Anushasanika Parva — The rites for the deities and departed manes on the occasion of the Shraddhas

Yudhishthira said I wish you, O grandfather to tell me what the ordinances about the rites for the deities and the departed manes on occasions of Shraddhas.

Bhishma said Having purified oneself and then performed the well known auspicious rites, one should carefully perform all acts relating to the Pitris in the afternoon.

What is given to men should be given in the midday with love and regard. That gifts which is made untimely is taken by Rakshasas.

Gifts of articles that have been leapt over by any one, or been licked or sucked, or are not given peacefully, or have been seen by women who are impure for being in their season do not produce any merit. Such gifts are considered as the portions of Rakshasas.

Gifts of articles that have been announced before many people or from which a part has been eaten by a Shudra 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 spoiled with spittle or saliva or which has been looked at by a dog or into which teardrops have fallen or which has been trodden upon, should be known as forming the part 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 caten by a wicked person, should be known as due to Rakshasas.

The food that is caten by a person from which a part has already been extent by another, or which is eaten without a part thereof having been offered to gods and guests and children, is appropriated by Rakshasas. Such impure food, if offered to the deities and Pitris is never accepted by them but is appropriated by Rakshasas.

The food that is offered by the three twice born classes in Shraddhas in which Mantras are either not uttered or uttered incorrectly and in which the ordinances laid down in the scriptures are not duly performed, if given to guests and other people, is appropriated by Rakshasas.

The food that is given to guests without having been previously dedicated to the deities or the Pitris with the help of libations on the sacred fire, or which has been sullied on account of a part thereof having been eaten by a person who is wicked or of irreligious conduct, should be known as being due to Rakshasas.

I have described to you the dues of the Rakshasas. Listen now to me as I put down the rules for determining the Brahmana who is worthy of gifts.

All Brahmanas that have been outcasted, as also Brahmanas who are idiots and insane, do not deserve to be invited to Shraddhas in which offerings are made to either the deities or the departed manes.

That Brahmanas who is afflicted with leucoderina, or he who is shorn of generative power, or he who has got leprosy, or he who has got phthisis, or he who suffers from epilepsy, or he who is blind, should not O king, be invited.

Those Brahinana who practise as physicians, those who get regular pay for adoring the images of gods established by the rich or live upon the service of the gods, those who observe vows from pride or other false motives and those who sell Soma wine, do not deserve to be invited.

Those Brahmanas who are by profession, vocalists, or dancers or players or instrumental musicians, or reciters of sacred books, or warriors and athletes, should not, O king be invited.

Those Brahmanas who pour libations on the sacred fire for Shudras or who are preceptors of Shudras, or who are servant of Shudra masters, should not be invited.

That Brahmana who is paid for his services as a preceptor or who attends as a pupil upon the lectures of some preceptor for an allowance paid to him, does not deserve to be invited, for both of thein are considered as sellers of Vedic learning.

That Brahmana who has been once induced to accept the gift of food in a Shraddha at the very beginning, as also he who has married a Shudra wife, even if gifted with every sort of knowledge, should not be invited.

Those Brahmanas who have no domestic fire, and they who attend upon corpses, they who are thieves, and they who have otherwise degraded themselves, do not o king, deserve to be invited.

Those Brahmanas whose antecedents are not known or are vile, and they who are Putrika-putras, should not, O king, be invited on occasions of Shraddhas.

That Brahmana who gives loans of money, or he who lives upon the interest of the loans given by him, or he who lives by the sale of living creatures, should not, O king, be invited.

Persons who are henpecked or they who live by becoming the paramours of unchaste women, or they who do not perform their morning and evening prayers, should not, O king, be invited to Shraddhas.

Listen now to me as I say who the Brahmava is who has been ordained for acts done in honour of the gods and the departed manes. Indeed, I shall tell you what those merits are on account of which one may become a giver or a recipient of gifts in Shraddhas.

Those Brahmanas who perform the rites and ceremonies laid down in the scriptures, or they who are possessed of merit, or they who know well the Gayatri, or they who perform the ordinary duties of Brahmanas, even if they happen to take lo agriculture for a living, are capable, O king, of being invited to Shraddhas.

