"'Yudhishthira said, "I desire thee, O grandsire, to tell me what the
ordinances are that have been laid down by the acts touching the deities
and the (deceased) ancestors on occasions of Sraddhas."
"'Bhishma said, "Having purified oneself (by baths and other purificatory
acts) and then going through the well-known auspicious rites, one should
carefully do all acts relating to the deities in the forenoon, and all
acts relating to the Pitris in the afternoon. What is given to men should
be given in the midday with affection and regard. That gift which is made
untimely is appropriated by Rakshasas.[211] Gifts of articles that have
been leapt over by any one, or been licked or sucked, that are not given
peacefully, that have been seen by women that are impure in consequence
of their season having come, do not produce any merit. Such gifts are
regarded as the portion belonging to the Rakshasas. Gifts of articles
that have been proclaimed before many people or from which a portion has
been eaten by a Sudra, or that have been seen or licked by a dog, form
portions of Rakshasas. Food which is mixed with hair or in which there
are worms, or which has been stained with spittle or saliva or which has
been gazed at by a dog or into which tear-drops have fallen or which has
been trodden upon should be known as forming the portion of Rakshasas.
Food that has been eaten by a person incompetent to utter the syllable
Om, or that has been eaten by a person bearing arms, O Bharata, or that
has been eaten by a wicked person should be known to form the portion of
Rakshasas.[212] The food that is eaten by a person from which a portion
has already been eaten by another, or which is eaten without a part
thereof having been offered to deities and guests and children, is
appropriated by Rakshasas. Such stained food, if offered to the deities
and Pitris is never accepted by them but is appropriated by Rakshasas.
The food offered by the three regenerate classes in Sraddhas, in which
Mantras are either not uttered or uttered incorrectly and in which the
ordinances laid down in the scriptures are not complied with, if
distributed to guests and other people, is appropriated by Rakshasas. The
food that is distributed to guests without having been previously
dedicated to the deities or the Pitris with the aid of libation on the
sacred fire, which has been stained in consequence of a portion thereof
having been eaten by a person that is wicked or of irreligious behaviour,
should be known to form the portion of Rakshasas.
"'"I have told thee what the portions are of the Rakshasas. Listen now to
me as I lay down the rules for ascertaining who the Brahmana is that is
deserving of gift.[213] All Brahmanas that have been outcasted (on
account of the commission of heinous sins), as also Brahmanas that are
idiots and out of mind, do not deserve to be invited to Sraddhas in which
offerings are made to either the deities or the Pitris. That Brahmana who
is afflicted with leucoderma, or he that is destitute of virility, or he
that has got leprosy, or he that has got phthisis or he that is labouring
under epilepsy (with delusions of the sensorium), or he that is blind,
should not, O king, be invited.[214] Those Brahmanas that practise the
calling of physicians, those that receive regular pay for worshipping the
images of deities established by the rich, or live upon the service of
the deities, those that are observant of vows from pride or other false
motives, and those that sell Soma, do not deserve to be invited. Those
Brahmanas that are, by profession, vocalists, or dancers or players or
instrumental musicians, or reciters of sacred books, or warriors and
athletes, do not, O king, deserve to be invited. Those Brahmanas who pour
libations on the sacred fire for Sudras, or who are preceptors of Sudras,
or who are servants of Sudra masters, do not deserve to be invited. That
Brahmana who is paid for his services as preceptor, or who attends as
pupil upon the lectures of some preceptor because of some allowance that
is granted to him, does not deserve to be invited, for both of them are
regarded as sellers of Vedic lore. That Brahmana who has been once
induced to accept the gift of food in a Sraddha at the very outset, as
also he who has married a Sudra wife, even if possessed of every kind of
knowledge do not deserve to be invited.[215] Those Brahmanas that are
destitute of their domestic fire, and they that attend upon corpses, they
that are thieves, and they that have otherwise fallen away do not, O
king, deserve to be invited.[216] Those Brahmanas whose antecedents are
not known or are vile, and they that are Putrika-putras, do not, O king,
deserve to be invited on occasions of Sraddhas.[217] That Brahmana who
gives loans of money, or he who subsists upon the interest of the loans
given by him, or he who lives by sale of living creatures, does not
deserve, O king, to be invited. Persons who have been subjugated by their
wives, or they who live by becoming the paramours of unchaste women, or
they who abstain from their morning and evening prayers do not deserve, O
king, to be invited to Sraddhas.
