cere- ' mony is ordained on the birth of a male : he must ^ be made, while sacred texts are pronounced, to taste ' a little honey and clarified butter from a. golden ^ spoon.
3(K ' Let the father perform or^ if absent^ cause to ^ be performed, on the tenth or twelfth day after the ' birth, the ceremony of giving a name ; or on some ' fortunate day of the moon, at a lucky hour, and ' under the influence of a star with good qualities
31. ' The
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31. * The first part of a Brahmen's compound name chap. ' should indicate holiness; of a Cshatriya^s, power; of
' a Vaisya'sy wealth ; and of a Sudra'sy contempt
32. ' Let the second part of the priest's name im- ^ ply prosperity ; of the soldier's, preservation ; of the ^ merchant's, nourishment; of the servant's, humble ' attendance.
33. ^ The names of women should be agreeable, soft, ^ clear, captivating the fancy, auspicious, ending in long ^ vowels, resembling words of benediction.
34. ^ In the fourth month the child should be car-
* ried out of the house to see the sun: in the sixth ^ month, he should be fed with rice; or that may be ^ done, which, by the custom of the family, is thought ^ most propitious.
35. ^ By the command of the Peda, the ceremony
* of tonsure should be legally performed by the three ^ ^rst classes in the first or third year after birth.
36.^ ^ In the eighth year from the conception of a ^ Brahman, in the eleventh from that of a Cshatriya, ^ and in the twelfth from that of a Vaisya, let the ' father invest the child with the mark of his class :
37. ^ Should a Brahman, or his father for him, be ^ desirous of his advancement in sacred knowledge ; ^ a Cshatriya, of extending his power; or a Vaisya ^ of engaging in mercantile business; the investiture
E ^ may
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26 ON EDUCATION ; OR
CHAP. '^* ' respectively.
38. * The ceremony of investiture hallowed by the gcyatri must not be delayed, in the case of a priest, beyond the sixteenth year; nor in that of a soldier, beyond the twenty- second ; nor in that of a merchant, beyond the twenty-fourth.
39. ^ After that, all youths of these three classes, who have not been invested at the proper time, be- come vro^ya^, or outcasts, degraded from the gayatr), and contemned by the virtuous:
40. * With such impure men, let no Brahmen^ even in distress for subsistence, ever form a connexion in law, either by the study of the Veda^ or by aj0&nity.
41. * Let students in theology wear for their man- ties, the hides of black antelopes, of common deer, or of goats, with lotver vests of woven sana, of cshumhy and of wool, in the direct order of their classes.
42. * The girdle of a priest must be made of munjay in a triple cord, smooth and soft; that of a warriour must be a bow string of nvdrva; that of a merchant, a triple thread of sana.
43. * K the munja be not procurable, tlieir zones must be formed respectively of the grasses ctcsa asmantacay valvq/a, in triple strings, with one, three, or five knots, according to the family custom.
44. ' The
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44. ' The sacrificial thread of a Brahmen must be chap. ^ made of cotton, so as to be put on over hie bead, ''•
^ in three strings; that of a Cshatriya, of sana thread ^ only ; that of a Faisya, of woollen thread.
45. ^ A priest ought by law to carry a staflF of
* yUva or Paldsa; a soMier, of Fata or C^hadirm ; ^ a merchant of V^u or Udumbara :
46. ^ The staff of a priest must be of sudi a length ^ as to reach his hair ; that of a soldier, to reach his ^ forehead; and that of a merchant, to reach his nose.
47. * Let all the staves be straight, without frac-
* ture, of a handsome appearance, not likely to terrify ^ men, with their bark perfect, unhurt by fire.
48. ^ Having taken a legal staff to his liking, and
* standing opposite to the sim, let the student thrice ^ walk round the fire from left to right, and perform, ^ according to law, the ceremony of asking food:
49. ^ The most excellent of the three classes^ being ^ girt with the sacrificial thread, must ask food with
* the respectful word bhavatiy at the beginning of
* the phrase; those of the second class, with that ^ word m the middle; and those of the third, with
* that word at the end.
50. ^ Let him first beg food of his mother, or of
* his sister, or of his mother's whole sister; then of ^ some other female who will not disgrace him.
51. * Having collected as much of the desired food
E 2
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^'' ' without guile to his preceptor, let him eat some
' of it, being duly purified, ynth his face to the* east:
52. ' K he seek long life, he should eat with his ^ face to the east; if exalted fame, to the south; if
* prosperity, to the west ; if truth and its retvard, to
* the north.
53. ^ Let the student, having performed his ablution, ' always eat his food without distraction of mind; ' and, having eaten, let him thrice wash his mouth ^ completely, sprinkling with water the siw hollow ^ parts of his head, or his eyesy ears, and nostrils.
54. * Let him honour all his food, and eat it with- ' out contempt; when he sees it, let him rejoice and
* be calm, and pray that he may always obtain it.
55. ^ Food, eaten constantly with respect, gives ' muscular force and generative power ; but, eaten ^ irreverently, destroys them both.
56. ' He must beware of giving any man what he
* leaves; and of eating any thing between morning ' and evening : he must also beware of eating too much^ ^ and of going any whither *with a remnant of his food ^ unswallowed.
57 ^ Excessive eating is prejudicial to health, to ' fame, and to future bliss in Heaven ; it is injurious to
* virtue, and odious among men : he must, for these ' reasons, by all means avoid it.
58. ' Let
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58. ' Let a Brahmen at all times perform the ablu- chap.
* tion Tvith the pure part of his hand denominated ^ from the Veda, or with the part sacred to the Lord
* of creatures, or with that dedicated to the Gods; ' but never with the part named from the Pitris :
59. ' The pure part under the root of the thumb is ' called Brahma^ that at the root of the little finger, ' Cay a ; that at the tips of the fingers, Daiva ; and
* the part between the thumb and index Pitrya.
60. ^ I^et him first sip water thrice ; then twice wipe ^ his mouth; and lastly touch with water the sioo he- ' fore mentioned cavities, his breast, and his head.
61. ^ He who knows the law and seeks purity will ^ eVer perform his ablution with the pure part of his ' hand, and with water neither hot nor frothy, stand- ' ing in a lonely place, and tiu'ning to the east or the ^ north.
62. ^ A Brahmen is purified by water that reaches ' his bosom ; a Cshatriya^ by water descending to his
* throat; a Vaisya, by water barely taken into his ' mouth ; a Sudra, by water touched with the extremity
* of his lips.
63. ' A youth of the three highest classes is named ' upavitiy when his right hand is extended for the ^ cord to pass over his head and be Juiced on his left ' shoulder ; when, his left hand is extended, that the ^ thread may he placed on his right shoulder^ he is
^ called
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30 ON EDUCATION; OR
CHAP. ' called prdchinavUi ; and niviti, when it is fastened on If- * his neck.
64. * His girdle, his leathern mantle, his staflF, his
* sacrificial cord, and his ewer, he must throw into the ^ water, when they are worn out or broken, and re-
* ceive others hallowed by mystical texts.
65. * The ceremony of cesantaj or cutting off the hair,
* is ordained for a priest in the sixteenth year from ' conception; for a soldier, in the twenty-second; for ' a merchant, two years later than that.
66. * The same ceremonies, except that ef the sacri-
* ficial thready must be duly performed for women at ' the same age and in the same order, that the body ' may be made perfect ; but without any text from the ' FSda:
67. * The nuptial ceremony is considered as the ^ complete institution of women, ordained for them ^ in the FJ/rfa, together with reverence to their hus* ^ bands, dwelling first in their father's family, the ^ business of the house, and attention to sacred fire.
68. ^ Such is the revealed law of institution for the ^ twice bom; an institution in which their second birth ^ clearly consists, and which causes their advancement
* in holiness: now learn to what duties they must af- ^ terwards apply themselves.
69. ^ The venerable preceptcMP, having girt his pupil ^ with the thread, must first instruct him in purifica-
* tion,
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OK THE nRST ORDER. 31
' tion, in good customs, in the management of the chap. ' consecrated fire, and in the holy rites of morning, ^^* ' noon, and evening.
70. ^ When the student is going to read the V^da^ ' he must perform an ablution, as th6 law ordains, ^ with his face to the north, and, having paid scriptural ' homage, he must receive instruction, wearing a clean ' vest, his members being duly composed :
71. * At the beginning and end of the lecture, he ' must always clasp both the feet of his preceptor ; and ^ he must read with both his hands closed : (this is ' called scriptural homage.)
72. ^ With crossed hands let him clasp the feet of ^ his tutor, touching the left foot with his left, and
* the right, with his right hand.
73. ^ When he is prepared for the lecture, the pre-
* ceptor^; constantly attentive, must say: ^^hoa! read;'' ^ and at the close of the lesson he must say : '^ take ' rest.''
74. * A Brahmen^ beginning and ending a lecture on ^ the Veda^ must always pronounce to himself the syl- ^ lable bin; for, unless the syllable am precede, his ' learning tdll slip away from him; and, unless it
* follow, nothing will be long retained.
75. * If he have sitten on culms of cusa with their ^ points toward the east, and be purified by rubhbig
' that
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32 ON EDUCATION ; OR
CHAP, ^ that holy grass on both his hands, and be further
''• . * prepared by three suppressions of breath each equal
' in time to Jive short vowels^ he then may fitly pro-
* nounce 6m.