If a Brahmana happens to be well born, he should be invited to Shraddhas notwithstanding his taking up arms for fighting the battles of others. That Brahmana however O son, who happens lo drive a trade for a living should be discarded.

That Brahmana who pours libations every day on the sacred fire, or who lives in a fixed habitation, who is not a thief and who performs the duties of hospitality to guests arrived at his house, should O king, be invited to Shraddhas.

That Brahmana, O chief of Bharata's race, who recites the Savitri morning, noon and night or who lives upon charity begging as much as is necessary, who is observant of the rites and ceremonies laid down in the scriptures for persons of his order, should, O king, be invited to Shraddhas.

That Brahmana who having acquired riches in the morning becomes poor in the afternoon, or who poor in the morning becomes rich in the evening, or who is shorn of inalice or is stained by a minor faulty should, O king, be invited to Shraddhas.

That Brahmana who is shorn of pride or sin, who is not given to dry disputation, or who lives upon alms got in his rounds of mendicancy from house to house; should, O king, be invited to sacrifices.

One who does not observe vows or who is given to untruth, who is a theif, or who lives by the sale of living creatures or by trade in general, should be invited to Shraddhas, ) king, if he happen to subsequently drink Soma in a sacrifice.

That man who having acquired riches by foul or cruel means subsequently spends it in worshipping the gods and performing the duties of hospitality, becomes worthy, O king, of being invited to Shraddhas.

The riches that one has acquired by the sale of Vedic learning, or which has been acquired by a woman, or which has been gamed by meanness, should never be given to Brahmanas or spent in making offerings to the departed manes.

That Brahmana, O chief of Bharata's race, who upon the completion of a Shraddha that is performed with his help, refuses to utter the words yukta, commits the sin of swearing falsely in a suit for land.

The time for celebrating the Shraddha, O Yudhishthira, is that when one gets a good Brahmana and curds and clarified butter and the sacred day of the new moon and the meat of wild animals such as deer and others.

Upon the termination of a Shraddha performed by a Brahmana the word Svadha should be uttered. If performed by a Kshatriya the words that should be uttered are Let your departed manes be pleased.

Upon the completion of Shraddha performed by a Vaishya, O Bharata, the word that should be uttered are; Let everything become endless! Likewise upon the completion of a Shraddha performed by a Shudra, the word that should be uttered is Svasti As regards a Brahmana, the Punyaham declaration should be accompanied with the utterance of the syllable Om. In the case of a Kshatriya, such declaration should be without the utterance of the syllable Om. In the acts performed by a Vaishya the words, instead of the syllable Om. should be Let the gods be pleased. Listen now to me as I tell you the rites that should be performed, one after another, as given in the ordinances.

All the rites consequent upon birth, O Bharata, are necessary in the case of all the three castes. All these rites, O Yudhishthira, in the case of both Brahmanas and Kshatriyas as also in that of Vaishyas, are to be performed with the help of Mantras.

The girdle of Brahmana should be made of Munja grass. That of a Kshatriya should be a bowstring. The Vaishya's girdle should be made of the Valvaji grass. This has been laid down in the scriptures.

Listen now to me as I explain to you what forms the merits and demerits of both givers and recipients of gifts. A Brahmana violates his duty by uttering an untruth. Such an act on his part is sinful. A Kshatriya perpetrates four fold and a Vaishya eightfold the sin that a Brahmana incurs by uttering an untruth.

A Brahmana should not eat elsewhere, having been previously invited by a Brahmana. By eating at the house of the person by whom he has been invited afterwards, he becomes inferior and even incurs the sin of the slaughter of an animal on occasions other than those of sacrifices.

So also, if he eats elsewhere after having been invited by a Kshatriya or a Vaishya, he falls away from his position and incurs half the sin of the slaughter of an animal on occasion other than those of sacrifices.

That Brahmana, O king, who eats on occasions of such acts as are performed in honour of the gods or the departed manes by Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, without having performed his ablutions, commits the sin of uttering an untruth for a COW.

