Mahabharata: Volume 8 (30 page)

‘Vyasa said, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Through austerities, deeds and donations, a man is purified, as long as he does not commit wicked deeds again. A person who has killed a brahmana can free himself of the crime of killing a brahmana by eating once a day, roaming around for alms, performing all his tasks himself, holding a skull in one hand and a bedpost in the other,
²⁸⁴
following brahmacharya, by always being enterprising, showing no malice, sleeping on the bare ground and disclosing his deed to
the worlds. He has to do this for a full twelve years. If he lives on a diet of hardship, a man who kills a brahmana can be purified in six years.
²⁸⁵
If he eats from one month to another, he is freed in three years. If he eats only once a month, there is no doubt that he is freed in one year. O king! If one does not eat at all, one is freed very soon. There is no doubt that one is purified through a horse sacrifice. In this way, there are men who have bathed after a horse sacrifice. There are supreme learned texts which say that all their souls have been cleansed. If one is killed in a battle for the sake of a brahmana, one is freed from the sin of killing a brahmana. If the slayer of a brahmana gives one hundred thousand cows to deserving recipients, he is freed from all sin. If one gives away twenty-five thousand milk-yielding brown cows, one is freed from all sin. At the time of death, if one gives one thousand milk-yielding cows with calves to virtuous and poor people, one is freed from sin. O protector of the earth! If one gives away one hundred horses from Kamboja to self-restrained brahmanas, one is freed from sin. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! If someone gives something that another person wishes for and does not brag about his generosity, he is freed from sin.

‘“When a brahmana has drunk liquor, if he drinks that liquor when it is as hot as fire, he purifies himself in this world and the next. Or he can fling himself down from Mount Meru, or enter a fire, or embark on the great journey.
²⁸⁶
He will then be freed from all sin. However, a brahmana who has drunk liquor can again be admitted into an assembly of brahmanas, provided he follows the injunctions of Brihaspati laid down in texts concerning brahmanas.
O king! If a man who has drunk liquor casts off envy and gives away land, without indulging in that act again, he is cleansed and purified.

‘“If one has had intercourse with a preceptor’s wife, one should lie down on a heated slab of stone. Alternatively, one should cast one’s eyes upwards and roam around, holding one’s penis in one’s hand.

‘“By giving up the body, one is freed from all wicked deeds. If women endeavour to be restrained for a year, they are freed from such deeds. If one observes a great vow, gives away everything that he owns, or is slain in a battle for the sake of a preceptor, one is freed from all wicked deeds. If one acts falsely towards a preceptor or opposes him, one is freed from that crime by giving him something agreeable.
²⁸⁷
If one has deviated from a vow of chastity, one should follow the atonement vows prescribed for a killer of a brahmana. Alternatively, one can wear the hide of a donkey for six months. One will then be freed from that crime. A person who has abducted another person’s wife or stolen another person’s possessions must observe a vow for one year to be freed from that sin. If a person has stolen the property of another, he must use every means possible to return riches that are of an equal measure. He will then be freed from that sin. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! A younger brother who has married before the elder brother, or an elder brother whose younger brother has married before him, are both naturally freed by eating the hardship diet for twelve nights, or at least for ten. But, to save the ancestors, he
²⁸⁸
must get married. The wife
²⁸⁹
is not tainted by this and no blemish attaches to her. Those who know about dharma say that, after giving birth and after a period, women are cleansed and purified through a
chaturmasya
vow. When there is suspicion about a woman’s wicked conduct, it is known that there should be no sexual intercourse with her. However, she is purified through her menstrual flow, like a vessel with ashes.

‘“The four parts of dharma are decreed for brahmanas. For kings, it has been ordained that dharma will be reduced by one quarter. The
vaishya’s will be a quarter less than that and the shudra’s a quarter less than that too. In this way, one determines the seriousness or lightness of the crime and the atonement.

