SECTION XI.Sagara said—"O Muni, I wish to hear from you of such religious observances, performing which a householder does not meet with the wane of piety either in this world or in the next".Aurva said—"Hear, O lord of earth, an account of all those religious observances celebrating which a man conquers both this and the next world. The termsatmeansSādhu; and they are calledSādhusor saints who are freed from all blemishes. And their practices are called Sāddhachāras. O lord of earth, the seven Rishis, the Manus and the Patriarchs are those who have laid down and observed those practices. Let the wise, O king, get up at Brahmā Muhartta,[244]when the mind is at rest, meditate upon virtue and wealth not incompatible with the former. He should also meditate upon desire not conflicting with the other two. And he must equally meditate upon the three ends of life for the purpose of counteracting the unseen consequences of good or best acts. He should renounce, O king, such wealth and desire as stand in the way of virtue, and he should abstain from such religious acts as give uneasiness, and as are not compatible with the rules of society. O lord of men, having got up from bed early in the morning, he must offer adoration to the sun and then proceeding to the South-East quarter at a distance of a bow-shot or more, or somewhere remote from the village he must void the impurities of nature. A man should not void the impurities of nature either in the court yard of his house or in any place where is the print of a man's foot. The wise should not pass urine either on his own shadow, nor on the shadow of a tree, nor on a cow, nor against the sun nor on fire, nor against the wind, nor on spiritual preceptor, nor men of the first three castes. Nor he should pass excrement in a ploughed field, or a pasturage, or in the company of men, or on a high road, or in rivers and the like which are holy, or on the bank of a river or in a cremation ground. O king, the wise should pass urine with his face towards the north during the day and towards the south during the night. While passing excrement he should spread grass on the earth and cover his head with cloth and should not wait there long, and should not speak during that time. To clean his hand he should not take earth from an ant-hill, not a rat-hole, nor from water, nor from what has been left after being used for that purpose, nor from what has been used to plaster a cottage, nor that which has been thrown up by insects, or turned over by the plough. He must avoid all these kinds of earth for the purpose of cleanliness; he should use one handful after passing urine, three handfuls after passing excrement, ten handfuls are to be rubbed over the left hand and seven on both hands. He should then rinse his mouth with pure water which is neither fetid, nor frothy nor full of bubbles. After that, he should, being composed, use earth to cleanse his feet, washing them well with water.[244]The third Muhurtta about two hours before sunrise."He must then drink water thrice and wash his face twice with it and then touch with his head, the cavities of the eyes, ears and nostrils, the forehead, navel and the heart. Having finally washed his mouth he must clean and arrange his hairs and must decorate his body, before a looking glass with unguents, garlands and perfumes. He, then according to the practice of his caste, should earn money for maintenance and should worship the deities with firm faith. Sacrifices with acid juice, those with clarified butter and those with offerings of food, may be performed with wealth; therefore men should endeavour much to acquire wealth."For performing daily devotional rites a man should bathe in the water of a river, a natural channel, or a mountain torrent or he should bathe on a dry ground with the water drawn from well or he should bring that water to his house if he had any objection to bathing on the spot. Bathed and clad in clean clothes, he should, with concentrated mind offer oblations to the manes and Rishis with that water. He should offer water thrice for the satisfaction of the celestials, thrice for the satisfaction of the Rishis and once for the patriarchs. He should make three libations for the satisfaction of the manes. He should, with the part of the hand sacred to the manes, offer wafer to his paternal grand father, great grand father, maternal grand father, great grand father and his father, and according to his pleasure to his own mother and his mother's mother and grand mother, to the wife of his preceptor, to his preceptor, his maternal uncle, and other relations, to a dear friend and to the king. He should then, O king, offer water to the celestials for the benefit of all animals, reciting the prayer. 'May the celestials, demons, Yakshas, Serpents, Rākshasas, Gandharvas, Pisāchas, Guhyakas, Siddas, Kushmandas, trees, birds, fish, all that inhabit the waters or the earth, or the air, be propitiated by the water I have offered to them. This water is presented by me for the mitigation of the sufferings of all those who have been put to hell. Let them be propitiated with this water who are my friends, who are not my friends, who were my friends in my former birth and all those who expect water from me. May this water and sesamum offered by me remove the hunger and thirst of all those who are suffering therefrom wherever they may live'. The offerings, of water, O king, in the manner I have described, give satisfaction to all the world. Having offered water duly and reverentially to all the sinless man obtains the piety that comes from satisfying the world."Having rinsed his mouth he must offer water to the sun touching his forehead with folded hands and reciting the following player—'Salutation to the radiant Vaivaswat—the effulgence of Vishnu; to the pure illuminator of the universe; to Sāvitri, the giver of fruits for all actions'. He must then go through the family worship, offering water, flowers, and incense to the tutelary deity. He must then offer oblations to fire, first invoking Brahmā then Prajāpati. He must then offer water to Guhya, Kāshyapa and Anumati in succession and then offer the remainder to the earth, to water and to rain in a pitcher at hand. O foremost of men, he must offer water to Dhātri Vidhātri at the doors of his house and to Brahmā in the middle of it. Hear from me how he should then worship the deities presiding over the various quarters."He should offer the Bali containing the remaining portions of the oblations to Indra, Yama, Varuna and Soma on the four sides of his house. And in the north-east quarter the wise should offer it to Dhanwantari; then he should offer the remaining portion to Viswadevas, then in the north-east to wind then in all