76. ^ Brahma' milked out, cw it were^ from the ' three Fedasy the letter A, the letter U, and the ^ letter M, which form by their coalition the triliteral ^ wmiosyllahlej together with three mysterious words, ' hhur, bhuvah, swer^ or earthy sky, heaven:
77. ^ From the three Vedasy also, the Lord of erea- ' tures, incomprehensibly exalted, successively milked ' out the three measures of that ineflFable text, be- ' ginning with the word tady and entitled savitri or ^ gcyatru
78. ^ A priest who shall know the Veda^ and shall
* pronounce to himself, both morning and evening, ' that syllable, and that holy text preceded by the ^ three words, shall attain the sanctity which the Veda ' confers;
79. ^ And a twice bom man, who shall a thousand ^ times repeat those three (or Amy the vydhritisy and ' the g6yatr\^ apart from the multitudey shall be re- •' leased in a month even from a great oflfence, as a
* snake from his slough.
80. ' The priest, the soldier, and the merchant, who
* shall neglect this mysterious text, and fail to perform
* in due season his peculiar acts of piety, shall meet ^ with contempt among the virtuous.
81. ' The
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81. * The three great immutable words, preceded by chap. * the triliteral syllable, and followed by the gcyatA ^
' which consists of three measures, must be consider- ^ ed as the mouth, or principal part of the Vhda :
82. ^ Whoever shall repeat, day by day, for three ^ years, without negligence, that sacred text, shall ^ hei*eafter approach the divine essence, move as free- ' ly as air, and assume an ethereal form.
83. ^ The triliteral monosyllable is an emblem of the ^ Supreme, the suppressions of breath with a mind fixed ^ on God are the highest devotion; but nothing is ^ more exalted than the gayatri : a declaration of truth ^ is more excellent than silence.
84. * All rites ordained in the Vlday oblations to ^ fire, and solemn sacrifices pass away ; but that ^ which passes not away, is declared to be the sylla- ^ ble 6m J thence called acshara: since it is a symbol ' of God, the Lord of created beings.
85. ' The act of repeating his Holy Name is ten ^ times better than the appointed sacrifice; an hun* ^ dred times better when it is heard by no man ; and ^ a thousand times better when it is purely mental :
86. * The four domestick sacraments which are ac- ^ companied with the appointed sacrifice, are not ^ equal, though all be united, to a sixteenth part of ' the sacrifice performed by a repetition of the gaya- ' tr\:
87. ^ By the sole repetition of the gayatr\ a priest
F * may
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34 ON EDUCATION; OR
CHAP. ' may indubitably attain beatitude, let him perform, II- ^ or not perfornj, any other religious act j if he be
* Maitra^ or a friend to all creatures y he is justly named
* Brdhmena^ or united to the Great One.
88. * In restraining the organs which run wild among ^ ravishing sensualities, a wise man will apply diligent
* care, like a charioteer in managing restive horses.
89. * Those eleven organs, to which the first sages ' gave names, I will comprehensively enumerate as the
* law considers them in due order.
90. ^ The nose is the fifth after the ears, the skin, ' the eyes, and the tongue ; and the organs of speech ^ are reckoned the tenth, after those of excretion and ^ generation, and the hands and feet :
91. ' Five of them, the ear and the rest in succes- ' sion, learned men have called organs of sense; and ' the others, organs of action :
92. ' The heart must be considered as the eleventh; ' which, by its natural property, comprises both sense ' and action; and which being subdued, the two other ^ sets, with five in each, are also controlled.
93. * A man, by the attachment of his organs to ^ sensual pleasure, incurs certain guilt; but, having ^ wholly subdued them, he thence attains heavenly
* bliss.
94. • Desire is never satisfied with the enjoyment of
* desired
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^ desired objects; as the fire is not appeased with chap. ' clarified butter; it only blazes more vehemently. ^^•
95. ^ Whatever man may obtain all those gratifica- ^ tions^ or whatever man may resign them completely, ' the resignation of all pleasures is far better than the ' attainment of them.
96. ^ The organs being strongly attached to sensual ^ delights cannot so eflfectually be restrained by avoid-
^ ing incentives to pleasure^ as by a constant pursuit of. ^ divine knowledge.
97. * To a man contaminated by sensuality neither ^ the V^dasy nor liberality, nor sacrifices, nor strict ^ observances, nor pious austerities, ever procure fe- ^ licity.
98. ^ He must be considered as really triumphant ' over his organs, who, on hearing and touching, on ' seeing and tasting and smelling, what may please or
* offend the sensesy neither greatly rejoices nor greatly ^ repines :
99. ^ But, when one among all his organs fails, by ^ that single failure his knowledge of God passes away, ^ as water flows through one hole in a leathern bottle.
100. * Having kept all his members of sense and ac- ' Hon under control, and obtained also command over
* his heart, he will enjoy every advantage, even though ^ he reduce not his body by religious austerities.
101. * At the morning twilight let him stand repeat-
F 2 ^ ing
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36 ON EDUCATION; OR
CHAP. ^ ing the gdyatri until he see the sun ; and at evening ' twilight, let him repeat it sitting, until the stars dis- ^ tinetly appear ;
102. ^ He who stands repeating it at the morning ^ twilight, removes all unknown nocturnal sin; and he ^ who repeats it sitting at evening twilight, disperses ^ the taint, that has unknowingly been contracted in ^ the day;
103. ' But he who stands not repeating it in the ' morning, and sits not repeating it in the evening, ^ must be precluded, like a SAdroy from every sacred ' observance of the twice bom classes.
104. * Near pure water, with his organs holden under ^ control, and retiring from circumspection to some ^ unfrequented place, let him pronounce the gAyatr), ' performing daily ceremonies.
105. ' In reading the Vdd&ngaSj or grammar^ pro- ' sody, mathematicksy and so for thy or even such parts ^ of the V6da as ought constantly to be read, there is ^ no prohibition on particular days; nor in pronounc- ' ing the texts appointed for oblations to fire :
106. ' Of that, which must constantly be read, and is ^ therefore called Brahmasatray there can be no such
* prohibition ; and the oblation to fire, according to the
* Veda, produces good fruit, though accompanied with
* the text vashaty which on other occasions must be in- ' termitted on certain days.
107. ' For
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107. ' For him, who shall persist a whole year m chap. ' reading the Vida^ his organs being kept in subjection,
' and his body pure, there will always rise good fruit ^ from his offerings of milk and curds, of clarified butter ^ and honey.
108. ^ Let the twice bom youth, who has been girt
* with the sacrificial cord, collect wood for the holy fire, ^ beg food of his relations, sleep oh a low bed, arid ^ perform such offices as may please his preceptor, until ^ his return to the house of his natural father.
109 ' Ten persons may legally be instructed in the ' Vcda\ the son of a spiritual teacher; a boy who is ' assiduous; one who can impart other knowledge; ' one who is just; one who is pwe; one who is
* friendly; one who is powerful; one who can bestow ' wealth; one who is honest; and one who is related
* by blood.
110. ^ Let not a sensible teacher tell any other what ' he is not asked, nor what he is asked improperly; ' but let him, however intelligent, act in the multi- ' tude as if he were dumb :
111. ' Of the two persons, him, who illegally asks,
* and him, who illegally answers, one will die, or ' incur odium.
112. ' Where virtue, and wealth sufficient to secure it^ ' are not found, or diligent attention, at least pro- ^ portioned to the holiness of the subject, in that soil
^ divine
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ON EDUCATION j OR
II
CHAP.
* like fine seed in barren land.
113. ^ A teacher of the Veda should rather die
* with his learning, than sow it in sterile soil,
* even though he be in grievous distress for sub-
* sistence.
114. ^ Sacred Learning, having approached a BrAh-^ ' meuy said to him : ^' I am thy precious gem ; pre- ' serve me with care ; deliver me not to a scorner ;
* (so preserved I shall become supremely strong.)
115. ^ But communicate me, as to a vigilant depo- ^ sitory of thy gem, to that student, whom thou shalt ' know to be pure, to have subdued his passions, to
* perform the duties of his order."'
116. * He who shall acquire knowledge of the Vida
* without the assent of his preceptor, incurs the guilt ' of stealing the scripture, and shall sink to the re- ^ gion of torment.
117. ' From whatever teacher a student has received ' instruction, either popular, ceremonial, or sacred, let ' him first salute his instructor, when they meet.
118. * A Br&hmen, who completely governs his pas- ' sions, though he know the gdyatri only, is more ^ honourable than he, who governs not his passions, ' who eats all sorts of food ^ and sells all sorts of com- ' moditieSj even though he know the three Vcdas.
119. ^ When a superiour sits on a couch or bench,
' let
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ON THE nRST ORDER. 39
let not an inferiour sit on it with him; and, if an chap. inferionr be sitting on a couch, let him rise to salute a superiour.
120. ' The vital spirits of a young man mount up- wards to depart from him, when an elder approaches ; but by rising and salutation he recovers them.
121. ^ A youth who habitually greets and constantly reveres the aged, obtains an increase of four things ; life, knowledge, fame, strength.
122. ' After the word of salutation, a Brahman must address an elder; saying, *' I am such an - one,'' pronouncing his own name.
123. * If any persons, through ignorance of the San- scrit language, understand not the import of his name, to them should a learned man say, '^ It is I ;'' and in that manner he should address all classes of women. •
124. * In the salutation he should pronounce, after his own name, the vocative particle bhos ; for the particle bhos is held by the wise to have the same property with names fully compressed.
125. ' A JBr^hmen should thus be saluted in return: " May'st thou live long, excellent man !'' and at the end of his name, the vowel and preceding consonant should be lengthened, with an acute accent, to three syllabick moments or short vowels.
