by Bibek Debroy
Chapter 25
‘The son said, “Hearing his mother’s words, Alarka again asked his mother about the dharma of the varnas and the dharma of the ashramas. Alarka said, ‘O immensely fortunate one! You have spoken to me about what the kingdom should be based on. I wish to hear about the dharma of the varnas and the ashramas.’
‘“Madalasa replied, ‘There are three kinds of dharma for a brahmana—donations, studying and performing sacrifices. Except at the time of calamities, there isn’t a fourth dharma. O son! There are said to be three appropriate means for him to earn a living—officiating at sacrifices, teaching and accepting pure gifts. For a kshatriya, three kinds of dharma are spoken about—donations, studying and sacrifices. He must protect the earth and use weapons to earn a living. Donations, studying and sacrifices are the three also for a vaishya. He must earn his living through trade, animal husbandry and agriculture. I will describe the dharma of a shudra as three—donations, sacrifices and serving dvijas. He can earn a living through artisanship, serving and nurturing dvijas and buying and selling. Having spoken about the dharma of varnas, listen to that of ashramas. A man who pursues the dharma of his own varna and does not deviate, obtains success. If he acts in a prohibited way, after death, he goes to hell. O son! As long as a dvija’s sacred thread ceremony has not been held, he can act, speak or eat as he wishes. Once the sacred thread ceremony has been properly held, he must be a brahmachari in his guru’s household. I will speak about the dharma while he resides there. Listen. He must study himself, tend to the fire, bathe and always eat what has been obtained by begging, after offering it to him and taking his permission. He must always be ready to tend to his guru’s tasks and bring him pleasure. He must study when he has been summoned. His mind must be devoted to him and to no one else. From his guru’s mouth, he must completely obtain one or two Vedas. After obtaining his guru’s permission, he must offer him a good dakshina. If he so wishes, he can enter the ashrama of garhasthya. Alternatively, he may wish to proceed to vanaprastha ashrama or the fourth. 378 When one should reside in one’s guru’s house, if there is no guru, a dvija can reside in the house of the guru’s son. If there is no son, he can reside in the house of the guru’s disciple.
‘“‘Without any pride, after having served as a brahmachari in that ashrama, he may wish to enter the ashrama of garhasthya. For garhasthya ashrama, he must follow the rites and marry a woman who is his equal, but is not descended from the same rishi’s lineage. 379 She must be free from disease and must not be disabled of limb. Through riches earned through his own efforts, he must properly and faithfully satisfy ancestors, gods and guests and sustain those who are dependent on him. To the best of his capacity, he must give food to servants, sons, daughters, the distressed, outcastes, animals and birds. It is the dharma of a householder to have intercourse with his wife when she is in season. To the best of his capacity, he must perform the five sacrifices. 380 According to capacity, a man must himself eat what is left after gods, ancestors, guests and relatives have eaten. He must share his food equally with the servants. I have thus described garhasthya ashrama to you.
‘“I will now tell you about vanaprastha ashrama. Listen attentively. A wise person sees his children and grandchildren and the decay in his own body. To purify himself, he then leaves for vanaprastha ashrama. He brings benefit to himself by surviving on forest fare and performing austerities. He sleeps on the ground, observes brahmacharya and performs the rituals for gods, ancestors and guests. He offers oblations and bathes thrice a day. He has matted hair and wears garments made out of bark. He observes a vow of silence and uses oils available in the forest. In this way, he cleanses his sins and elevates himself. After vanaprastha ashrama, there is the ultimate one, where one becomes a mendicant. O son! Hear what great-souled ones, those who know about dharma, have said about the nature and dharma of this fourth ashrama. He must give up all kinds of association, practise brahmacharya and be devoid of anger. He must conquer his senses and not live in the same place for a long period of time. He must not engage in action and, once a day, eat what has been obtained through begging. By reflecting on the atman, he must obtain knowledge and understanding about the atman. I have spoken to you about the dharma of the fourth ashrama. Hear what all the varnas and ashramas must generally do. Truthfulness, purity, non-violence, lack of envy, forgiveness, desisting from cruelty, lack of miserliness and satisfaction—in brief, these are said to be the eight qualities that characterize the dharma of all the varnas and ashramas. This is the dharma that must always be followed. If a man faithfully observes the dharma of his own varna and ashrama, he goes to Brahma’s world and resides there for as long as fourteen Indras rule. 381 A lord of the earth must punish men who act in a contrary way. There are men who commit the sin of abandoning their own dharma. If a lord of men ignores them, he doesn’t do what is good for him and heads downwards. Therefore, a king must make efforts to ensure that all varnas follow their own dharma. By punishing those who act in a contrary way, he must establish them in their own tasks.’”’
Chapter 26
‘“Alarka asked, ‘What tasks must a man in garhasthya perform? Which acts cause him bondage and which lead to his liberation? What tasks must a virtuous householder avoid and which are the ones he should perform? Please tell me what I have asked you.’