directions to the cardinal points, to Brahmā, to the atmosphere, and to the sun, to all the celestials, to all beings, to the lords of beings, to the manes, and to Yakshas. Thereupon taking other rice the learned should cast it on a clean spot of ground as an offering to all beings and with a collected mind should repeat the following prayer—'May celestials, men, animals, birds, saints. Yakshas, serpents, demons, ghosts, goblins, trees and all those who desire food from me; may ants, worms, moths and other insects who are hungry and chained in acts, obtain satisfaction from food offered by me and enjoy bliss. I offer this food on the ground for them who have got no mother, no father, no friends, no food, nor the means for preparing it. May they be satisfied with the food offered for their satisfaction. All these animals, this food and myself are at one with Vishnu—for there exists nothing but Vishnu; I am not different from all beings, and therefore for their sustenance I offer this food. May all beings, that belong to the fourteen orders of existent things, be satisfied and delighted with the food offered by me'."Having repeated this prayer the householder should devoutly throw the food on the ground for the benefit of all beings; for the householder is thence the supporter of them all. He should also disperse food on the ground for dogs, outcasts, birds and all mean and degraded persons."Thereupon to receive guests the householder should wait in the courtyard of his house as long as it takes to milch a cow or for a longer period if he pleases. If a guest comes he must be received with all hospitality; he must be offered a seat, his feet are to be washed, food should be respectfully given to him, he must be spoken to with all kindness and civility and when he goes away, the friendly wishes of the host must accompany him. The householder should pay attention to that guest who comes from another place and whose lineage is not known. He should not make him a guest who is an inhabitant of the same village. He who feeds himself, neglecting a guest, who is poor, who is not his relation, who comes from another place and is desirous of eating, goes to hell. The householder should receive his guest regarding him as the golden embryo[245]without inquiring his studies, his schools, his practices or his race.[245]The mundane egg floating on the water at creation, of that metal, or similar colour from which the deity issued according to some legends;i.e.he should treat him with all reverence."A householder, O king, at the Srādha ceremony of his father, should feed another Brāhmin, who is of the same village, whose pedigree and practices are known and who performs the five sacramental rites. He should also present to a Brāhmin, who is well versed in the Vedas, four handfuls of food, set apart, with the exclamation Hanta. If he has got means left after making these three sorts of gifts, the learned should, according to his pleasure, make gifts to a mendicant and a religious student. These three, with the addition of the mendicant described before, are to be considered as guests; and he, who treats these four sorts of persons with hospitality, is freed of the debt due to his fellow beings. The guest, who goes elsewhere disappointed from any house, transfers his own sins to the owner of the house and takes away the house-holder's merits. Brahmā, Prajāpati, Indra, fire, the Vasus, the sun are present in the person of a guest and share the food that is offered to him. Therefore a man should assiduously satisfy the duties of hospitality; for a man, who eats his food without giving any to his guest, feeds only upon his own sin. Thereupon the householder must satisfy with well-seasoned food the damsel living in her father's house, those who are ill, the pregnant woman, the aged and the infants of the house and then he should eat himself. The householder, who eats his food without feeding these, feeds upon his own iniquity and after his death is condemned in hell to feed upon phlegm. He, who eats, without performing ablutions, feeds upon filth; he, who eats without repeating his prayers, feeds upon matter and blood; he, who eats unconsecrated food, drinks urine; and he, who eats before the infants and the aged are fed, is doomed in hell to live upon ordure. O foremost of kings, I shall now describe, do you hear, how a householder should eat and for which he would not be sullied with iniquity, his perpetual health and increased vigour would be secured and all evils and hostilities would be averted. Having bathed and offered duly libations to the celestials, Rishis, and manes and adorned his hand with precious jewels, having recited introductory prayers, offered oblations with fire, food to guests, to Brāhmans, to his elders and to his family, the householder should take his meal, wearing unsullied cloth, excellent garlands and sprinkled with perfumes. He must not eat, O lord, of men, with a single garment on, nor with wet hands and feet."He must not eat with his face directed to my intermediate point of horizon, but facing the east or the north; and with a smiling countenance, happy and attentive, let him take good and wholesome food boiled with clean water, procured from no mean person, nor by improper means nor improperly cooked. Having given a part to his hungry companions he should take food without reproach from a clean, handsome vessels which must not be placed upon a low stool or bed. He must not take his food in an unbecoming place or out of season or in an unsuitable mood, giving the first morsel to fire. His food, O king, must be consecrated with suitable texts, must be good and must not be stale except in the case of fruit or meat. Nor it should be made of dry vegetable substances other than jujubes or preparation of molasses. And a man should never eat that of which the juices have been extracted. Nor a man should so eat as nothing will be left of his meal except in the case of flour, cakes, honey, water, curds and butter. He should with a devoted mind first taste that which has good flavour; in the middle he should take salt and sour things and in the end he should take those which are pungent and bitter. The person, who begins his food with fluid things, takes solid food in the middle and finishes with fluid things, will ever be strong and healthy. In this wise he should take such food as is not prohibited, should be silent at the time of eating and should take five handfuls for the nutriment of the vital principle. After he has taken his food, he should, facing the east or the north, rinse his mouth, and having washed his hands up to the wrist he should again sip water. Then with a satisfied and calm mind he should take his seat, meditate upon his