126. * That Br&hmen, who knows not the form of
^ returning
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40 ON EDUCATION; OR
CHAP. ^ returning a salutation, must not be saluted by a II- ' man of learning : as a Sudra^ even so is he.
127. * Let a learned man ask a priest, when he ^ meets him, if his devotion prospers; a warriour, if ' he is unhurt ; a merchant, if his wealth is secure ;
* and one of the servile class, if he enjoys good health ;
* using respectively the words, cusalam, andmayam, csh^- ' mam, and drdgyam.
128. * He, who has just performed a solemn sacrifice
* and ablution, must not be addressed by his name, ' even though he be a younger man; but he, who
* knows the law, should accost him with the vocative
* particle, or with bhavat, the pronoun of respect.
129. ^ To the wife of another, and to any woman ' not related by blood, he must say, '' bhavati, and ^ amiable sister.'*
130. ^ To his uncles paternal and maternal, to his ^ wife's father, to performers of the sacrifice, and to
* spiritual teachers; he must say, ^^ I am such an ^ one'' — ^rising up to salute them, even though younger
* than himself.
131. ' The sister of his mother, the wife of his ma-
* temal uncle, his own wife's mother, and the sister of ' his father, must be saluted like the wife of his father ' or preceptor : they are equal to his father* s or his ^ preceptor's wife.
132. * The wife of his brother, if she be of the same
* class, must be saluted every day ; but his paternal
* and
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^ and maternal kinswomen need only be greeted on ch ap. ^ his return from a jom'ney. ^'*
133. ' With the sister of his father and of his mo- ' ther, ^nd with his own elder sister, let him demean
* himself as with his mother; though his mother be ^ more venerable than they.
134. ' Fellow citizens are equal for ten years; dan-
* cers and singers, for five^ learned theologians, for ^ less than three; but persons related by blood, for a
* short time : that isy a greater difference of age destroys ' their equality.
135. * The Student must consider a BrAhmeriy though ^ but ten years old, and a Cshatriya^ though aged a
* hundred years, as father and son; as between those ^ two, the young ^rhhmen is to he respected as the ' father.
136. * Wealth, kindred, age, moral conduct, and, ' fifthly, divine knowledge, entitle men to respect; but ^ that which is last mentioned in order, is the most re-
* spectable.
137. ' Whatever man of the three highest classes ^ possesses the most of those five, both in number ' and degree, that man is entitled to most respect ;
* even a Sudra^ if he have entered the tenth decad of ^ his age
138. * Way must be made for a man in a wheeled ^ carriage, or above ninety years old, or afflicted with
G ' disease.
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42 ON EDUCATION; OR
CHAP. ' disease, or carrying a burthen; for a woman; for ^' ^ a priest just returned from the mai^ion of his pre- ^ ceptor ; for a prince, and for a bridegroom :
139. ' Among all those, if they be met at one time, ^ the priest just returned home and the prince are most ^ to be honoured; and of those two, the priest just ^ returned, should be treated with more respect than
* the prince.
140. ^ That priest who girds his pupil with the sacri- ^ ficial cord, and afterwards instructs him in the whole ^ Peday with the law of sacrifice and the sacred l^a-
* nishadsy holy sages call an AchArya:
141. ^ But, he, who for his livelihood, gives instruc-
* tion in a part only of the Veda^ or in grammar, and ' in other VidAngaSy is called an upAdhyhya^ or sub-
* lecturer. ,
142. ^ The father, who performs the ceremonies ^ on conception and the like, according to law, and ' who nourishes the child with his first rice, has the ' epithet of guru^ or venerable.
143. ' He, who receives a stipend for preparing the ' holy fire, for conducting the pAca and agnisht&ma^ ^ and for performing other sacrifices, is called in this ^ code the ritwij of his employer. "
144. ^ He, who truly and faithfully fills both ears
* with the Viduy must be considered as equal to a ' mother; he must be rever as a father; him the pu-
* pil must never grieve.
145. ' A
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146. * A mere AchAryay or a teacher of the gdyatri ghap. ' onlyy surpasses ten wp6dhy6yas ; a father, a hundred ^^' ^ such dcMryas ; and a mother, a thousand natural fa- ' thers.
146. ^ Of hhn, who gives natiu*al birth, and him, ^ who gives knowledge of the whole Vedu^ the giver of ^ sacred knowledge is the more venerable father; since ^ the second or divine birth ensures life to the trwice ' bom both in this world and hereafter eternally.
147. ^ Let a man consider that as a mere human ^ birth, which his parents gave him for their mutual ^ gratification, and which he receives after lying in the
* womb ;
148. ^ But that birth which his principal AchArya^ ^ who knows the whole Vida^ procures for him by his ^ divine mother the gdyatr)^ is a true birth: that birth ' is exempt from age and from death.
149. ^ Him, who confers on a man the benefit of sa- ^ cred learning, whether it be little or much, let him ^ know to be here named gurUy or venerable father^ in
* consequence of that heavenly benefit.
150. ^ A BrAhmen^ who is the giver of spiritual birth,
* the teacher of prescribed duty, is by right called the ' father of an old man, thou^ himself be a child.
151. ^ Cavx, or the learned^ child of Anoiras, taught ^ his paternal uncles and cousins to read the V^da^ ^ and, excelling them in divine knowledge, said to them, ' '' little sons:'"
G 2 152. ' They,
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44 ON EDUCATION; OR
CHAP. 152. * They, moved with resentment, asked the Gods ''• ^ the meaning of that expression; and the Gods, being assembled, answered thetn: ^^ The child has addressed you properly;
153. ^ For an unlearned man is in truth a child; and he who teaches him the V6da^ id his father: holy sages have always said child to an ignorant man, and father to a teacher of scripture/'
154. ^ Greatness is not conferred by years, not by gray hairs, not by wealth, not by powerful kindred: the divine sages have established this rule; '^Who- ever has read the Vl'das and their Angas^ he among us is great/'
155. ^ The seniority of priests is^ from sacred learn- ing; of warriours from valour; of merchants from abimdance of grain; of the servile class only from priority of birth.
156. ^ A man is not therefore aged, bepause his head is gray: him, surely, the Grods considered as aged, who, though young in years, has read arid un- derstands the Vida.
157. ^ As an elephant made of wood, as an antelope made of leather, such is an unlearned Brdhmen : those three have nothing but names.
158. * As an eunuch is unproductive with women, as cow with a cow is unprolifick, as liberality to a fool is fruitless, so is a Br6hmen useless, if he read not the holy texts.
159. ' Good
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ON THE naST ORDER. 45
159. * Good instruction must be given without pain chap.
* to the instructed; and sweet gentle speech must be ^'•
* used by a preceptor, who cherishes virtue, .
160. ^ He, whose discourse and heart are pure, and ' ever perfectly guarded, attains all the fruit arising ^ from his complete course of studying the VSda.
161. ' Let not a man be querulous even though in ' pain ; let him not injure another in deed or in
* thought; let him not even utter a word, by which ^ his fellow creature may suffer uneasiness ; since that ^ will obstruct his own progress to future beatitude.
162. ' A Brahmen should constantly shun worldly ho-
* nour, as he would shun poison ; and rather constantly ^ seek disrespect, as he would seek nectar;
163. ^ For though scorned, he may sleep with plea- ' sure ; with pleasure may he awake ; with pleasure ^ may he pass through this life : but the scomer utterly ^ perishes.
164. ^ Let the twice-born youth, whose soul has ' been formed by this regular succession of prescribed ^ acts, collect by degrees, while he dwells with his
* preceptor, the devout habits proceeding from the ' study of scripture.
165. ^ With various modes of devotion, and with au-^ ^ be read, and above all the sacred Upanishads^ by him,
* who has received a new birth.
J66, ' Let
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46 ON EDUCATION ; OR
CHAP. 166. ^ Let the best of the twice-born classes^ in-
^^' ' tendmg to practice devotion, continually repeat the
' reading of scripture ; since a repetition of reading
' the scripture is here styled the highest devotion of
' a BrAhmen.
167- ^ Yes verily ; that student in theology performs ' the highest act of devotion with his whole bodt/y to ^ the extremities of his nails, even though he be so far ^ sensual as to wear a chaplet of sweet flowers, who ^ to the utmost of his ability daily reads the Fiida.
168. ' A twice-born man, who not having studied ^ the P7day applies diligent attention to a diflFerent and ^ worldly study, soon falls, even when living, to the ^ condition of a SMra; and his descendants after him.
169. * The first birth is from a natural mother; the
* second, from the ligation of the zone ; the third from ^ the due performance of the sacrifice ; such are the ' births of him who is usually called twice-born, ac- ' cording to a text of the VMa :
170. ' Among them his divine birth is that, which ' is distinguished by the ligation of the zone, and sa- ' crificial cord; and in that birth the Gdyatri is his
* mother, and the A'chdrya, his father.
171 ' Sages call the Achdrya father, from his ' giving instruction in the Veda: nor can any holy ^ rite be performed by a young man, before his in- ' vestiture.
172. ^ Till he be invested with the signs of his class,
' he
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ON THE FIRST ORDER. 47
^ he must not pronounce any sacred text, except what chap. ^ ought to be used in obsequies to an ancestor; since ^''
* he is on a level with a Skldra before his new birth
* from the revealed scripture :
173. ^ From him, who has been duly invested, are ^ required both the performance of devout acts and ' the study of the V^^da in order, preceded by stated
* ceremonies.