‘“If a person kills a bird or an animal, or cuts down a large number of trees, that man should only subsist on air for three nights and proclaim his crime. O king! If a person has intercourse with someone he should not have intercourse with, the atonement has been laid down. For six months, he should sleep in wet clothes and lie down on ashes. These are the decrees laid down in the brahmana texts,
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explaining all the deeds, the forms of atonement and the detailed reasons. If one recites the
savitri
mantra
²⁹¹
in a secluded place, while eating little, abjuring violence and hate and speaking little, one is freed from all sin. During the day, one must be under the open sky and during the night, one must also sleep there. Thrice during the day and thrice during the night, one must immerse oneself in the water, wearing one’s garments. A brahmana who is observing this vow must not speak to women, shudras and those who have become outcasts because of deviation in their conduct. He will then be freed from any sins that he may have committed in ignorance.

‘“The witness to a being
²⁹²
obtains good and bad fruits after death. Depending on which of the two
²⁹³
is more, the doer reaps the consequences. Donations, austerities and deeds lead to auspicious fruits. In that way, they increase and become greater than wicked deeds. If wicked deeds have been performed, that is a reason to perform auspicious ones. By constantly giving away riches, one is freed from sin. The rites of atonement are in proportion to the wicked deed. However, no atonement is recommended for a
mahapataka
.
²⁹⁴
O king! Eating what should not be eaten and speaking what should not be spoken—for these, atonement depends on whether these are done knowingly or unknowingly. Crimes that are knowingly committed are said to be grievous. Those that are unknowingly committed are light and there is atonement for both. The methods and rites described are capable of cleansing the sin. But those recommendations are for the believers and the faithful. Those rites are never seen to be for men who are non-believers, and unfaithful and those who are prone to insolence and wickedness. O supreme among those who uphold dharma! Good conduct is the dharma of the virtuous. O tiger among men! For the sake of happiness after death, they must serve this. O king! Because of the motives behind your earlier crimes, you will be freed. You wished to save by killing them. Alternatively, you were following the duty of kings. However, if you abhor what you did, follow the path of atonement. Like those who are not aryas, you will then not confront destruction because of your deeds.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Having been thus addressed by the illustrious one, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira thought for some time. He then asked that store of austerities, “What should be eaten and what should not be eaten? What is said to be a praiseworthy gift? Who is a deserving person and who is an undeserving one? O grandfather! Tell me that.”

‘Vyasa replied, “In this connection, an ancient history is recounted. This is a conversation that took place between the Siddhas and Prajapati Manu. The Siddhas were engaged in supreme austerities and vows. In ancient times, they approached the brave lord and Prajapati while he was seated, and asked him about dharma. ‘What food should be eaten? What gifts should be given? How should we study? What austerities will we observe? What should be done and
what should not be done? O Prajapati! Tell us everything about this.’ Having been thus addressed, the illustrious Svayambhuva Manu spoke.

‘“‘Listen to me as I expound the true nature of dharma, briefly and in detail.
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The signs of dharma are: not taking what has not been given, donations, studying, austerities, non-violence, truthfulness, lack of anger and forgiveness. However, if practised in the wrong place and at the wrong time, dharma may become adharma. It has been said that in some situations, not giving, lying and violence are dharma. Those who are learned know that there are two aspects to both dharma and adharma. People who are learned know that there can be both action and withdrawal from action. Inaction leads to immortality and the fruits of action are mortality.
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One knows that evil acts lead to evil and good acts to the good. This determines whether acts are good or bad, whether they lead to heaven, whether they lead to one’s union with heaven, whether they lead to life, or whether they lead to death. However, even if one did not think about it before committing the act, there may be good consequences from an evil act. On considering the consequences, they may have led to uplifting life on earth. But if an act is undertaken without thinking about it, atonement is recommended. If acts are undertaken in anger or out of delusion, without considering the consequences or the reasons, if they lead to torment of the body, or cause pleasant and unpleasant sensations in the mind, then they must be pacified through atonement, like using herbs and mantras. One must also entirely ignore dharma that concerns
jati
,
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shreni
,
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adhivasa
²⁹⁹
and family. These are not dharma, because there is no real dharma in them.
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There may be doubts about what constitutes dharma. In such cases, whatever ten people who know about the sacred Vedas,
or three people who read about dharma, describe as acts that should be done, constitute dharma.