tutelary deity and pray 'May fire excited by air cause this food to digest in the space afforded by the etherial atmosphere, convert this into the earthly elements of this body and give me satisfaction. May this food, when assimilated, contribute to the vigour of the earth, water, fire, and air of my body and afford unmixed satisfaction. May Agasti, Agni and submarine fire bring about the digestion of the food I have taken and may I enjoy happiness consequent thereupon and may my body be freed from all ills. May Vishnu, who is the chief principle of all senses, of all bodies and souls, be propitiated with my faith and may cause such assimilation the food I have eaten as may invigorate my health. Verily Vishnu is the eater, the food and the nourishment, may the food I have taken, through this faith, be digested'."Having recited this prayer he should rub his stomach with his hand, and renouncing idleness should engage in such action as can easily he performed. He should spend the day in the reading of sacred writings and in such amusements as are authorized by the righteous and when the Sandhya sets in he must engage in devotion. O king, he must perform the morning rites before the stars have disappeared and perform the evening rites before the sun has quite set. The morning and evening rites should never be neglected except at seasons of impurity, anxiety, sickness or alarm. He, who but for illness lies on bed at the hours of sunrise and sunset, is guilty of iniquity. Therefore a man should rise before the sun in the morning and sleep not until after he has set. Those, who sinfully neglect the performance of both the morning and evening rites, go to the hell of darkness after death. And having prepared food in the evening, the wife, of the householder with a view to obtain the fruit of the Viçwadeva rite, should give food, without offering any prayers, to outcasts or unclean persons. The householder, as his means allow, should again show hospitality to any guest who may come receiving him with the salutation of evening and offering him water to wash his feet, a seat, a supper and a bed. The sin, consequent upon not receiving hospitably a guest who comes after sunset, is eight times greater than that of turning away one who comes during the day. A person should therefore particularly show respect to him who seeks refuge after sunset, for the respect, given to his satisfaction, will afford pleasure to all the celestials. The householder should, therefore, as his means permit him, give a guest food, potherbs, water, a bed, a mat, or if he cannot give any thing more, ground only on which to lie."Having taken his evening meal and washed his feet a householder should take rest. His bed must be complete and made of wood, it must have ample space, must not be cracked nor uneven, nor dirty nor infested by insects and must have a bedding. The householder must sleep with his head either to the east or to the south; any other position is unhealthy. In proper time, under the influence of an auspicious planet and in an auspicious moment he should go to his wife if she is not unbathed, sick, unwell, unwilling, angry, pregnant, hungry or over-fed. He should also be free from all these imperfections and should be neatly dressed and adorned and excited by tenderness and affection. Having bathed, wearing garlands, using perfumes, delighted and animated by desire he should go to his wife—not being hungry and excited with anxiety. There are certain days on which the use of unguents, flesh and women is prohibited as the eighth and fourteenth lunar days, new-moon and full-moon and the entrance of the sun into a new sign. On these occasions the wise should control their appetites and engage in the worship of the celestials as laid down in scripture, in meditation and prayer. And he, who acts otherwise, will be doomed to a hell where he will be constrained to live upon ordure. A man should not excite his desires by medicines nor satisfy them with unnatural objects or in public or holy places. A man should not go to a woman under a huge tree, in the courtyard, in a place of pilgrimage, in pasturage, where four streets meet, in a cremation ground, in a garden or in the waters. On all these occasions mentioned before in the morning or in the evening or being unclean the wise should not cohabit with women. If a man goes to a woman during the Parva he loses wealth, if during the day he is visited with sin, if he cohabits with a woman on ground he loses his fame. A man should not think voluptuously of another's wife, nor should, he speak to her for that purpose; for such a wight will be born in his next life as a creeping insect. The cohabitation with another's wife is a source of fear to him both in this life and in the next—for in this he loses his longevity and in the next he is doomed to hell. Considering all these things a man should approach his own wife in proper season or even at other times".
SECTION XI.Sagara said—"O Muni, I wish to hear from you of such religious observances, performing which a householder does not meet with the wane of piety either in this world or in the next".Aurva said—"Hear, O lord of earth, an account of all those religious observances celebrating which a man conquers both this and the next world. The termsatmeansSādhu; and they are calledSādhusor saints who are freed from all blemishes. And their practices are called Sāddhachāras. O lord of earth, the seven Rishis, the Manus and the Patriarchs are those who have laid down and observed those practices. Let the wise, O king, get up at Brahmā Muhartta,[244]when the mind is at rest, meditate upon virtue and wealth not incompatible with the former. He should also meditate upon desire not conflicting with the other two. And he must equally meditate upon the three ends of life for the purpose of counteracting the unseen consequences of good or best acts. He should renounce, O king, such wealth and desire as stand in the way of virtue, and he should abstain from such religious acts as give uneasiness, and as are not compatible with the rules of society. O lord of men, having got up from bed early in the morning, he must offer adoration to the sun and then proceeding to the South-East quarter at a distance of a bow-shot or more, or somewhere remote from the village he must void the impurities of nature. A man should not void the impurities of nature either in the court yard of his house or in any place where is the print of a man's foot. The wise should not pass urine either on his own shadow, nor on the shadow of a tree, nor on a cow, nor against the sun nor on fire, nor against the wind, nor on spiritual preceptor, nor men of the first three castes. Nor he should pass excrement in a ploughed field, or