174. * Whatever sort of leathern mantle, sacrificial ' thread, and zone, whatever staff, and whatever under-
* apparel are ordained, cw hefore-mentianedy for a youth
* of each class, the like must also be used in his re-
* ligious acts.
175. * These following rules must a Brahmachari^ or ^ student in theology ^ observe, while he dwells with
* his preceptor; keeping all his members imder con-
* trol, for the sake of increasing his habitual devotion.
176. * Day by day, having bathed and being puri-
* fied, let him offer fresh water to the Grods, the ^ Sages, and the Manes ; let him show respect to the
* images of the deities, and bring wood for the obla- ^ tion to fire.
177. * Let him abstain from honey, from flesh meat,
* from perfumes, from chaplets of flowers, from sweet
* vegetable juices, from women, from all sweet sub-
* stances turned acid, and from injury to animated ' beings;
178. ' From unguents for his limbs, and from black
' powder
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48 ON EDUCATION; OR
CHAP. * powder for his eyes, from wearing sandals, and car- i^- * rying an umbrella, from sensual desires, from wrath, ' from covetousness, from dancing, and from vocal and ' instrumental musick;
179. ^ From gaming, from disputes, from detraction, ' and from falsehood, from embracing or wantonly look- ^ ing at women, and from disservice to other men.
180. ^ Let him constfintly sleep alone : let him never
* waste his own manhood ; for he, who voluntary ^ wastes his manhood, violates the rule of his order, ^ and becofnes an avacimi:
181. ' A twice-born youth, who has involuntarily ^ wasted his manly strength during sleep, must repeat
* with reverence, having bathed and paid homage to ' the sun, the text of scripture : ^^ Again lei my ' slrenglh return lo me.'^
1^2. ^ Let him carry water-pots, flowers, cow-dung, ' fresh earth, and cw^a-grass, as much as may be ^ useful to his preceptor; and let him perform every ^ day the duty of a religious mendicant.
183. * Each day must a Brdhmen student receive his ^ food by begging, with due care, from the houses of
* persons renowned for discharging their duties, and ' not deficient in performing the sacrifices which the ' Vdda ordains.
184. ' Let him not beg from the cousins of his pre- ' ceptor; nor from his own cousins; nor from other
* kinsmen by the father's side, or by the mother's ;
' but
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^ but, if Other houses be not accessible, let him begin chap. ' with the last of those in order, avoiding the first; ^^'
185. ^ Or, if none of those houses just mentioned can ' be found, let him go begging through the whole dis-
* trict round the village, keeping his organs in subjec- ^ tion, and remaining silent; but let him turn away
* from such as have committed any deadly sin.
186. ' Having brought logs of wood from a distance, ^ let him place them in the open air; and with them ^ let him make an oblation to fire without remissness, ' both evening and morning.
187. ^ He, who for seven successive days omits the ' ceremony of begging food, and oflFers not wood to the ' sacred fire, must perform the penance of an avacirni,
* unless he be afflicted with illness.
188. ' Let the student persist constantly in such beg- ' ging, but let him not eat the food of one person ' only : the subsistence of a student by begging is held ' equal to fasting in religious merit
189. ' Yet, when he is asked in a solemn act in ' honour of the Gods or the Manes, he may eat at his ^ pleasure the food of a single person ; observing, how- ' ever, the laws of abstinence and the austerity of an ' anchoret : thus the rule of his order is kept inviolate.
190. ^ This duty of a mendicant is ordained by the ' wise for a Brdhmen only ; but no such act is appointed ' for a warriour, or for a merchant.
H 191. ' Let
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50 ON EDUCATION} OR
CHAP. 191- ^ Let the scholar, when commanded by his pre- J^' ' ceptor, and even when he has received no command, ' always exert himself in readings and in all acts useful ' to his teacher.
192. ' Keeping in due subjection his body, his speech, ' his organs of sense, and his heart, let him stand with
* the palms of his hands joined, looking at the face of ' his preceptor.
193. ' Let him always keep his right arm uncovered, ' be always decently apparelled, and properly com- ' posed ; and when his instructor says, '^ be seated,'' ^ let him sit opposite to his venerable guide.
194. ' In the presence of his preceptor let him always ^ eat less, and wear a coarser mantle with worse appen- ' dages; let him rise before, and go to rest after his ^ tutor.
195. ' Let him not answer his teacher's orders, or
* converse -with him, reclining on a bed ; nor sitting, ' nor eating, nor standing, nor with an averted face :
196. ^ But let him both answer and converse^ if his ' preceptor sit, standing up; if he stand, advancing
* toward him; if he advance, meeting him ; if he run, ' hastening after him;
197. ' If his face be averted, going round to front ^ him, fr(mh left to r^ht; if he be at a little distance,
* approaching him; if reclined, bending to him; and, ^ if he stand ever so far off, runnii^ toward him.
198. ' When
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198. ' When bis teacher is nigh, let his couch or chap. ' his bench be always placed low: when his precep- "*
^ tor's eye can observe him, Jet him not sit carelessly
* at ease.
199. ^ Let him never pronounce the mere name of ^ his tutor, even in his absence ; nor ever mimick his ^ gait, his speech, or his manner.
200. ^ In whatever place, either true but censorious, ' or false and defamatory, discourse is held concerning ' his teacher, let him there cover his ears or remove to ^ another place :
201. ' By censuring his preceptor, though justly, he ^ will be bom an ass ; by falsely defaming him, a dog ; ^ by using his goods without leave, a small worm; by ' envying his merit, a larger insect or reptile.
202. ^ He must not serve his tutor by the interven- ^ tion of another, while himself stands aloof; nor must ' he attend him in a passion, nor when a woman is ' near ; from a carriage or rallied seat he must descend
* to salute his heavenly director.
203. ^ Let him not sit with his preceptor to the lee- ' ward, or to the windward of him; nor let him say
* any thing which the venerable man cannot hear.
204. * He may sit with his teacher ^in a carriage ' drawn by bulls, horses, or camels ; on a terrace, on ^ a pavement of stones, or on a mat of woven grass;
* on a rock, on a wooden bench, or in a boat.
H 2 205. ' When
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52 ON EDUCATION; OR
CHAP. 205. ' When his tutor's tutor is near, let him de- ^^* * mean himself as if his own were present ; nor let
* him, unless ordered by his spiritual father, prostrate ^ himself in his presence before his natural father, or ^ paternal imcle.
206. * This is likewise ordained as his constant be-
* haviour toward his other instructors in science ; to- ' ward his elder paternal kinsmen ; toward all who
may restrain him from sin, and all who give him ^ salutary advice. .
207. ^ Toward mgn also, who are truly virtuous, let
* him always behave as toward his preceptor; and, in ^ like manner, toward the sons of his teacher, who
* are entitled to respect as older men, and are not stu- ^ dents ; and toward the paternal kinsmen of his vene- ^ rable tutor.
208. ^ The son of his preceptor, whether younger
* or of equal agej or a student, if he be capable of
* teaching the f^eda, deserves the same honour with
* the preceptor himself, when he is present at any ^ sacrificial act:
209. ^ But he must not perform for the son of his
* teacher, the duty of rubbing his limbs, or of bath- ^ ing him, or of eating what he leaves, or of washing ^ his feet.
210. * The wives of his preceptor, if they be of the ^ same class, must receive equal honour with their ^ venerable husband; but if they be of a different
^ class
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ON THE FIRST ORDER. 53
^ class, they must be bonoured only by rising and ^^ap. ^ salutation.
211. ^ For no wife of his teacher must he perform ^ the offices of pouring scented oil on them, of attend- ' ing them while they bathe, of rubbing their legs and ^ arms, or of decking their hair;
212. * Nor must a young wife of his preceptor be ' greeted even by the ceremony of touching her feet,
* if he have completed his twentieth year, or can dis-
* tinguish virtue from vice.
213 ^ It is the nature of women in this world to ' cause the seduction of men; for which reason the ' wise are never unguarded in the company of females :
214. ^ A female indeed, is able to draw from the ^ right path in this life not a fool only, but even a ' sage, and can lead him in subjection to desire or to ' wrath.
215. ' Let no man, therefore, sit in a sequestered ' place with his nearest female relations : the assem- ' blage of corporeal oi^ans is powerful enough to ' snatch wisdom from the wise.
216. ^ A young student may, as the law directs, ^ make prostration at his pleasure on the groimd be- ^ fore a young wife of his tutor, saying, *^ I am such ' an one ;''
217. ^ And on his return from a journey, he must ^ once touch the feet of his preceptor's aged wife,
' and
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54
ON EDUCATION; OR
CHAP. ' and salute her each day by prostration, calling to ' mind the practice of virtuous men.
218. * As he who digs deep with a spade comes to ' a spring of water, so the student, who humbly serves ' his teacher, attains the knowledge whicK lies deep ' in his teacher's mind.
219. ^ Whether his head be shorn, or his hair ^ long, or one lock be boimd above in a knot, let not ' the sun ever set or rise while he lies asleep in the ' village.
220 * If the sun should rise or set, while he sleeps ' through sensual indulgence, and knows it not, he must ' fast a whole day, repeating the gdyatri :
221. ^ He, who has been surprised asleep by the ' setting or by the rising sun, and performs not that ^ penance, incurs great guilt.
222. ^ Let him adore God both at sunrise and at ^ sunset, as the law ordains, having made his ablution
* and keeping his organs controlled; and, with fixed
* attention, let him repeat the text, which he ought ' to repeat, in a place free from impurity.
