Chapter 165 - Code of conduct (nānā-dharma)

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Fire-god said:

1. One should contemplate the soul, the lord that remains in the heart like a lamp, having his mind, intellect, memory and the senses not resting on any other object.

2. One should give things got from a cow, curd, ghee, and milk. Saffron, masūra (a kind of pulse), vārtāku (egg-plant) and kodrava (a species of grain) should not (be given).

3. When the son of Siṃhikā (Ketu) swallows the Sun (that is, there is an eclipse of the Sun due to the descending node of the Moon) at the junctions of the lunar fortnights, it is known to be hasticchāyā. The ceremony and gift made then (yield) undiminishing (benefits).

4. When the Moon is in (the asterism) paitrya (maghā) and Sun in (the asterism) kara (hasta), the day is known as Vaivasvatī and the shadow is that of kuñjara.

5. The remnant of that offered unto the fire should not be given in the (rite of) vaiśvadeva. The fees should be paid on the hand of the brahmin in the absence of fire.

6-9. A woman is not defiled by a paramour and also a brahmin (who has defaulted) from vedic rites. A woman enjoyed by employing force or fallen into the hands of an enemy should be abandoned. She becomes pure after the menstrual period. Earlier, women were enjoyed by the celestials such as the Moon, Gandharvas and Fire. The men enjoy them later. (Hence) they do not get defiled by any one. If a woman is impregnated by one not belonging to the same caste, that woman becomes impure till the extraneous matter is not discharged. When the extraneous matter had come out, she then becomes pure by her menstrual flow.

10-12. Whoever does not see another as different from his own self, becomes here the brahman itself. One who rejoices in his own self is (said to be) free from impurity. Some describe union as the union of objects and senses. Verily unrighteousness has been taken as righteous view by those ignorant (people). Others (say) that the union of the soul and mind as the union.

13. After having restrained the mental activity and unifying one’s soul with the Supreme Being, one gets released from bondage. This union (is said to be) the outstanding one.

14. It is a collection of five family members. The sixth one is extremely great. It cannot be conquered by the celestials or demons or mortals.

15. All those (the senses) which look externally should be made (to look) inward. The collection of senses (should lie) in the mind. The mind should be united in the soul.

16. One’s soul that is free from all feelings should be fixed in the brahman. This is the knowledge and meditation. Everything else that remains would be elaborating the text.

17. That matter which (one thinks) as non-existent in all the worlds is spoken to be as present. That which is spoken (as being present) does not remain in the heart of another (other than a yogi).

18. As a virgin (does not know) the happiness of a woman so also that brahman is really unknowable. One who is not a yogin never knows it just as a born-blind person (does not know) the pot.

19. Having seen a renouncing brahmin, the Sun moves from his position (thinking that) “This person would pierce my orb and reach the Supreme Brahman”.

20. (One would get as) a fruit of that what one would get by fasting, vow, bathing, sacred spots, the fruit of penance and the gaining of a brahmin.

21. Supreme Brahman is the single letter. The control of breath is the supreme penance. There is nothing more purifying than the (sacred syllable) Sāvitrī (addressed to the Sun-god).

22. One who eats even from an outcaste would get pure by contemplation. The meditator is the soul, the meditation is the mind, the object of meditation is lord Viṣṇu and the fruit is lord Hari.

23-28. Just as the Paṅktipāvana^[1] purifies in a ceremony so also the ascetic (gets) imperishable worlds (for others). I do not find an atonement that purifies a brahmin if he slips after entering the state of abstinence. He is the killer of (his) soul. Those who are the progenitors through their wives after having renounced, (their progeny) become outcastes known as bindulā. There is no doubt. An eagle dies after hundred (years). A dog (lives) for twelve (years). A vulture (lives) for twenty years. Then the pig (dies) after ten (years). A tree without flowers becomes fruitless and is surrounded by thorns. Then having been burnt by forest fire it becomes a dry trunk on a peak. Then it remains a lifeless matter for eight hundred years. After one thousand years are over it becomes a brahmarākṣasa (spirit of a brahmin indulging in sinful deeds). One gets liberation from this either by deluge or the annihilation of the family. One should always resort to (the practice of) yoga. There is no other sacred syllable that removes sin.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

One who purifies a party of diners by his presence. He would be a learned person and follower of codes of conduct.