"'"Listen now to me as I mention who the Brahmana is that has been
ordained for acts done in honour of the deities and the Pitris. Indeed, I
shall tell thee what those merits are in consequence of which one may
become a giver or a recipient of gifts in Sraddhas (notwithstanding the
faults mentioned above).[218] Those Brahmanas that are observant of the
rites and ceremonies laid down in the scriptures, or they that are
possessed of merit, or they that are conversant with the Gayatri, or they
that are observant of the ordinary duties of Brahmanas, even if they
happen to betake themselves to agriculture for a living, are capable, O
king, of being invited to Sraddhas. If a Brahmana happens to be wellborn,
he deserves to be invited to Sraddhas notwithstanding his profession of
arms for fighting the battle of others.[219] That Brahmana, however, O
son, who happens to betake himself to trade for a living should be
discarded (even if possessed of merit). The Brahmana who pours libations
every day on the sacred fire, or who resides in a fixed habitation, who
is not a thief and who does the duties of hospitality to guests arrived
at his house, deserves, O king, to be invited to Sraddhas. The Brahmana,
O chief of Bharata's race, who recites the Savitri morning, noon, and
night, or who subsists upon eleemosynary charity, who is observant of the
rites and ceremonies laid down in the scriptures for persons of his
order, deserves, O king, to be invited to Sraddhas.[220] That Brahmana
who having earned wealth in the morning becomes poor in the afternoon, or
who poor in the morning becomes wealthy in the evening or who is
destitute of malice, or is stained by a minor fault, deserves, O king, to
be invited to Sraddhas. That Brahmana who is destitute of pride or sin,
who is not given to dry disputation, or who subsists upon alms obtained
in his rounds of mendicancy from house to house deserves, O king, to be
invited to sacrifices. One who is not observant of vows, or who is
addicted to falsehood (in both speech and conduct), who is a thief, or
who subsists by the sale of living creatures or by trade in general,
becomes worthy of invitation to Sraddhas, O king, if he happens to offer
all to the deities first and subsequently drink Soma. That man who having
acquired wealth by foul or cruel means subsequently spends it in adoring
the deities and discharging the duties of hospitality, becomes worthy, O
king, of being invited to Sraddhas. The wealth that one has acquired by
the sale of Vedic lore, or which has been earned by a woman, or which has
been gained by meanness (such as giving false evidence in a court of
law), should never be given to Brahmanas or spent in making offerings to
the Pitris. That Brahmana, O chief of Bharata's race, who upon the
completion of a Sraddha that is performed with his aid, refuses to utter
the words 'astu swadha,' incurs the sin of swearing falsely in a suit for
land.[221] The time for performing Sraddha, O Yudhishthira, is that when
one obtains a good Brahmana and curds and ghee and the sacred day of the
new moon, and the meat of wild animals such as deer and others.[222] Upon
the completion of a Sraddha performed by a Brahmana the word Swadha
should be uttered. If performed by a Kshatriya the words that should be
uttered are--Let thy Pitris be gratified.--Upon the completion of a
Sraddha performed by a Vaisya, O Bharata, the words that should be
uttered are--Let everything become inexhaustible.--Similarly, upon the
conclusion of a Sraddha performed by a Sudra, the word that should be
uttered is Swasti,--In respect of a Brahmana, the declaration regarding
Punyaham should be accompanied with the utterance of the syllable Om. In
the case of a Kshatriya, such declaration should be without the utterance
of syllable Om. In the rites performed by a Vaisya, the words that should
be uttered, instead of being the syllable Om, are,--Let the deities be
gratified.[223]--Listen now to me as I tell thee the rites that should be
performed, one after another, conformably to the ordinances, (in respect
of all the orders). All the rites that go by the name of Jatakarma, O
Bharata, are indispensable in the case of all the three orders (that are
regenerate). All these rites, O Yudhishthira, in the case of both
Brahmanas and Kshatriyas as also in that of Vaisyas are to be performed
with the aid of mantras. The girdle of a Brahmana should be made of Munja
grass. That for one belonging to the royal order should be a bowstring.