223. * Ip a woman or a SMra perform any act ^ leading to the chief temporal good, let the student ' be careful to emulate it; and he may do whatever ^ gratifies his heart, unless it be forbidden by law :
224. ^ The chief temporal good is by some declared ' to consist in virtue and wealth; by some, in wealth
^ and
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ON THE FIRST ORDER. 55
' and lawful pleasure ; by some, in virtue alone ; by chap. ' others, in wealth alone ; but the chief good here " ' below is an assemblage of all three : this is a sure ^ decision.
225. ^ A TEACHER of the F^da is the image of Gron; ^ a natural father, the image of Brahma'; a mother, ^ the image of the earth ; an elder whole brother, the
* image of the soul.
226. ^ Therefore a spiritual and a natural father, a ^ mother, and an elder brother, are not to be treated ' with disrespect, especially by a BrAhmen, though the ^ student be grievously provoked.
227. ^ That pain and care which a mother and father ^ undergo in producing and rearing children, cannot ' be compensated in an hundred years.
228. ' Let every man constantly do what may please ' his parents: and, on all occasions, what may please ^ his preceptor: when those three ai*e satisfied, his ^ whole course of devotion is accomplished.
229. ' Due reverence to those three is considered
* as the highest devotion; and without their approba-
* tion he must perform no other duty.
230- ^ Since they alone are held equal to the three ' worlds ; they alone, to the three principal orders ;
* they alone, to the three Vcdas; they alone, to the
* three fires :
231. ' The natural father is considered as the g6r-
' hapatya^
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56 ON EDUCATION ; OR
CHAP. ^ hapatyay or nuptial fire ; the mother as the dacshina,
"• ' or ceremonial; the spiritual guide, as the Ahavaniyaj
^ or sacrificial: this triad of fires is most venerable.
232. ^ He, who neglects not those three, when he
* becomes a house-keeper, will ultimately obtain domi-
* nion over the three worlds; and his body being ir- ' radiated like a God, he will enjoy supreme bliss in
* heaven. •"
233. ^ By honouring his mother he gains this ter- ' restrial world ; by honouring his father, the interme- ^ diate, or etherial ; and, by assiduous attention to ' his preceptor, even the celestial world of Brahma':
234. ^ All duties are completely performed by that ' man, by whom those three are completely honoured; ' but to him by whom they are dishonoured, all
* other acts of duty ai-e fruitless.
235. * As long as those three live, so long he must ^ perform no other duty for his own sake: but de- ^ lighting in what may conciliate their affections and ^ gratify their wishes, he must from day to day assi- ' duously wait on them:
236 * Whatever duty he may perform in thought, ^ word, or deed, with a view to the next world, ^ without derogation from his respect to them ; he ^ must declare to them his entire performance of it.
237. ' By honouring those three, without more, a
* man effectually does whatever ought to be done :
* this is the highest duty, appearing before us like
^ Dherma
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ON THE FIRST ORDER. 67
Dherma himself, and every other act is an upa- chap. dhertnay or subordinate duty.
238. ^ A believer in scripture may receive pure knowledge even from a Sddra; a lesson of the highest virtue, even from a Chanddla; and a woman, bright as a gem, even from the basest family:
239. ^ Even from poison may nectar be ^taken ; even from a child, gentleness of speech; even from a foe, prudent conduct ; and even from an impure substance, gold.
240. ^ From every quarter, therefore, must be se- lected women bright as gems, knowledge, virtue, purity, gentle speech, an^ various liberal arts.
241. ^ In case of necessity, a student is required to learn the VSda from one who is not a Brdhmen, and, as long as that instruction continues, to ho- nour his instructor with obsequious assiduity;
242. ^ But a pupil who seeks the incomparable path to heaven, should not live to the end of his days in the dwelling of a preceptor who is no BrdhmeUy or who has not read all the VSdas with their Angus.
243. ^ If he anxiously desire to pass his whole life, in the house of a sacerdotal teacher, he must serve him with assiduous care, till he be released from his mortal frame :
244. ' That Brdhmen, who has dutifully attended his preceptor, till the dissolution of his body, passes di- rectly to the eternal mansion of God,
I 245. ' Let
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58 ON EDUCATION.
CHAP. 245. ^ L«T not a student, who knows his duty,
^^' * present any gift to his preceptor before his return
' home; but when, by his tutor's permission, he is
* going to perform the ceremony on his return, let ^ him give the venerable man some valuable thing to ' the best of his power;
246. ^ A field, or gold, a jewel, a cow, or a horse, ^ an umbrella, a pair of sandals, a stool, com, cloths, ' or even any very excellent vegetable : thus will he ' gain the affectionate remembrance of his instructor.
247. ^ The student for life must, if his teacher die,
* attend on his virtuous son, or his widow, or on one
* of his paternal kinsmen, with the same respect which
* he showed to the living: ^
248. * Should none of those be alive, he must oc- ' cupy the station of his preceptor, the seat, and the ^ place of religious exercises; must continually pay due
* attention to the fires, which he had consecrated; ' and must prepare his own soul for heaven.
249. * The twice-born man, who shall thus without ^ intermission have passed the time of his student- ^ ship, shall ascend, after death, to the most exalted ^ of regions, and no more again spring to birth in
* this lower world.
CHAP.
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CHAP. III. On Mmriage ; or on the Second Order.
1. ' The discipline of a student in the three V6da$ chap.
* may be continued for thirty-six years, in the house ^^^• ^ of his preceptor; or for half that time, or for a quar-
' ter of it, or until he perfectly comprehend them :
2. ' A student, whose rules have not been violated, ' may assume the order of a married man, after he ' has read in succession a sdc^hd^ or branch from each ' of the three, or from two, or from any one of them.
3. * Being justly applauded for the strict performance
* of his duty, and having received from his natural or ' spiritual father the sacred gift of the Vida^ let him ^ sit on an elegant bed, decked with a garland of ^ flowers, and let his father honour him, before his ^ nuptials, with a present of a cow.
4. ^ Let the twice-born man, having obtained the
* consent of his venerable guide, and having performed ^ his ablution with stated ceremonies, on his return ^ home, as the law directs, espouse a wife of the same ^ class with himself and endued with the marks of ' excellence.
5. ^ She, who is not descended from his paternal or
* maternal ancestors, within the sixth degree, and who ^ is not known by her family name to he of the same
I 2 ^ primitive
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60 ON MARRIAGE; OR
CHAP. « primitive stock with his father or mother^ is eligible ^"* * by a twice-born man for nuptials and holy union :
6. ^ In connecting himself with a js^ife, let him stu-
* diously avoid the ten following families, be they ever ^ so great 9 or ever so rich in kine, goats^ sheep, gold ^ and grain :
7. * The family which has omitted prescribed acts of ^ religion ; that which has produced no male children ;
* that, in which the Veda has not been read ; that, which ^ has thick hair on the body ; and those, which have
* been subject to hemorrhoids, to phthisis, to dyspepsia,
* to epilepsy, to leprosy, and to elephantiasis.
8. ^ Let him not many a girl with reddish hair, nor ' with any deformed limb; nor one troubled with habi- ' tual sickness ; nor one either with no hair or with too
* much ; nor one immoderately talkative ; nor one with
* inflamed eyes;
9. * Nor one with the name of a constellation, or of ^ a tree, or of a river, of a barbarous nation, or of a ^ mountain, of a winged creature, a snake, or a slave ; ^ nor with any name raising an image of terrour.
10. * Let him chuse for his wife a girl, whose form ' has no defect ; who has an agreeable name ; who
* walks gracefully like a phenicopteros, or like a young ' elephant; whose hair and teeth are moderate respec- ^ tively in quantity and in size; whose body has ex-
* quisite softness.
11. * Her, who has no brother, or whose father is
' not
/
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* not well known, let no sensible man espouse, through chap.
• fear lest, in the former casey her father should take "'• her first son as his own to perform his obsequies ; or,
in the second casey lest an illicit marriage should be contracted.
12. * For the first marriage of the twice-born classes, a woman of the same class is recommended; but for such as are impelled by inclination to marry again, women in the direct order of the classes are to be preferred:
13. A Stidrh woman only must be the wife of a Sudra ; she and a Paisyct, of a Vaisya ; they two and a Cshatriycty of a Cshatriya; those two and a Brdhment of a Brdhfnen.
14 ^ A woman of the servile class is not mentioned, even in the recital of any ancient story, as the first wife of a Brdhmen or of a Cshatriya, though in the greatest difficulty to find a suitable match.
15. * Men of the twice-born classes, who through weakness of intellect, irregularly marry women of the lowest class, very soon degrade their families and progeny to the state of Stidra^ :
16. ^ According to Atri and to (Gotama) the son of Utat'hya, he who thus marries a woman of the servile class, if he be a priest^ is degraded instantly ; according to Saunaca, on the birth of a son, if he be a warriour ; and, if he be a merchant, on the birth of a son's son, according to (me) Bhrigu.
17. ^ A Brdhmen,
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62 ON MARRIAGE ; OR
CHAP. 17,
'"• ^ his first wife J sinks to the regions of torment ; if he
' beget a child by her, he loses even his priestly rank :
18. ^ His sacrifices to the Gods, his oblations to ^ the Manes, and his hospitable attentions to stran- ' gers, must be supplied prmcipally by her; but the
* Gods and Manes will not eat such offerings; nor ' can heaven be attained by such hospitality.