‘“‘Red earth, red ants, the
shleshmataka
³⁰¹
and poison must not be consumed by brahmanas. Brahmanas must also not eat fish that are without scales, frogs and four-footed aquatic animals, with the exception of turtles. Vultures, swans, eagles,
chakravaka
s,
³⁰²
herons, ducks, curlews, diver-birds, vultures,
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crows, owls, all predatory birds, all quadrupeds with horns and all quadrupeds that have two teeth or four teeth must not be eaten by brahmanas. Nor must they drink the milk of sheep, mares, she-donkeys, she-camels, cows that have just calved, women and deer. Food offered to a dead man, food cooked by a woman who has just given birth within the last ten days and food cooked by someone unknown must not be eaten. Until ten days have passed, the milk of a cow that has just given birth must not be drunk. One must not eat food given by a carpenter, a person who strips off animal skins, a whore, a washerman, a physician and a guard. Nor should one eat food given by a person who has been thrown out of the village assembly, one who earns a living through dancing girls, a man whose younger brother has married before him, a eunuch, a professional bard and a skilled gambler. One must avoid food given to a prisoner, putrid and stale food, that which has been laced with alcohol, that which has been partly eaten by others and leftover food. Cakes stuffed with meat, sugar cane and vegetables, rice cooked with milk and sugar
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when it has gone bad, coarsely ground meal, grain and food that has been kept for a long time should not be eaten. Rice cooked with milk and sugar, dishes made of sesamum and grain
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and meat and cakes that have been prepared unnecessarily
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should not be eaten. They should not be eaten by brahmanas who are in
the householder stage. A householder must eat after worshipping the gods, the ancestors, men, sages and other household gods. A brahmana who dwells in his own household is like a mendicant who is wandering around. If he conducts himself in this way, with his beloved wife, he will obtain the benefits of dharma.

‘“‘One must not donate for the sake of praise. Or give out of fear, or as a mark of favour to the recipient. One who follows dharma does not give to a person who earns a living through singing and dancing, a jester, a person who is intoxicated or mad, a thief, a physician, one who cannot speak, one who has a pale complexion, one who doesn’t have a limb, a dwarf, a wicked person, one born in an inferior lineage and one who has not followed the sacraments. Giving to a brahmana who does not know about the Vedas, or does not know about the brahman, is a dead gift. An inappropriate gift and an inappropriate recipient bring bad consequences to both the giver and the recipient. A man who tries to cross the ocean with the support of a branch of a
khadira
tree
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or a stone sinks. The giver and the recipient sink in that way. When wood is wet, it does not blaze. An inferior recipient, without austerities, studies and character, is like that. Water in a skull and milk in the bladder of a dog become unclean because of the receptacle. To a man without good conduct, learning is like that. One without mantras, one without vows and one without knowledge of the sacred texts, may be without malice and distressed. One may give to him out of compassion. But even out of compassion, one should give to a distressed person who causes injury. There are brahmanas who have deviated from dharma. One should not give to them, thinking that this is dharma, or that their behaviour is good. This is fruitless. The receptacle is tainted and there is no need to reflect on this. A brahmana who has not studied, an elephant made out wood and a deer made out of skin are similar. All three have nothing but their names. A eunuch has no fruit with a woman. A cow has no fruit with another cow. A brahmana without mantras is like that and is like a bird without wings. Giving to him is futile, since he is like a village that has no granary, like a well that
has no water and like oblations made where there is no fire. He destroys offerings and oblations made to the gods and the ancestors. He is like a stupid enemy who robs one of one’s riches. He does not deserve to obtain any worlds.’

‘“O Yudhishthira!
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This is the exact truth and it has been recounted to you, as it was said. O bull among the Bharata lineage! This is a great and extensive discourse and deserves to be heard.”’