The Vaisya's girdle should be made of the Valwaji grass. Even this is
what has been laid down in the scriptures. Listen now to me as I expound
to thee what constitutes the merits and faults of both givers and
recipients of gifts. A Brahmana becomes guilty of a dereliction of duty
by uttering a falsehood. Such an act on his part is sinful. A Kshatriya
incurs four times and a Vaisya eight times the sin that a Brahmana incurs
by uttering a falsehood. A Brahmana should not eat elsewhere, having been
previously invited by a Brahmana. By eating at the house of the person
whose invitation has been posterior in point of time, he becomes inferior
and even incurs the sin that attaches to the slaughter of an animal on
occasions other than those of sacrifices.[224] So also, if he eats
elsewhere after having been invited by a person of the royal order or a
Vaisya, he falls away from his position and incurs half the sin that
attaches to the slaughter of an animal on occasions other than those of
sacrifices. That Brahmana, O king, who eats on occasions of such rites as
are performed in honour of the deities or the Pitris by Brahmanas and
Kshatriyas and Vaisyas, without having performed his ablutions, incurs
the sin of uttering an untruth for a cow. That Brahmana, O king, who eats
on occasions of similar rites performed by persons belonging to the three
higher orders, at a time when he is impure in consequence either of a
birth or a death among his cognates, through temptation, knowing well
that he is impure incurs the same sin.[225] He who lives upon wealth
obtained under false pretences like that of sojourns to sacred places or
who solicits the giver for wealth pretending that he would spend it in
religious acts, incurs, O monarch, the sin of uttering a falsehood.[226]
That person, belonging to any of the three higher orders, O Yudhishthira,
who at Sraddhas and on other occasions distributes food with the aid of
Mantras, unto such Brahmanas as do not study the Vedas and as are not
observant of vows, or as have not purified their conduct, certainly
incurs sin."
"'Yudhishthira said,--"I desire, O grandsire, to know by giving unto whom
the things dedicated to the deities and the Pitris, one may earn the
amplest rewards."
"'Bhishma said,--"Do thou, Yudhishthira, feed those Brahmanas whose
spouses reverently wait for the remnants of the dishes of their husbands
like tillers of the soil waiting in reverence for timely showers of rain.
One earns great merit by making gifts unto those Brahmanas that are always
observant of pure conduct, O king, that are emaciated through abstention
from all luxuries and even full meals, that are devoted to the
observances of such vows as lead to the emaciation of the body, and that
approach givers with the desire of obtaining gifts. By making gifts unto
such Brahmanas as regard conduct in this light of food, as regard conduct
in the light of spouses and children, as regard conduct in the light of
strength, as regard conduct in the light of their refuge for crossing
this world and attaining to felicity in the next, and as solicit wealth
only when wealth is absolutely needed, one earns great merit. By making
gifts unto those persons, O Yudhishthira, that having lost everything
through thieves or oppressors, approach the giver, one acquires great
merit.[227] By making gifts unto such Brahmanas as solicit food from the
hands of even a poor person of their order who has just got something
from others, one earns great merit. By making gifts unto such Brahmanas
as have lost their all in times of universal distress and as have been
deprived of their spouses on such occasions, and as come to givers with
solicitations for alms, one acquires great merit. By making gifts unto
such Brahmanas as are observant of vows, and as place themselves
voluntarily under painful rules and regulations, as are respectful in
their conduct to the declaration laid down in the Vedas, and as come to
solicit wealth for spending it upon the rites necessary to complete their
vows and other observances, one earns great merit. By making gifts unto
such Brahmanas as live at a great distance from the practices that are
observed by the sinful and the wicked, as are destitute of strength for
want of adequate support, and as are very poor in earthly possessions,
one earns great merit. By making gifts unto such Brahmanas as have been
robbed of all their possessions by powerful men but as are perfectly
innocent, and as desire to fill their stomachs any how without, that is,
any scruples respecting the quality of the food they take, one earns
great merit. By making gifts unto such Brahmanas as beg on behalf of
others that are observant of penances and devoted to them and as are
satisfied with even small gifts, one earns great merit. Thou hast now, O
bull of Bharata's race, heard what the declarations are of the scriptures
in respect of the acquisition of great merit by the making of gifts.