19. ' For the crime of him, who thus illegally drinks ' the moisture of a Sddrct^s lips, who is tainted by her ^ breath, and who even begets a child on her body,
* the law declares no expiation.
20. * Now learn compendiously the eight forms of ^ the nuptial ceremony, used by the four classes, some
* good and some bad in this world, and in the next :
21. * The ceremony of Brahma, of the D^asy of the ^ Rtshis, of the Prajdpatis^ of the Asuras, of the ' GandharvaSy and of the Racshases; the eighth and ^ basest is that of the Pisdchas.
22. ^ Which of them is permitted by law to each ^ class and what are the good and bad properties of
. * each ceremony, all this I will fully declare to you, ' together with the qualities, good and bad, of the
* offspring.
23. ^ Let mankind know, that the six first in direct ' order are by some held valid in the case of a priest;
* the four last, in that of a warriour; and the same
^ four.
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ON THE SECOND ORDER. 63
* four, except the Rdcshasa marriage, in the cases of chap.
* a merchant and a man of the servile class : ^^^
24. ^ Some consider the four first only as approved
* in the case of a priest; one, that of Racshases, as ^ peculiar to a soldier; and that of Asuras, to a mer-
* cantile and a servile man.
25. ^ But in this code, three of the five l
* held legal, and two illegal : the ceremonies of Pisa- ^ chas and Asuras must never be performed.
26. ^ For a military man the before mentioned mar-
* riages of Gandharvas and RacshaseSy whether sepa-
* rate or mixed, as when a girl is made captive by her
* lover, after a victory over her kinsmen, are permitted
* by law.
27. ^ The gift of a daughter, clothed only with a
* single robe, to a man learned in the V^da, whom
* her father voluntarily invites, and respectfully re-
* ceives, is the nuptial right called JBrdhma.
28. ^ The rite which sages call Daiva, is the gift of
* a daughter, whom her father has decked in gay attire,
* when the sacrifice is already begun, to the officiating
* priest, who performs that act of religion.
29. ^ When the father gives his daughter away, after ^ having recdved from the bridegroom one pair of kine,
* or two pairs, for uses prescribed by law, that marriage ^ is termed A'rsha.
30. The nuptial rite called Pr^^dpatya, is when the
% ' father
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64 ON MARRIAGE} OR
CHAP. ' father gives away his daughter with due honour, saying ^11- ' distinctly, " May both of you perform together your * civil and religious duties!''
31. * When the bridegroom, having given as much ' wealth as he can aflFord to the father and paternal
, * kinsmen, and to the damsel herself, takes her volun- ' tarily as his bride, that marriage is named Asura.
32. ^ The reciprocal connexion of a youth and a ^ damsel, with mutual desire, is the marriage deno- ' minated Gdndharvay contracted for the purpose of ^ amorous embraces, and proceeding from sensual in- ^ clination.
33. The seizure of a meiden by force from her house, ' while she weeps and calls for assistance, after her ^ kinsmen and friends have been slain in battle, or ^ wounded, and their houses broken open, is the mar- ' riage styled Rdcshasa.
34. ' When the lover secretly embraces the damsel, ' either sleeping or flushed with strong liquor, or dis- ' ordered in her intellect, that sinful marriage, called ^ Paisdchtty is the eighth and the basest.
35. ^ The gift of daughters in marriage by the Sacer- ' dotal class, is most approved, when they previously * have poured water into the hands of the bridegroom ; ^ but the ceremonies of the other classes may be per- ^ formed according to their several fancies.
36. ' Among these nuptial rites, what quality is
, # * ascribed
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^ ascribed by Menu to each, hear now ye Brahmens, chap.
* hear it all from me, who fully declare it! ^"
37. * The son of a Brahm\y or wife hy the Jirst cere- ^ Tnomf^ redeems from sin, if he performs virtuous acts, ^ ten ancestors, ten descendants, and himself the
* twenty-first person.
38. * A son, born of a wife by the Daiva nuptials,
* redeems seven and seven in higher and lower degrees ; ^ of a wife by the Arsha^ three and three ; of a wife by
* the Prdjdpatyay six and six.
39. * By four marriages, the Brahma and so forth, ^ indirect order, are bom sons illumined by the Veda^
* learned men^ beloved by the learned,
40. ^ Adorned with beauty, and with the quality of
* goodness, wealthy, famed, amply gratified with law- ^ fill enjoyments, performing all duties, and living a
* hundred years:
41. * But in the other four base marriages, which ^ remain, are produced sons acting cruelly, speaking ^ falsely, abhorring the Veda, and the duties prescribed
* in it.
42. * From the blameless nuptial rites of men spring
* a blameless progeny ; from the reprehensible, a repre-
* hensible offspring: let mankind, therefore, studiously
* avoid the culpable forms of marriage.
43. ^ The ceremony of joining hands is appointed
* for those, who marry women of their own class;
K % ' but
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66 ON MARRIAGE; OR
CHAP. ^ but, with women of a different class, the following ^^' ^ nuptial ceremonies are to be observed :
44. * By a Cshatriyh on her marriage with a JBrdh-
* men, an arrow must be held in her hand; by a
* Vaisyh woman, with a bridegoom of the sucerddtal
* or military clctss, a whip ; and by a Sddr4 bride,
* marrying a priest, a soldier, or a merchant, must
* be held the skirt of a mantle.
45. ^ Let the husband approach his wife in due
* season, that is, at the time Jit for pregnancy ; let
* him be constantly satisfied with her alone; but, ex-
* cept on the forbidden days of the moon, he may
* approach her, being affectionately disposed, even out ^ of due season, with a desire of conjugal intercourse.
46. * Sixteen days and nights in each month, with ^ four distinct days neglected by the virtuous, are
* called the natural season of women:
47. ^ Of those sixteen, the four first, the eleventh,
* and the thirteenth, are reprehended : the ten re- ^ maining nights are approved.
48. * Some say, that on the even nights are con-
* ceived sons; on the odd nights daughters; therefore
* let the man, who wishes for a son, approach his
* wife in due season on the even nights;
49. ^ But a boy is in truth produced by the greater ^ quantity of the male strength; and a girl by a ' greater quantity of the female; by equality, an her-
ti. ^ maphrodite.
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ON THE SECOND ORDER. 67
' inaphrodite, or a boy and a girl; by weakness or chap. ^ deficiency, is occasioned ti failure of conception. ^^^*
50. * He, who avoids conjugal embraces on the six ^ reprehended nights and on eight others, is equal in ^ chastity to a Brahmachdriy in whichever of the two ^ next orders he may live.
51. ^ Let no father, who knows the law, receive a
* gratuity, however small, for giving his daughter in
* marriage; since the man, who, through avarice, ^ takes a gratuity for that purpose^ is a seller of his ^ offspring.
52. * Whatever male relations, through delusion of ^ mind, take possession of a woman's property, be it
^ only her carriages or her clothes, such offenders will .
* sink to a region of torment.
53. ^ Some say that the Jbull and cow given in the
* nuptial ceremony of the Eishis, are a bribe to the
* father; but this is untrue; a bribe indeed, whether ^ large or small, is an actual sale of the daughter.
54. ^ When money or goods are given to damsels,
* whose kinsmen receive them not for their own use, ^ it is no sale : it is merely a token of courtesy and ^ affection to the brides.
55. ^ Married women must be honoured and adorned
* by their fathers and brethren, by their husbands, and ^ by the brethren of their husbands, if they seek ' abundant prosperity:
K 2 56. ^ Where
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68 ON MARRIAGE ; OR
CHAP. 56. ^ Where females are honoured, there the deities wi. ^ are pleased; but where they are dishonoured, there ^ aU religious acts become fruitless.
57. * Where female relations are made miserable, the
* family of him who makes them so, very soon wholly
* perishes ; but, where they are not unhappy, the fa-
* mily always increases.
58. ' On whatever houses the women of a family, ^ not being duly honoured, pronounce an imprecation, ^ those. houses, with all that belong to them, utterly
* perish, as if destroyed by a sacrifice for the death
* of an enemy.
59. ' Let those women, therefore, be continually
* supplied with ornaments, apparel and food, at fes- ' tivals and at jubilees, by men desirous of wealth.
60 * In whatever family the husband is contented
* with his wife, and the wife with her husband, in
* that house will fortune be assuredly permanent.
61. ^ Certainly, if the wife be not elegantly attired, ^ she will not exhilarate her husband; and if her lord
* want hilarity, oflFspring will not be produced.
62. ^ A wife being gaily adorned, her whole house ' is embellished ; but, if she be destitute of ornament, ^ all will be deprived of decoration.
63. * By culpable marriages, by omission of pre-
* scribed ceremonies, by neglect of reading the Vida^
* and
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* and by irreverence toward a BrdhmeUj great fomilies chap.
* are sunk to a low state:
64. ^ So they are by practising manual arts, by lend-
* ing at interest and other pecuniary transactions, by ' begetting children on Sddrhs only, by traflSck in
* kine, horses, and carriages, by agriculture and by ^ attendance on a king.
65. * By sacrificing for such as have no right to sa-
* crifice, and by denying a future compensation for ' good works, great families, being deprived of sacred ^ knowledge, are quickly destroyed ;
66. ^ But families, enriched by a knowledge of the
* Veda, though possessing little temporal wealth, are ^ numbered among the great, and acquire exalted fame.
67. * Let the house-keeper perform domestick reli- / gious rites, with the miptial fire, according to law, ^ and the ceremonies of the five great sacraments, and ' the several acts which must day by day be per- ^ formed.