a pasturage, or in the company of men, or on a high road, or in rivers and the like which are holy, or on the bank of a river or in a cremation ground. O king, the wise should pass urine with his face towards the north during the day and towards the south during the night. While passing excrement he should spread grass on the earth and cover his head with cloth and should not wait there long, and should not speak during that time. To clean his hand he should not take earth from an ant-hill, not a rat-hole, nor from water, nor from what has been left after being used for that purpose, nor from what has been used to plaster a cottage, nor that which has been thrown up by insects, or turned over by the plough. He must avoid all these kinds of earth for the purpose of cleanliness; he should use one handful after passing urine, three handfuls after passing excrement, ten handfuls are to be rubbed over the left hand and seven on both hands. He should then rinse his mouth with pure water which is neither fetid, nor frothy nor full of bubbles. After that, he should, being composed, use earth to cleanse his feet, washing them well with water.[244]The third Muhurtta about two hours before sunrise."He must then drink water thrice and wash his face twice with it and then touch with his head, the cavities of the eyes, ears and nostrils, the forehead, navel and the heart. Having finally washed his mouth he must clean and arrange his hairs and must decorate his body, before a looking glass with unguents, garlands and perfumes. He, then according to the practice of his caste, should earn money for maintenance and should worship the deities with firm faith. Sacrifices with acid juice, those with clarified butter and those with offerings of food, may be performed with wealth; therefore men should endeavour much to acquire wealth."For performing daily devotional rites a man should bathe in the water of a river, a natural channel, or a mountain torrent or he should bathe on a dry ground with the water drawn from well or he should bring that water to his house if he had any objection to bathing on the spot. Bathed and clad in clean clothes, he should, with concentrated mind offer oblations to the manes and Rishis with that water. He should offer water thrice for the satisfaction of the celestials, thrice for the satisfaction of the Rishis and once for the patriarchs. He should make three libations for the satisfaction of the manes. He should, with the part of the hand sacred to the manes, offer wafer to his paternal grand father, great grand father, maternal grand father, great grand father and his father, and according to his pleasure to his own mother and his mother's mother and grand mother, to the wife of his preceptor, to his preceptor, his maternal uncle, and other relations, to a dear friend and to the king. He should then, O king, offer water to the celestials for the benefit of all animals, reciting the prayer. 'May the celestials, demons, Yakshas, Serpents, Rākshasas, Gandharvas, Pisāchas, Guhyakas, Siddas, Kushmandas, trees, birds, fish, all that inhabit the waters or the earth, or the air, be propitiated by the water I have offered to them. This water is presented by me for the mitigation of the sufferings of all those who have been put to hell. Let them be propitiated with this water who are my friends, who are not my friends, who were my friends in my former birth and all those who expect water from me. May this water and sesamum offered by me remove the hunger and thirst of all those who are suffering therefrom wherever they may live'. The offerings, of water, O king, in the manner I have described, give satisfaction to all the world. Having offered water duly and reverentially to all the sinless man obtains the piety that comes from satisfying the world."Having rinsed his mouth he must offer water to the sun touching his forehead with folded hands and reciting the following player—'Salutation to the radiant Vaivaswat—the effulgence of Vishnu; to the pure illuminator of the universe; to Sāvitri, the giver of fruits for all actions'. He must then go through the family worship, offering water, flowers, and incense to the tutelary deity. He must then offer oblations to fire, first invoking Brahmā then Prajāpati. He must then offer water to Guhya, Kāshyapa and Anumati in succession and then offer the remainder to the earth, to water and to rain in a pitcher at hand. O foremost of men, he must offer water to Dhātri Vidhātri at the doors of his house and to Brahmā in the middle of it. Hear from me how he should then worship the deities presiding over the various quarters."He should offer the Bali containing the remaining portions of the oblations to Indra, Yama, Varuna and Soma on the four sides of his house. And in the north-east quarter the wise should offer it to Dhanwantari; then he should offer the remaining portion to Viswadevas, then in the north-east to wind then in all directions to the cardinal points, to Brahmā, to the atmosphere, and to the sun, to all the celestials, to all beings, to the lords of beings, to the manes, and to Yakshas. Thereupon taking other rice the learned should cast it on a clean spot of ground as an offering to all beings and with a collected mind should repeat the following prayer—'May celestials, men, animals, birds, saints. Yakshas, serpents, demons, ghosts, goblins, trees and all those who desire food from me; may ants, worms, moths and other insects who are hungry and chained in acts, obtain satisfaction from food offered by me and enjoy bliss. I offer this food on the ground for them who have got no mother, no father, no friends, no food, nor the means for preparing it. May they be satisfied with the food offered for their satisfaction. All these animals, this food and myself are at one with Vishnu—for there exists nothing but Vishnu; I am not different from all beings, and therefore for their sustenance I offer this food. May all beings, that belong to the fourteen orders of existent things, be satisfied and delighted with the food offered by me'."Having repeated this prayer the householder should devoutly throw the food on the ground for the benefit of all beings; for the householder is thence the supporter of them all. He should also disperse food on the ground for dogs, outcasts, birds and all mean and degraded persons."Thereupon to receive guests the householder should wait in the courtyard of his house as long as it takes to milch a cow or for a longer period if he pleases. If a guest comes he must be received with all hospitality; he must be offered a seat, his feet are to be washed, food should be respectfully given to him, he must be spoken to with all kindness and civility and when he goes away, the friendly wishes of the host must accompany him. The householder should pay attention to that guest who comes from another place and whose lineage is not known. He should not make him a guest who is an inhabitant of the same village. He who feeds himself, neglecting a guest, who is poor, who is not his relation, who comes from another place and is desirous of eating, goes to hell. The householder should receive his guest regarding him as the golden embryo[245]without inquiring his studies, his schools, his practices or his race.