‘“Madalasa replied, ‘O child! By resorting to garhasthya, a man nourishes the entire world and thereby earns the auspicious worlds for himself. Ancestors, sages, gods, creatures, man, worms, insects, flying insects, birds, animals and asuras sustain themselves on the householder and go to him for their satisfaction. They look towards his face. “Will he give, or will he not give?” O child! Everything depends on a cow that consists of the three Vedas. The entire universe is established in her and she is held to be the cause of the universe. The Rig Veda is her back, the Yajur Veda is her middle, the Sama Veda is her mouth, ishta and purta are her two horns, the sacred suktas are her body hair, shanti and pushti are her excrement and urine and the varnas are established in her feet. 382 The universe earns subsistence from her and she does not suffer from decay. O son! Her four udders are the sounds of svaha, svadha, vashatkara and hantakara. 383 The gods suck on the udder that has the sound of svaha, the ancestors the udder that has the sound of svadha. The sages suck the udder of vashatkara. Inferior gods, asuras and men always suck the udder of hantakara. Thus, in the form of the three Vedas, the cow nourishes gods and others. O child! These four types are nourished by these four udders. If a man does not engage them at the right time, he dishonours the cow. A man should use her to satisfy gods and all the others. A person who does not do this causes their destruction and commits a grave sin. He is submerged in the darkness of tamisra and andha-tamisra. 384 The immortals and others are this cow’s calves. Therefore, if a man makes them suck at the right time, he attains heaven. O son! Hence, just as he nourishes his own body, every day, a man must tend to gods, rishis, ancestors, other men and other creatures. He must bathe and purify himself. At the right time, he must control himself and offer oblations to gods, rishis, ancestors and Prajapati. A man must worship the gods with sandalwood, fragrances and incense. He must tender oblations into the fire. Offerings to Brahma and the Vishvadevas will be rendered in the middle of the house. Those for Dhanvantari will be rendered towards the north-east. Offerings for Shakra will be rendered towards the east and those for Yama towards the south. Offerings for Varuna will be rendered towards the west and those for Soma towards the north. Offerings for Dhatri and Vidhatri will be placed at the door of the house. 385 In every direction, offerings for Aryama 386 will be spread outside the house. Offerings for ghosts 387 and those who roam in the night will be scattered in the air. Those for the ancestors will be rendered while facing the south. After this, the householder will control his mind and gather up water for their achamaniya. For different gods, a wise person will cast this in different directions. Having thus rendered the offerings in the house, the householder must purify himse
lf and affectionately welcome all the other creatures. That for dogs, shvapachas and birds must be placed on the ground. In the name of the Vishvadevas, this must be done in the morning and in the evening. After having done this, a wise person must rinse his mouth and glance towards the door. He must wait for the eighth part of a muhurta, in case there is a guest. 388 When a guest arrives, to the best of one’s capacity, he must be honoured with food, water, fragrances, flowers and other things. A friend must not be accepted as a guest, nor someone who resides in the same village. If a brahmana arrives at that time, hungry and exhausted, and seeks, even if his lineage and name are unknown, he is spoken of as an atithi. The learned worship him, to the best of their capacity. A learned person does not ask about his gotra or conduct, or about how much he has studied. He is not concerned with whether his form is agreeable or disagreeable, but thinks of him as Prajapati. Since he remains there temporarily, he is spoken of as atithi. When he is satisfied, the householder is freed from the debt of nriyajna. 389 If a man eats himself, without having offered food to the guest, he commits a sin and because of the sin, in the next birth, survives only on excrement. If a guest leaves a house without being satisfied, he takes away all the householder’s good merits when he departs and leaves the householder with his bad merits. To the best of his capacity, a man must honour a guest with water, vegetables and whatever else he himself eats. A shraddha ceremony must always be performed with food and water rendered in the name of the ancestors. One or more brahmanas must be fed. The first portion of the food must be offered to the brahmana. Alms must be offered to mendicants and brahmacharis. The best among brahmanas say that one mouthful is known as bhiksha, four mouthfuls are known as agra and four agras are known as hanta. Depending on one’s capacity, one must offer bhiksha, agra or hanta before eating oneself. After the guests have been honoured, beloved kin, relatives, those who ask for help, the disabled, children, the aged and the afflicted must be fed. There are also others who possess nothing and hungry, desire help. Depending on one’s capacity, relatives must be fed. Having approached a prosperous relative, if a person continues to suffer, that suffering is a sin inflicted on the prosperous relative. In the evening, a guest must be treated in exactly the same way. According to one’s capacity, he must be honoured with a bed, a seat and food. O son! This is said to be how a householder bears on his shoulders the burden. Vidhatri, the gods, maharshis, guests and relatives shower their benedictions on him. Larger animals, smaller animals, birds, small insects and others are gratified. O immensely fortunate one! In this connection, Atri himself sang a chant about garhasthya ashrama. O immensely fortunate one! Listen. “According to capacity, a householder must honour gods, ancestors, guests, relatives, female relatives and preceptors. Food must be placed on the ground for dogs, shvapachas and birds. In the name of the Vishvadevas, this must be done in the morning and in the evening. Without offering these in the recommended way, a householder must not himself eat flesh, grains, vegetables, or whatever else exists in the house.”’”’