Listen now to me as I expound what those acts are that lead to hell or
heaven. They, O Yudhishthira, that speak an untruth on occasions other
than those when such untruth is needed for serving the purpose of the
preceptor or for giving the assurance of safety to a person in fear of
his life, sink into hell[228]. They who ravish other people's spouses, or
have sexual congress with them, or assist at such acts of delinquency,
sink in hell. They who rob others of their wealth or destroy the wealth
and possessions of other people, or proclaim the faults of other people,
sink in hell. They who destroy the containers of such pieces of water as
are used by cattle for quenching thirst, as injure such buildings as are
used for purposes of public meetings, as break down bridges and
causeways, and as pull down houses used for purposes of habitation, have
to sink to hell. They who beguile and cheat helpless women, or girls, or
aged dames, or such women as have been frightened, have to sink to hell.
They who destroy the means of other people's living, they who exterminate
the habitations of other people, they who rob others of their spouses,
they who sow dissensions among friends, and they who destroy the hopes of
other people, sink into hell. They who proclaim the faults of others,
they who break down bridges or causeways, they who live by following
vocations laid down for other people, and they who are ungrateful to
friends for services received, have to sink in hell. They who have no
faith in the Vedas and show no reverence for them, they who break the
vows made by themselves or oblige others to break them, and they who fall
away from their status through sin, sink in hell. They who betake
themselves to improper conduct, they who take exorbitant rates of
interest, and they who make unduly large profits on sales, have to sink
in hell. They who are given to gambling, they who indulge in wicked acts
without any scruple, and they who are given to slaughter of living
creatures, have to sink in hell. They who cause the dismissal by masters
of servants that are hoping for rewards or are expectant of definite need
or are in the enjoyment of wages or salaries or are waiting for returns
in respect of valuable services already rendered, have to sink in hell.
They who themselves eat without offering portions thereof unto their
spouse or their sacred fires or their servants or their guests, and they
who abstain from performing the rites laid down in the scriptures for
honouring the Pitris and deities, have to sink in hell. They who sell the
Vedas, they who find fault with the Vedas, and they who reduce the Vedas
into writing, have all to sink in hell.[229] They who are out of the pale
of the four well-known modes of life, they who betake themselves to
practices interdicted by the Srutis and the scriptures, and they who live
by betaking themselves to acts that are wicked or sinful or that do not
belong to their order of birth, have to sink in hell. They who live by
selling hair, they who subsist by selling poisons, and they who live by
selling milk, have to sink in hell. They who put obstacles in the path of
Brahmanas and kine and maidens, O Yudhishthira, have to sink in hell.
They who sell weapons, they who forge weapons, they who make shafts, and
they who make bows, have to sink in hell. They who obstruct paths and
roads with stones and thorns and holes have to sink in hell. They who
abandon and cast off preceptors and servants and loyal followers without
any offence, O chief of Bharata's race, have to sink in hell. They who
set bullocks to work before the animals attain to sufficient age, they
who bore the noses of bullocks and other animals for controlling them the
better while employed in work, and they who keep animals always tethered,
have to sink in hell. Those kings that do not protect their subjects
while forcibly taking from them a sixth share of the produce of their
fields, and they who, though able and possessed of resources, abstain
from making gifts, have to sink in hell. They who abandon and cast off
persons that are endued with forgiveness and self-restraint and wisdom,
or those with whom they have associated for many years, when these are no
longer of services to them, have to sink in hell. Those men who
themselves eat without giving portions of the food to children and aged
men and servants, have to sink in hell.