68. * A house-keeper has five places of slaughter, ' or where small living creatures may he slain ; his
* ^itchen-hearth, his grindstone, his broom, his pestle
* and mortar, his water-pot ; by using which, he be-
* comes in bondage to sin: ^
69. * For the ^ sake of expiating offences committed
* ignorantly in those places mentioned in order, the
* five great sacraments were appointed by eminent
^ sages
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70 ON MARRIAGE j OR
CHAP. ^ house.
70. ^ Teaching and studymg the scripture is the sa- ' crament of the VSda ; oflFering cakes and water, the ^ sacrament of the Manes; an oblation to fire, the ^ sacrament of the. Deities ; giving rice or other food Mo living creatures, the sacrament of spirits; re-
* ceiving guests with honour, the sacrament of men :
71. * Whoever omits not those five great ceremo-
* nies, if he have ability to perform them^ is untainted
* by the sins of the Jive slaughtering-places, even ' though he constantly reside at home;
72. * But whoever cherishes not five orders of beings, ' namely J the deities ; those, who demand hospitality ;
* those, whom he ought by law to maintain ; his de-
* parted forefathers; and himself; that man lives not
* even though he breathe.
73. ^ Some c^l the five sacraments ahuta and huta^ ' prahutay hrdhmya-huta and prAsita :
74. * AhutUy or unoflfered, is divine study; huta^ or ^ oflfered, is the oblation to fire ; prahuta, or well
* oflFered, is the food given to spirits ; hrAhmya-huta^ ' is respect shewn to twice-born • guests ; and prdsitOy
* or well eaten, is ,the oflfering of rice or water to ^ the manes of ancestors.
75. ^ Let every man in this second order employ ^ himself daUy in reading the scripture, and in per-
* forming
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foimiaa the nacrament of the Gods ; for, being em- chap. ployed in the sacrament of deities, he supports this whole abimal and vegetable world;
76. ^ Since his oblation of clarified butter, duly cast into the flame, ascends in smoke to the sun ; from the 9un it falls in rain ; from rain comes vegetable food ; and from ntch food animals derive their subsistence.
77. * As all creatures subsist by receiving support from air, thus all orders of men exist by receiving support from house-keepers ;
78. ^ And since men of the three other orders are each day nourished by them with divine learning and with food, a house-keeper is for this reason of the most eminent order :
79. * That order, therefore, must be constantly sus- tained with great care by the man who seeks unperish- able bliss in heaven, and in this world pleasurable sensations; an order which cannot be sustained by men with uncontrolled organs.
80. ^ The divine sages, the manes, the gods, the spirits, and guests, pray for benefits to masters of families ; let these honours, therefore, be done to them by the house-keeper who knows \)is duty :
81. ^ Let him honour the Sages by studying the Feda: the Gods, by oblations to fire ordained by law ; the Manes, by pious obsequies ; men by supply- ing them with food ; and spirits, by gifts to all ani- mated creatures.
82. ' Each
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72 ON MARRIAGE ; OR
(HAP. 82. ' Each day let him perform a ^cfcM^ with boiled '^^- ' rice and the like, or with water, or with milk, roots, ' and fruit ; for thus he obtains favour from departed ^ progenitors.
83. ^ He may entertain one Brahmen in that sacra- ^ ment among the five, which is performed for the ' Pitris; but, at the oblation to all the Gods, let him ^ not invite even a single priest.
84. ' In his domestick fire for dressing the food of ' all the Gods, after the prescribed ceremony, let a ^ Brahmen make an oblation each day to these fol- ' lowing divinities ;
85. ' First to Agni, god of fire, and to the lunar ' god, severally ; then, to both of them at once ; next ^ to the assembled gods; and afterwards, to Dhan- ' WANTABi, god of medicine ;
86. ^ To CuHu', goddess of the day, when the new ' moon is discernible ; to Anumati, goddess of the day, ' after the opposition; to Pbaja'pati, or the Lord of ^ Creatures ; to DyaVa' and Prithivi', goddesses of sky ^ and earth ; and lastly, to the fire of the good sacri- ' fice.
87. ^ Having thus, with fixed attention, offered cla- ' rified butter in all quarters, proceeding from . the east ' in a southern direction, to Indra, Yama, Varuna, and ^ the god So'ma, let him offer his gift to animated * creatures:
88. ' Saying,
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88- * Saying, ^* I salute the MarutSy' or Winds, chap. ^ let him throw dressed rice near the door; saying, ^^'•
* " I salute the water-gods/' in water; and on his ^ pestle and mortar^ saying, " I salute the gods of
* large trees/'
89. ^ Let him do the like in the north-east, or near ^ his pillow, to Sri', the goddess of abundance; in
* the south-west, or at the foot of his bed, to the pro- ^ pitious goddess Bhadraca'li' ; in the centre of his ^ mansion, to Brahma' and his household god;
90. ^ To all the Gods assembled^ let him throw up ' his oblation in the open air; by day, to the spirits ^ who walk in light ; and by night, to those who walk ^ in darkness :
91. * In the building on his house-top, or behind
* his back, let him cast his oblation for the welfare ^ of all creatines ; and what remains let him give to
* the Pitris with his face toward the south :
92. ^ The share of dogs, of outcasts, of dog-feeders, ' of sinful men, punished with elephantiasis or con- ^ sumption, of crows, and of reptiles, let him drop ' on the ground by little and little.
93. ' A Brahmen, who thus each day shall honour ^ all beings, will go to the highest region in a straight ' path, in an irradiated form.
94. ' When he has performed his duty of making ' oblations^ let him cause his guest to take food be-
L * fore
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74 ON MARRIAGE; OR
CHAP. ^ fore himself; and let him give a portion of rice, as '"• ' the law ordains, to the mendicant who studies the ' VSda:
95- ^ Whatever fruit shall be obtained by that stu- ' dent, as the reward of his virtue, when he shall have ^ given a cow to hia precqitor, according to law, the "^ like reward to virtue shall be obtained by the twice-> ^ bom house-keeper, when he has given a mouthful ^ of rice to the religious mendicant.
96. ^ To a Brdhmen who knows the true principle
* of the Vidtty let him- present a portion of rice, or a ^ pot of water, gamiahed with fruit and flowers, due ^ ceremonies ' having preceded:
97. ^ Shares of oblations to the Gods, or to the ^ Manes, utteriy perish, when presented, through de* ^ lusion of mind, by men regardless of duty, to such ^ ignorant ^r&hmens as are mere ashes ;
98. ^ But an offering in the fire of a sacerdotal
* mouth, .which richly blazes with true knowledge and
* piety, will release the giver from distress, and even
* from deadly sin.
99. ^ To the guest who comes of his own accord,
* let him offer a seat and water, with such food as he ' is able to prepare, after the due rites of courtesy.
100. ^ A Brdhmen coming as a guest, and not re- ^ ceived with just honour, takes to himself all the ' reward of the house-keeper's former virtue, even ^ though he had been so temperate as to live on the
' gleanings
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^ gleanings of )iarrest8» and so {mocis as to make obla- chap. ^ tions in five distinct fires. ^^
101. ^ Grass and earth to sit on^ water to wash the * feet, and, fonrthly, affectionate speech are at no time ^ deficient in the mansions ci the good, although they ^ may be indigent.
102. ^ A BrdhmeUy staying but one night as a guest, ^ is called Ka^atifhi; since continuing so short a time, ^ he is not even a sojourner for a whole iifhiy or day ^ of the moon.
103. ^ The house-keeper must not consider as an
^ aiifhi a mere visitor of the same town, or a Brdh- ' ^ men, who attends him on business, even though he ^ come to the house where his wife dwells, and where ^ his fires are kindled.
104. ^ Should any house-keepers be so senseless, as ^ to seek, on pretence of being guests, the food of ^ others, they would fall after death, by reason of ^ that baseness, to the condition of cattle belcmging to ^ the giver of such food.
105. ^ No guest must be dismissed in the evening by ^ a house-keeper ; he is sent by the retiring sun ; and, ^ whether he come in fit season or unseasonably, he ' must not sojourn in the house without entertainment.
106. ^ Let not himself eat any delicate food, without ^ asldng his guest to partake of it : the satisfaction of
L 2 ^ a guest
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76 ON MARRIAGE; OR
CHAP. ^ a guest will assuredly brii^ the house-keeper wealthy ^^^' ^ reputation, long life, and a place in heaven.
107. ^ To the highest guests in the best for^l, to the ' lowest in the worst, to the equal, equally, let him ^ offer seats, resting places, couches; giving them * proportionable attendance, when they depart; and ^ honour, as long as they stay.
108. * Should another guest arrive, when the obla- ^ tion to all the Gods is concluded, for him also let ' the house-keeper prepare food, according to his abi- ^ lity ; but let him not repeat his offerings to animated ^ beings.
109. ' Let no Brahmen guest proclaim his family and ^ ancestry for the sake of an entertainment; since he, ' who thus proclaims them, is called by the wise a ^ vdntdsiy or foul-feeding demon.
110. ^ A military man is not denominated a guest in ^ the house of a Brahmen; nor a man of the com- ^ mercial or servile class; nor his familiar firiend; nor ^ his paternal kinsman; nor his prec^tor:
«
111. * But if a warriour come to his house in the
' form of a guest, let food be prepared for him, ac- ^ cording to his desire, after the before-mentioned ' Brahmens have eaten.