[245]The mundane egg floating on the water at creation, of that metal, or similar colour from which the deity issued according to some legends;i.e.he should treat him with all reverence."A householder, O king, at the Srādha ceremony of his father, should feed another Brāhmin, who is of the same village, whose pedigree and practices are known and who performs the five sacramental rites. He should also present to a Brāhmin, who is well versed in the Vedas, four handfuls of food, set apart, with the exclamation Hanta. If he has got means left after making these three sorts of gifts, the learned should, according to his pleasure, make gifts to a mendicant and a religious student. These three, with the addition of the mendicant described before, are to be considered as guests; and he, who treats these four sorts of persons with hospitality, is freed of the debt due to his fellow beings. The guest, who goes elsewhere disappointed from any house, transfers his own sins to the owner of the house and takes away the house-holder's merits. Brahmā, Prajāpati, Indra, fire, the Vasus, the sun are present in the person of a guest and share the food that is offered to him. Therefore a man should assiduously satisfy the duties of hospitality; for a man, who eats his food without giving any to his guest, feeds only upon his own sin. Thereupon the householder must satisfy with well-seasoned food the damsel living in her father's house, those who are ill, the pregnant woman, the aged and the infants of the house and then he should eat himself. The householder, who eats his food without feeding these, feeds upon his own iniquity and after his death is condemned in hell to feed upon phlegm. He, who eats, without performing ablutions, feeds upon filth; he, who eats without repeating his prayers, feeds upon matter and blood; he, who eats unconsecrated food, drinks urine; and he, who eats before the infants and the aged are fed, is doomed in hell to live upon ordure. O foremost of kings, I shall now describe, do you hear, how a householder should eat and for which he would not be sullied with iniquity, his perpetual health and increased vigour would be secured and all evils and hostilities would be averted. Having bathed and offered duly libations to the celestials, Rishis, and manes and adorned his hand with precious jewels, having recited introductory prayers, offered oblations with fire, food to guests, to Brāhmans, to his elders and to his family, the householder should take his meal, wearing unsullied cloth, excellent garlands and sprinkled with perfumes. He must not eat, O lord, of men, with a single garment on, nor with wet hands and feet."He must not eat with his face directed to my intermediate point of horizon, but facing the east or the north; and with a smiling countenance, happy and attentive, let him take good and wholesome food boiled with clean water, procured from no mean person, nor by improper means nor improperly cooked. Having given a part to his hungry companions he should take food without reproach from a clean, handsome vessels which must not be placed upon a low stool or bed. He must not take his food in an unbecoming place or out of season or in an unsuitable mood, giving the first morsel to fire. His food, O king, must be consecrated with suitable texts, must be good and must not be stale except in the case of fruit or meat. Nor it should be made of dry vegetable substances other than jujubes or preparation of molasses. And a man should never eat that of which the juices have been extracted. Nor a man should so eat as nothing will be left of his meal except in the case of flour, cakes, honey, water, curds and butter. He should with a devoted mind first taste that which has good flavour; in the middle he should take salt and sour things and in the end he should take those which are pungent and bitter. The person, who begins his food with fluid things, takes solid food in the middle and finishes with fluid things, will ever be strong and healthy. In this wise he should take such food as is not prohibited, should be silent at the time of eating and should take five handfuls for the nutriment of the vital principle. After he has taken his food, he should, facing the east or the north, rinse his mouth, and having washed his hands up to the wrist he should again sip water. Then with a satisfied and calm mind he should take his seat, meditate upon his tutelary deity and pray 'May fire excited by air cause this food to digest in the space afforded by the etherial atmosphere, convert this into the earthly elements of this body and give me satisfaction. May this food, when assimilated, contribute to the vigour of the earth, water, fire, and air of my body and afford unmixed satisfaction. May Agasti, Agni and submarine fire bring about the digestion of the food I have taken and may I enjoy happiness consequent thereupon and may my body be freed from all ills. May Vishnu, who is the chief principle of all senses, of all bodies and souls, be propitiated with my faith and may cause such assimilation the food I have eaten as may invigorate my health. Verily Vishnu is the eater, the food and the nourishment, may the food I have taken, through this faith, be digested'."Having recited this prayer he should rub his stomach with his hand, and renouncing idleness should engage in such action as can easily he performed. He should spend the day in the reading of sacred writings and in such amusements as are authorized by the righteous and when the Sandhya sets in he must engage in devotion. O king, he must perform the morning rites before the stars have disappeared and perform the evening rites before the sun has quite set. The morning and evening rites should never be neglected except at seasons of impurity, anxiety, sickness or alarm. He, who but for illness lies on bed at the hours of sunrise and sunset, is guilty of iniquity. Therefore a man should rise before the sun in the morning and sleep not until after he has set. Those, who sinfully neglect the performance of both the morning and evening rites, go to the hell of darkness after death. And having prepared food in the evening, the wife, of the householder with a view to obtain the fruit