Chapter 27
‘“Madalasa continued, ‘O son! A householder has three kinds of tasks—nitya, naimittika and nitya-naimittika. 390 I have already spoken to you about the five nitya sacrifices. The rites connected with a son’s birth and other similar things are naimittika. 391 The learned know rites performed on parva days 392 and shraddhas as nitya-naimittika. Let me speak to you about naimittika and shraddhas. Just as men perform jatakarma at the time of a son’s birth, vivaha and all the others must also be observed in the due order. The ancestors known as Nandimukha must be worshipped. 393 The person performing the sacrifice must seat himself, facing the north or the east and offer a pinda made out of barley mixed with curds. Some men wish to perform this without the Vishvadevas. 394 In this ceremony, brahmanas must be circumambulated and worshipped in pairs. When one has aged, there is another naimittika rite and this is ourdhvadehika. 395 I will tell you about what must be done on the day of death. Listen to it. This funeral rite must be performed without invoking the gods and without purifying anything. There will be no invoking of the fire or offering oblations to it. Near the dead body, a single pinda will be offered to the deceased person. To the right of this, some sesamum mixed with water must be offered, saying, “This is in so and so’s memory. May he never decay. May he find delight in this.” This is done when the brahmana leaves. 396 Men must do this every month, for an entire year. When the entire year is over, it is decreed that the sapindikarana rite must be performed. This ourdhvadehika ceremony is also done without invoking the gods and without purifying anything. There is no kindling or extinguishing of the fire. To the right, a single brahmana must be fed. In addition, if one wishes to do something special, one performs this rite every month. I will tell you about it. Listen to me with single-minded attention. There must be four vessels, filled with sesamum mixed with water. O son! Three of these are for the ancestors and one is for the deceased person. The offering must be sprinkled on the three vessels and the vessel meant for the deceased person. The ceremony is concluded by chanting “ye samana”. 397 Funeral rites have also been laid down for women. However, if they do not have sons, sapindikarana cannot be undertaken for them. For women, men must perform the ceremony every year and as in the case of men, the rite must also be performed on the day of her death. In the absence of a son, a sapinda can perform the rite. 398 If there is no sapinda, a sahodaka can undertake the rite. 399 If there is no son, the rites can be properly undertaken by a daughter’s son. A daughter’s son can also perform the ceremony for a maternal grandfather. When it is performed for a maternal grandfather or a paternal grandfather, it is known as dvyamushyayana. Following the rites, they 400 must be worshipped through a naimittika funeral ceremony. If there is no one else, women can perform the rite for their husbands, but without the use of mantras. If they are also not there, the king must ensure that all the rites are properly undertaken by men of the same class. The king is a relative of all the varnas. O child! I have thus spoken to you about nitya and naimittika rites. Now hear about the funeral rites that are nitya-naimittika. When the moon wanes, that time is known as darsha. 401 But since this also indicates its permanence, this is the time for such a rite.’”’
Chapter 28
‘“Madalasa said, ‘O son! A father’s great-grandfather is not entitled to the funeral rite of sapindikarana and to pindas offered to ancestors. He can only feed on the lepa. 402 O son! Anyone else, who is fourth step onwards, has to feed on the food of lepa. There is no longer any link and this is the only kind of enjoyment possible. It is known that there are three kinds of men who are linked through the pinda—the father, the grandfather and the great-grandfather. The others, the grandfather’s grandfather downwards, are linked through lepa. Including these three generations, the person performing the ceremony is the seventh in the line. The sages have thus laid down the connection for these seven generations. Those who are further up from the person performing the ceremony enjoy anulepa. 403 There are other ancestors who are in heaven or residents in hell. Some have been born as creatures, as inferior species. The person performing the ceremony must follow the recommended rites and satisfy all of them through the shraddha. O son! Hear about this. When men place food down on the ground, those who have become pishachas are satisfied through this. O son! When a garment is wrung after taking a bath, the drops that fall on the ground satisfy those who have become trees. When drops of water from the body fall down on the ground, this satisfies those who have become gods. When a pinda is raised, the particles that fall down on the ground satisfy those who have been born as inferior species. There may be children in the lineage. Though they deserved to have rites performed for them, they were cremated without being thus purified. They are suffering and are satisfied from the food and water scattered during sweeping. After eating, brahmanas rinse their mouths with water. Others obtain satisfaction from this, or from the water used for washing their feet. Those who have become pishachas and those who have become worms and in
sects are thus satisfied, in the respective lineages they have been born in, through what the person performing the sacrifice does, or through what brahmanas do, through the sprinkling of food or water, pure or impure. 404 They are satisfied when the shraddha is properly performed. There are men who undertake shraddha ceremonies with wealth earned by other people. This satisfies those who have been born as chandalas or pulkasas. O son! In this way, many relatives are satisfied, even from the food, water and vegetables of shraddha ceremonies. Therefore, a man must faithfully undertake a shraddha ceremony to the best of his capacity, even with vegetables. If the required shraddha ceremony is undertaken, no one in the lineage suffers.