112. ^ Even to a merchant or a labours, approach- ^ ing his house in the manner of guests, let him give
' food.
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^ food, showing marks of benevolence at the same time chap.
* with his domesticks : ^^''
113. ^ To others, as familiar Mends, and the rest
* before-named, who come with aflFeetion to his place ' of abode, let him serve a repast at the same time ^ with his wife and himself y having amply provided it ' according to his best means.
114. ^ To a bride, and to a damsel, to the sick, and
* to pregnant women, let him give food, even before ^ his guests, without hesitation.
115. ^ The idiot, who j&rst eats his own mess, without ^ having presented food to the persons just enumerated,
* knows not, while he crams, that he will himself be ^ food after death for bandogs and vultures.
116. * After the repast of the Brdhmen guest, of his ^ kinsmen, and hh domesticks, the married couple may
^ eat what remains untouched. ^
117. ^ The house-keeper, having honoured spirits, ^ holy sages, men, progenitors^ and household gods, ' may feed on what remains after those oblations.
118. ^ He, who eats what has been dressed for him- ^ self only, eats nothing but sin: a repast on what ^ remains after the sacrament is called the banquet of
* the good.
119. ^ After a year from the reception of a visitor, ^ let the house-keeper again honour a king, a sacrificer, ^ a student returned from his preceptor, a son in-law,
' a fa-
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78 ON MAJmiAGE ; OR
CHAP. ^ a father-in-law, and a maternal uncle, with a madhu- III.
' percttj or present of honey ^ curds j and fruit.
120. ^ A king or a Br6hmen arriving at the celebra- ' tion of the sacrament^ are to be honoured with a ^ madhuperca ; but not, if the sacrament be over : this ^ is a settled rule.
12L ^ In the evening let the wife make an offering
' of the dressed food, but without pronouncing any
' text of the Feda: one oblation to the assembled
/ gods, thence named VaiswaddvUy is ordained both
' for evening and morning.
122. ^ From month to months on the dark day of ^ the moon, let a twice-born man, having finished the ' daily sacrament of the Pitrisy and his fire being still i blazing, perform the solemn srdddhay called pinddn- ' wAhdrya:
123. ^ Sages have distinguished the monthly srdddha ' by the title of anwdhdrya^ or after eaten^ that is, ^ eaten after the pinda, or ball of rice ; and it must be
* performed with extreme care, and with flesh-meat ^ in the best condition.
124. ^ What Brdhmens must be entertained at that
* ceremony, and who must be excepted, how many
* are to be fed, and with what sorts of food, on all ^ those articles, without omission, I will fully discourse.
125. * At the srdddha of the gods he may entertain ^ two Brdhmens ; at that of his father, paternal grand- ' father, and paternal great-grandfather, three; or one
* only
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^ only at that of the gods, and one at ,that for his chap. ^ three paternal ancestors: though he abound in ^^' ^ wealth, let him not be solicitous to entertain a large ^ company*
126. ^ A large company destroys these five advan- ^ tages; reverence to priests, propriety of tune and ^ place, purity, and the acquisition of virtuous Brdh-
* mens: let him not therefore, endeavour to feed a
* superfluous number.
. 127. ^ This act of due honour to departed souls, on ^ the dark day of the mocm, is famed by the appella- ' tion of pitryoy or ancestral : the legal ceremony, in ^ honour of departed spirits, rewards with continual ^ fruit, a man engaged in such obsequies.
128. ' Oblations to the gods and to ancestors should ' be given to a most reverend Brdhmen^ perfectly con- ' versant with the Vida; since what is given to him ' produces the gfeatest reward.
129. ^ By entertaining one learned man at the ob-
* lation to the gods and at that to ancestors, he gains ^ more exalted fruit than by feeding a multitude, who ' know not the holy texts.
130. ^ Let him inquire into the ancestry, even in a ^ remote degree, of a Brdhmen, who has advanced to ^ the end of the f^Sda : such a man, if sprung from good ^ men, is a fit partaker of oblations to gods and ' to ancestors; such a man may justly be called an ^ atifhiy or guest.
131. ' Surely,
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80 ON MARRIAGE; OR
CHAP. 131. ^ Surely, thougli a million of men, mileamed
^^^ ^ in holy texts, were to receive food, yet a single man,
^ learned in scripture, and fiilly satisfied with his en-
' tertainment, would be of more value than all of them
' together.
132. ^ Food^ consecrated to the gods and the manes, ^ must be presented to a theologian of eminent learn- ^ ing ; for certainly, when hands are smeared with
* blood, they cannot be cleaned with blood only, nor ^ can sin he removed hy the company of sinners.
133. ^ As many mouthfuls as an unlearned man shall ^ swallow at an oblation to the gods and to ancestors,
* so many redhot iron balls must the giver of the srdd-
* dha swallow in the next world.
134. ^ Some Brdhmens are intent on scriptural know- ^ ledge; others, on austere devotion; some are intent ' both on religious austerity and on the study of the ^ Veda; others on the performance of sacred rites:
135. * Oblations to the manes of ancestors ought to ' be placed with care before such as are intent on
* sacred learning: but oflFerings to the gods may be ^ presented, with due ceremonies, to Brdhmens of all ^ the four descriptions.
136. * There may be a Brdhm^tij whose father had ' not studied the scripture^ though the son has ad-
* vanced to the end of the Fikia; or there may be
* one, whose son has not read the FMa, though the ^ father had travelled to the end of it :
137. ' Of
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1^. ^ Of those two let mankind consider him as the CH ap. ' superiom*^ whose &ther had studied the scriptm-e, yet "^• ^ for the sake of performing rites with holy texts, the ^ other is worthy of honour.
138. ^ Let no man, at the prescribed obsequies^ give ^ food to an intimate friend^ since advantage to a Mend ^ must be procured by ^^ifts of different property : to ^ that Brdhmen let the performer of a srdddha give ^ food, whom he considers neither as a friend nor as * a foe-
139. ^ For him, whose obsequies and offerings of ^ clarified butter are provided chiefly through friend- ' ship, no fruit is reserved in the next life, on account ^ either of his obsequies or of his offerings.
140. ' The man, who, through delusion of intellect, ^ forms temporal connexions by obsequies, is excluded ^ from heavenly mansions, as a giver of the srdddha ^ for the sake of friendship, and the meanest of twice- ' bom men :
141. ' Such a convivial present, by men of the three ^ highest classes, is called the gift of Pisddhasy and ^ remains fixed here below, like a blind cow in one ' stall.
142. ^ As a husbandman, having sown seed in a ^ barren soil, reaps no grain, thus a performer of holy ^ rites, having given clarified butter to an unlearned ^ Brdhmeriy attains no reward in heaven;
143. ^ But a present made, as the law ordains, to a
M ' learned
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GHAP. ' learned theolo^an^ renders both the giver and the ' receiver partakers of good fruits in this world and in ' the next.
144. ' If no learned Brdhmen be at hand, he ^ may at ' his pleasure invite a firiend to. the srdddha^ but not a ^ foe, be he ever so learned ; since the oblation, being ' eaten by a foe, loses all fruit in the life to come.
145. ^ With great care let him give food at the srdd- ^ dha to a priest, who has gone through the scripture, ^ but has chiefly studied the Rigvdda ; to one, who has ^ read all the branches, but principally those of the ^ YajvLsh; or to one who has finished the whole, with ^ particular attention to the Sdman:
146. ^ Of that man whose oblation has been eaten, ' after due honours, by any one of those three Brdh- ' mens J the ancestors are constantly satisfied as* high ^ as the seventh person, or to the sixth degree.
147. ^ This is the chief rule in offering the srdddha ' to the gods and to ancestors ; but the following may
* be considered as a subsidiary rule, where no such
* learned* priests can he foundy and is ever observed ' by good men:
148. ^ Let hini entertain his maternal grandfather, his ' maternal uncle, the son of his sister, the father of his ' wife, his spiritual guide, the son of his daughter, or ^ her husband, his maternal cousin, his officiating ^ priest, or the performer of his sacrifice.
149. ^ For an oblation to the gods, let not the man,
^ who
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\dio knows wkait is law, scropuloiisly inquire into the chap. parentage of «i Bfdhmm; but for a prqiared oblation ^"* to ancestors let him examine it with strict care.
150. ^ Those BrAhmens^ who have committed any inferiour theft or any of the higher crimes, who are deprived of virility, or who profess a disbelief in a future state, Menu has pronounced unworthy of ho- nour at a srdddha to the gods or to ancrators.
151. ' To a student in theology, who has not read the VSdtty to a man punished far past crimes by being bom without a prepuce, to a gamester, and to such as perform many sacrifices for other men, let him never give food at the sacred obsequies.
152. ^ Physicians, image-worshippers for gain, sellers of meat, and such as live by low trafl&ck, must be i^unned in oblations both to the deities and to pro- genitors.
• 153. ^ A public servant of the whole town, or of the prince, a man with whitlows on his nails, or with black-yellow teeth, an opposer of his preceptor, a deserter of the sacred fire, and an usurer,
154. ' A phthisical man, a feeder of cattle, one omitting the five great sacraments, a contemner of BrdhmenSy a younger brother married before the elder, an elder brother not married before the younger, and a man who subsists by the wealth of many relations,
155. * A dancer, one who has violated the rule of ' diastity in the filrs^ or fourth order, the husband of a
M 2 ' SMrh,
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84 ON MARRIAGE; OR
CHAP. ^ Stidr&y the son of a twice-married woman^ a man who