of the Viçwadeva rite, should give food, without offering any prayers, to outcasts or unclean persons. The householder, as his means allow, should again show hospitality to any guest who may come receiving him with the salutation of evening and offering him water to wash his feet, a seat, a supper and a bed. The sin, consequent upon not receiving hospitably a guest who comes after sunset, is eight times greater than that of turning away one who comes during the day. A person should therefore particularly show respect to him who seeks refuge after sunset, for the respect, given to his satisfaction, will afford pleasure to all the celestials. The householder should, therefore, as his means permit him, give a guest food, potherbs, water, a bed, a mat, or if he cannot give any thing more, ground only on which to lie."Having taken his evening meal and washed his feet a householder should take rest. His bed must be complete and made of wood, it must have ample space, must not be cracked nor uneven, nor dirty nor infested by insects and must have a bedding. The householder must sleep with his head either to the east or to the south; any other position is unhealthy. In proper time, under the influence of an auspicious planet and in an auspicious moment he should go to his wife if she is not unbathed, sick, unwell, unwilling, angry, pregnant, hungry or over-fed. He should also be free from all these imperfections and should be neatly dressed and adorned and excited by tenderness and affection. Having bathed, wearing garlands, using perfumes, delighted and animated by desire he should go to his wife—not being hungry and excited with anxiety. There are certain days on which the use of unguents, flesh and women is prohibited as the eighth and fourteenth lunar days, new-moon and full-moon and the entrance of the sun into a new sign. On these occasions the wise should control their appetites and engage in the worship of the celestials as laid down in scripture, in meditation and prayer. And he, who acts otherwise, will be doomed to a hell where he will be constrained to live upon ordure. A man should not excite his desires by medicines nor satisfy them with unnatural objects or in public or holy places. A man should not go to a woman under a huge tree, in the courtyard, in a place of pilgrimage, in pasturage, where four streets meet, in a cremation ground, in a garden or in the waters. On all these occasions mentioned before in the morning or in the evening or being unclean the wise should not cohabit with women. If a man goes to a woman during the Parva he loses wealth, if during the day he is visited with sin, if he cohabits with a woman on ground he loses his fame. A man should not think voluptuously of another's wife, nor should, he speak to her for that purpose; for such a wight will be born in his next life as a creeping insect. The cohabitation with another's wife is a source of fear to him both in this life and in the next—for in this he loses his longevity and in the next he is doomed to hell. Considering all these things a man should approach his own wife in proper season or even at other times".
SECTION XI.Sagara said—"O Muni, I wish to hear from you of such religious observances, performing which a householder does not meet with the wane of piety either in this world or in the next".Aurva said—"Hear, O lord of earth, an account of all those religious observances celebrating which a man conquers both this and the next world. The termsatmeansSādhu; and they are calledSādhusor saints who are freed from all blemishes. And their practices are called Sāddhachāras. O lord of earth, the seven Rishis, the Manus and the Patriarchs are those who have laid down and observed those practices. Let the wise, O king, get up at Brahmā Muhartta,[244]when the mind is at rest, meditate upon virtue and wealth not incompatible with the former. He should also meditate upon desire not conflicting with the other two. And he must equally meditate upon the three ends of life for the purpose of counteracting the unseen consequences of good or best acts. He should renounce, O king, such wealth and desire as stand in the way of virtue, and he should abstain from such religious acts as give uneasiness, and as are not compatible with the rules of society. O lord of men, having got up from bed early in the morning, he must offer adoration to the sun and then proceeding to the South-East quarter at a distance of a bow-shot or more, or somewhere remote from the village he must void the impurities of nature. A man should not void the impurities of nature either in the court yard of his house or in any place where is the print of a man's foot. The wise should not pass urine either on his own shadow, nor on the shadow of a tree, nor on a cow, nor against the sun nor on fire, nor against the wind, nor on spiritual preceptor, nor men of the first three castes. Nor he should pass excrement in a ploughed field, or a pasturage, or in the company of men, or on a high road, or in rivers and the like which are holy, or on the bank of a river or in a cremation ground. O king, the wise should pass urine with his face towards the north during the day and towards the south during the night. While passing excrement he should spread grass on the earth and cover his head with cloth and should not wait there long, and should not speak during that time. To clean his hand he should not take earth from an ant-hill, not a rat-hole, nor from water, nor from what has been left after being used for that purpose, nor from what has been used to plaster a cottage, nor that which has been thrown up by insects, or turned over by the plough. He must avoid all these kinds of earth for the purpose of cleanliness; he should use one handful after passing urine, three handfuls after passing excrement, ten handfuls are to be rubbed over the left hand and seven on both hands. He should then rinse his mouth with pure water which is neither fetid, nor frothy nor full of bubbles. After that, he should, being composed, use earth to cleanse his feet, washing them well with water.