That Brahmana, O king, who eats on occasions of similar acts performed by persons belonging to three higher castes, at a time when he is impure on account of either a birth or a death among his cognates, and knowing that he is impure or through temptation, commits the same sin.

He who lives upon riches acquired under false pretences like that of sojourns to sacred places or who begs the giver for riches pretending that he would spend it in religious acts, commits, O king, the sin of uttering an untruth,

That person, belonging to any of the three higher castes, O Yudhishthira, Yudhishthira, who at Shraddhas and on other occasions distributes food with the help of Mantras, to such Brahmanas as do not study the Vedas or who do not observe vows or who have not purified their conduct, forsooth, commits sin.

Yudhishthira said I wish O grandfather, to know who those persons are by giving to whom the things dedicated to the gods and the departed manes, one may acquire sufficient rewards.

Bhishma said Do you, O Yudhishthira, feed those Brahmanas whose wives respectfully wait for the residue of the dishes of their husbands like tillers of the soil waiting respectfully for timely showers of rain.

By making gifts to those Brahmanas who are always of pure conduct, О king, who are liberated by abstaining from all luxuries and even full meals who are given to the observance of such vows as lead to the emaciation of the body, and who approach givers with the object of getting gifts, one acquires great merit.

By making gifts to Brahmanas who considers conduct in the light of food, who considers conduct in the light of wives and children, who considers conduct in the light of strength, who considers conduct in the light of their refuge for crossing this world and acquiring happiness in the next, and who beg for riches only when wealth is absolutely needed, one acquires great merit.

By making gifts to those persons, O Yudhishthira, who having lost everything through thieves or oppressors, approach the giver one gains great merit.

By making gifts to such Brahmanas as beg food from the hands of even a poor person of their caste who has just got something from others, one acquires great merit.

By making gifts to such Brahmanas as have lost everything in times of universal distress and as have been deprived of their wives on such occasions, and as come to givers with solicitations for alms one acquires great merit.

By making gifts to such Brahmanas as observe vows and as place themselves voluntarily under painful rules and regulations, according to the Vedic injunctions, and as come to solicit riches for spending it upon the rites necessary to complete their vows and other observances one acquires great merit.

By making gifts to such Brahmanas as live at a great distance from the practices followed by the sinful and the wicked, as are shorn of strength for want of adequate support, and as are very poor in earthly possessions, one acquires great merit.

By making gifts to such Brahmanas as have been deprived of all their possessions by powerful men but as are perfectly innocent and as desire to fill their stomachs with any and every sort of food, one acquires great merit.

By making gifts to such Brahmanas as beg on behalf of others performing penances and devoted to them, and as are satisfied with even small gifts one acquires great merit.

You have now, O foremost of Bharata's race, heard what the scriptural declarations are about the acquisition of great merit by the making of gifts. Hear from me now, of those acts that lead to hell or heaven.

They, O Yudhishthira, that speak an untruth on occasions other than those when such untruth is necessary for serving the purpose of the preceptor or for giving the assurance of safety to a person in fear of his life, sink in hell.

They who ravish other people's wives or have sexual intercourse with them, or assist at such sinful acts, sink in hell.

They who rob others of their riches or destroy the riches and properties of other people, or trumpet the shortcomings of other people, sink in hell.

They who spoil tanks used by cattle for satisfying thirst, who injure buildings used for public meetings, who break down bridges and causeways, and who pull down dwelling houses, have to sink in hell.

They who lead astray and cheat helpless women, or girls or aged dames, or such women as have been frightened, have to sink in hell.

They who destroy the means of other people's subsistence, they who root out the habitations of other people, they who rob others of their wives, they who sow dissensions among friends, and they who destroy the hopes of other people, sink in hell.

They who trumpet forth the faults of others, they who break down bridges or causeways, they who live by following other people's calling 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 respect for them, they who break the vows made by themselves or make others to break them, and they who fall away from their status through sin, sink in hell.