"'"All these men enumerated above have to go to hell. Listen now to me, O
bull of Bharata's race, as I tell thee who those men are that ascend to
heaven. The man who transgresses against a Brahmana by impeding the
performances of all such acts in which the deities are adored, becomes
afflicted with the loss of all his children and animals. (They who do not
transgress against Brahmanas by obstructing their religious acts ascend
to heaven). Those men, O Yudhishthira, who follow the duties as laid down
in the scriptures for them and practise the virtues of charity and
self-restraint and truthfulness, ascend to heaven. Those men who having
acquired knowledge by rendering obedient services to their preceptors and
observing austere penances, become reluctant to accept gifts, succeed in
ascending to heaven. Those men through whom other people are relieved and
rescued from fear and sin and the impediments that lie in the way of what
they wish to accomplish and poverty and the afflictions of disease,
succeed in ascending to heaven. Those men who are endued with a forgiving
disposition, who are possessed of patience, who are prompt in performing
all righteous acts, and who are of auspicious conduct, succeed in
ascending to heaven. Those men who abstain from honey and meat, who
abstain from sexual congress with the spouses of other people, and who
abstain from wines and spirituous liquors, succeed in ascending to
heaven. Those men that help in the establishment of retreats for
ascetics, who become founders of families, O Bharata, who open up new
countries for purposes of habitation, and lay out towns and cities
succeed in ascending to heaven. Those men who give away cloths and
ornaments, as also food and drink, and who help in marrying others,
succeed in ascending to heaven.[230] Those men that have abstained from
all kinds of injury or harm to all creatures, who are capable of enduring
everything, and who have made themselves the refuge of all creatures,
succeed in ascending to heaven. Those men who wait with humility upon
their fathers and mothers, who have subjugated their senses, and who are
affectionate towards their brothers, succeed in ascending to heaven.
Those men that subjugate their senses notwithstanding the fact of their
being rich in worldly goods and strong in might and in the enjoyment of
youth, succeed in ascending to heaven. Those men that are kind towards
even those that offend against them, that are mild of disposition, that
have an affection for all who are of mild behaviour, and that contribute
to the happiness of others by rendering them every kind of service in
humility, succeed in ascending to heaven. Those men that protect
thousands of people, that make gifts unto thousands of people, and that
rescue thousands of people from distress, succeed in ascending to heaven.
Those men who make gifts of gold and of kine, O chief of Bharata's race,
as also those of conveyances and animals, succeed in ascending to heaven.
Those men who make gifts of such articles as are needed in marriages, as
also those of serving men and maids, and cloths and robes, succeed in
ascending to heaven[231]. Those men who make public pleasure-houses and
gardens and wells, resting houses and buildings for public meetings and
tanks for enabling cattle and men to quench their thirst, and fields for
cultivation, O Bharata, succeed in ascending to heaven.[232] Those men
who make gifts of houses and fields and populated villages unto persons
that solicit them, succeed in ascending to heaven. Those men who having
themselves manufactured juicy drinks of sweet taste and seeds and paddy
or rice, make gifts of them unto others succeed in ascending to heaven.
Those men who being born in families high or low beget hundreds of
children and live long lives practising compassion and keeping wrath
under complete subjection, succeed in ascending to heaven. I have thus
expounded to thee, O Bharata, what the rites are in honour of the deities
and the Pitris which are performed by people for the sake of the other
world, what the ordinances are in respect of making gifts, and what the
views are of the Rishis of former times in respect of both the articles
of gift and the manner of giving them."'"