[244]The third Muhurtta about two hours before sunrise."He must then drink water thrice and wash his face twice with it and then touch with his head, the cavities of the eyes, ears and nostrils, the forehead, navel and the heart. Having finally washed his mouth he must clean and arrange his hairs and must decorate his body, before a looking glass with unguents, garlands and perfumes. He, then according to the practice of his caste, should earn money for maintenance and should worship the deities with firm faith. Sacrifices with acid juice, those with clarified butter and those with offerings of food, may be performed with wealth; therefore men should endeavour much to acquire wealth."For performing daily devotional rites a man should bathe in the water of a river, a natural channel, or a mountain torrent or he should bathe on a dry ground with the water drawn from well or he should bring that water to his house if he had any objection to bathing on the spot. Bathed and clad in clean clothes, he should, with concentrated mind offer oblations to the manes and Rishis with that water. He should offer water thrice for the satisfaction of the celestials, thrice for the satisfaction of the Rishis and once for the patriarchs. He should make three libations for the satisfaction of the manes. He should, with the part of the hand sacred to the manes, offer wafer to his paternal grand father, great grand father, maternal grand father, great grand father and his father, and according to his pleasure to his own mother and his mother's mother and grand mother, to the wife of his preceptor, to his preceptor, his maternal uncle, and other relations, to a dear friend and to the king. He should then, O king, offer water to the celestials for the benefit of all animals, reciting the prayer. 'May the celestials, demons, Yakshas, Serpents, Rākshasas, Gandharvas, Pisāchas, Guhyakas, Siddas, Kushmandas, trees, birds, fish, all that inhabit the waters or the earth, or the air, be propitiated by the water I have offered to them. This water is presented by me for the mitigation of the sufferings of all those who have been put to hell. Let them be propitiated with this water who are my friends, who are not my friends, who were my friends in my former birth and all those who expect water from me. May this water and sesamum offered by me remove the hunger and thirst of all those who are suffering therefrom wherever they may live'. The offerings, of water, O king, in the manner I have described, give satisfaction to all the world. Having offered water duly and reverentially to all the sinless man obtains the piety that comes from satisfying the world."Having rinsed his mouth he must offer water to the sun touching his forehead with folded hands and reciting the following player—'Salutation to the radiant Vaivaswat—the effulgence of Vishnu; to the pure illuminator of the universe; to Sāvitri, the giver of fruits for all actions'. He must then go through the family worship, offering water, flowers, and incense to the tutelary deity. He must then offer oblations to fire, first invoking Brahmā then Prajāpati. He must then offer water to Guhya, Kāshyapa and Anumati in succession and then offer the remainder to the earth, to water and to rain in a pitcher at hand. O foremost of men, he must offer water to Dhātri Vidhātri at the doors of his house and to Brahmā in the middle of it. Hear from me how he should then worship the deities presiding over the various quarters."He should offer the Bali containing the remaining portions of the oblations to Indra, Yama, Varuna and Soma on the four sides of his house. And in the north-east quarter the wise should offer it to Dhanwantari; then he should offer the remaining portion to Viswadevas, then in the north-east to wind then in all directions to the cardinal points, to Brahmā, to the atmosphere, and to the sun, to all the celestials, to all beings, to the lords of beings, to the manes, and to Yakshas. Thereupon taking other rice the learned should cast it on a clean spot of ground as an offering to all beings and with a collected mind should repeat the following prayer—'May celestials, men, animals, birds, saints. Yakshas, serpents, demons, ghosts, goblins, trees and all those who desire food from me; may ants, worms, moths and other insects who are hungry and chained in acts, obtain satisfaction from food offered by me and enjoy bliss. I offer this food on the ground for them who have got no mother, no father, no friends, no food, nor the means for preparing it. May they be satisfied with the food offered for their satisfaction. All these animals, this food and myself are at one with Vishnu—for there exists nothing but Vishnu; I am not different from all beings, and therefore for their sustenance I offer this food. May all beings, that belong to the fourteen orders of existent things, be satisfied and delighted with the food offered by me'."Having repeated this prayer the householder should devoutly throw the food on the ground for the benefit of all beings; for the householder is thence the supporter of them all. He should also disperse food on the ground for dogs, outcasts, birds and all mean and degraded persons."Thereupon to receive guests the householder should wait in the courtyard of his house as long as it takes to milch a cow or for a longer period if he pleases. If a guest comes he must be received with all hospitality; he must be offered a seat, his feet are to be washed, food should be respectfully given to him, he must be spoken to with all kindness and civility and when he goes away, the friendly wishes of the host must accompany him. The householder should pay attention to that guest who comes from another place and whose lineage is not known. He should not make him a guest who is an inhabitant of the same village. He who feeds himself, neglecting a guest, who is poor, who is not his relation, who comes from another place and is desirous of eating, goes to hell. The householder should receive his guest regarding him as the golden embryo[245]without inquiring his studies, his schools, his practices or his race.[245]The mundane egg floating on the water at creation, of that metal, or similar colour from which the deity issued according to some legends;i.e.he should treat him with all reverence."A householder, O king, at the Srādha ceremony of his father, should feed another Brāhmin, who is of the same village, whose pedigree and practices are known and who performs the five sacramental rites. He should also present to a Brāhmin, who is well versed in the Vedas, four handfuls of food, set apart, with the exclamation Hanta. If he has got means left after making these three sorts of gifts, the learned should, according to his pleasure, make gifts to a mendicant and a religious student. These three, with the addition of the mendicant described before, are to be considered as guests; and he, who treats these four sorts of persons with hospitality, is freed of the debt due to his fellow beings. The guest, who goes elsewhere disappointed from any house, transfers his own sins to the owner of the house and takes away the house-holder's merits. Brahmā, Prajāpati, Indra, fire, the Vasus, the sun are present in the person of a guest and share the food that is offered to him. Therefore a man should assiduously satisfy the duties of hospitality; for a man, who eats his food without