They who follow 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 unhesitatingly perform wicked acts, and they who are given to killing living creatures, have to sink in hell.

They who make the masters dismiss the servants that are hoping for rewards or are in the enjoyment of wages or salaries or waiting for returns in respect of valuable services already done, have to sink in hell.

They who themselves eat without offering portions thereof to their wives or their sacred fires or their servants or their guests, and they who do not perform the rites laid down in the scriptures for honouring the departed manes 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.

They who are out of the limit of the four wellknown modes of life, they who follow to practices interdicted by the Shrutis and the Scriptures, and they who perform wicked or sinful deeds or who do not belong to their order of birth have to sink in hell.

They who live by selling hair, they who live by selling poisons, and they who live by selling milk have to sink in hell.

They who put impediments in the path of Brahmanas and kine and maidens, Yudhishthira, have to sink in hell.

They who sell weapons, they who forge weapons, they who make arrows, 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 renounce preceptors and servants and loyal followers without any offence, o foremost of Bharata's race, have to sink in hell.

They who set bullocks to work when the animals have not come of age, they who bore the noses of bullocks and other animals for controlling them the better while engaged in work, and they who keep animals always tethered, have to sink in hell.

Those kings who do not protect their subjects while forcibly collect 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 renounce persons gifted with forgiveness, selfcontrol and wisdom, or those with whom they have associated for many years when these are no longer of service to them have to sink in hell.

Those men who themselves eat without giving parts of the food to children, aged men and servants, have to sink in hell.

All these men numbered above have to go to hell. Listen now to me, O foremost of Bharata's race, as I tell you who those men are who ascend to heaven.

The man who transgresses against a Brahmana by obstructing the adoration of gods, suffer from the loss of all his children and animals.

Those men, O Yudhishthira, who perform the duties laid down in the scriptures for them, practising the virtues of charity self control and truthfulness, go to the celestial region.

Those men who having acquired knowledge by making obedient services to their preceptors and performing austere penances, are unwilling to accept gifts, succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who save people from fear and sin and who remove the obstacles lying in the way of what they wish to accomplish and poverty and the sufferings of disease, succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who are gifted with a forgiving disposition, who are endued with patience, who are ready to perform all righteous rites, and who are of pure conduct, succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who abstain from honey and meat, who abstain from sexual intercourse with the wives of other people, and who abstain from wines and spirituous liquors succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who help in the establishment of asylums for ascetics, who be come founders of families, O Bharata, who open up new countries for purposes of dwelling and implant towns and cities, succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who distribute cloths and ornaments, as also food and drink, and who help in marrying others succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who have abstained from all sorts of injury or harm to all creatures, who can endure everything, and who have made themselves the refuge of all creatures succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who wait humbly upon their parents, who have controlled their senses, and who are affectionate towards their brothers, succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who master their senses though they are rich in worldly possessions, endued with robust constitution and gifted with youthful vigour, succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who are kind even towards the offenders who are of mild disposition, who have an affection for all who are of mild behaviour, and who contribute to the happiness of others by rendering them every kind of service in humility, succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who protect thousands of people, who make gifts to thousands of people, and who rescue thousands of people from distress, succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who make gifts of gold and of kine, O foremost of Bharata's race, as also of conveyances and animals, succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who give away such articles as are necessary in marriages, as also servants and maids, and cloths and robes succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who make public pleasure houses, gardens, well, resting houses, and buildings for public meetings, and tanks for enabling cattle and men to satisfy their thirst and fields for cultivation, O Bharata succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who give houses and fields and populated villages to persons that want them, succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those who having themselves manufactured drinks of sweet taste and seeds and paddy or rice, give them to others, succeed in ascending to heaven.

Those men who having been born in families high or low beget hundreds of children and live long lives, practising mercy and keeping anger under complete control, succeed in ascending to heaven.

I have thus explained to you, O Bharata, what the rites are in honour of the deities and the departed manes which are performed by people for the sake of the other world, what the ordinances are about making gifts, and what the views are of the Rishis of former times about both the articles of gift and the manner of giving them. inen