giving any to his guest, feeds only upon his own sin. Thereupon the householder must satisfy with well-seasoned food the damsel living in her father's house, those who are ill, the pregnant woman, the aged and the infants of the house and then he should eat himself. The householder, who eats his food without feeding these, feeds upon his own iniquity and after his death is condemned in hell to feed upon phlegm. He, who eats, without performing ablutions, feeds upon filth; he, who eats without repeating his prayers, feeds upon matter and blood; he, who eats unconsecrated food, drinks urine; and he, who eats before the infants and the aged are fed, is doomed in hell to live upon ordure. O foremost of kings, I shall now describe, do you hear, how a householder should eat and for which he would not be sullied with iniquity, his perpetual health and increased vigour would be secured and all evils and hostilities would be averted. Having bathed and offered duly libations to the celestials, Rishis, and manes and adorned his hand with precious jewels, having recited introductory prayers, offered oblations with fire, food to guests, to Brāhmans, to his elders and to his family, the householder should take his meal, wearing unsullied cloth, excellent garlands and sprinkled with perfumes. He must not eat, O lord, of men, with a single garment on, nor with wet hands and feet."He must not eat with his face directed to my intermediate point of horizon, but facing the east or the north; and with a smiling countenance, happy and attentive, let him take good and wholesome food boiled with clean water, procured from no mean person, nor by improper means nor improperly cooked. Having given a part to his hungry companions he should take food without reproach from a clean, handsome vessels which must not be placed upon a low stool or bed. He must not take his food in an unbecoming place or out of season or in an unsuitable mood, giving the first morsel to fire. His food, O king, must be consecrated with suitable texts, must be good and must not be stale except in the case of fruit or meat. Nor it should be made of dry vegetable substances other than jujubes or preparation of molasses. And a man should never eat that of which the juices have been extracted. Nor a man should so eat as nothing will be left of his meal except in the case of flour, cakes, honey, water, curds and butter. He should with a devoted mind first taste that which has good flavour; in the middle he should take salt and sour things and in the end he should take those which are pungent and bitter. The person, who begins his food with fluid things, takes solid food in the middle and finishes with fluid things, will ever be strong and healthy. In this wise he should take such food as is not prohibited, should be silent at the time of eating and should take five handfuls for the nutriment of the vital principle. After he has taken his food, he should, facing the east or the north, rinse his mouth, and having washed his hands up to the wrist he should again sip water. Then with a satisfied and calm mind he should take his seat, meditate upon his tutelary deity and pray 'May fire excited by air cause this food to digest in the space afforded by the etherial atmosphere, convert this into the earthly elements of this body and give me satisfaction. May this food, when assimilated, contribute to the vigour of the earth, water, fire, and air of my body and afford unmixed satisfaction. May Agasti, Agni and submarine fire bring about the digestion of the food I have taken and may I enjoy happiness consequent thereupon and may my body be freed from all ills. May Vishnu, who is the chief principle of all senses, of all bodies and souls, be propitiated with my faith and may cause such assimilation the food I have eaten as may invigorate my health. Verily Vishnu is the eater, the food and the nourishment, may the food I have taken, through this faith, be digested'."Having recited this prayer he should rub his stomach with his hand, and renouncing idleness should engage in such action as can easily he performed. He should spend the day in the reading of sacred writings and in such amusements as are authorized by the righteous and when the Sandhya sets in he must engage in devotion. O king, he must perform the morning rites before the stars have disappeared and perform the evening rites before the sun has quite set. The morning and evening rites should never be neglected except at seasons of impurity, anxiety, sickness or alarm. He, who but for illness lies on bed at the hours of sunrise and sunset, is guilty of iniquity. Therefore a man should rise before the sun in the morning and sleep not until after he has set. Those, who sinfully neglect the performance of both the morning and evening rites, go to the hell of darkness after death. And having prepared food in the evening, the wife, of the householder with a view to obtain the fruit of the Viçwadeva rite, should give food, without offering any prayers, to outcasts or unclean persons. The householder, as his means allow, should again show hospitality to any guest who may come receiving him with the salutation of evening and offering him water to wash his feet, a seat, a supper and a bed. The sin, consequent upon not receiving hospitably a guest who comes after sunset, is eight times greater than that of turning away one who comes during the day. A person should therefore particularly show respect to him who seeks refuge after sunset, for the respect, given to his satisfaction, will afford pleasure to all the celestials. The householder should, therefore, as his means permit him, give a guest food, potherbs, water, a bed, a mat, or if he cannot give any thing more, ground only on which to lie."Having taken his evening meal and washed his feet a householder should take rest. His bed must be complete and made of wood, it must have ample space, must not be cracked nor uneven, nor dirty nor infested by insects and must have a bedding. The householder must sleep with his head either to the east or to the south; any other position is unhealthy. In proper time, under the influence of an auspicious planet and in an auspicious moment he should go to his wife if she is not unbathed, sick, unwell, unwilling, angry, pregnant, hungry or over-fed. He should also be free from all these imperfections and should be neatly dressed and adorned and excited by tenderness and affection. Having bathed, wearing garlands, using perfumes, delighted and animated by desire he should go to his wife—not being hungry and excited with anxiety. There are certain days on which the use of unguents, flesh and women is prohibited as the eighth and fourteenth lunar days, new-moon and full-moon and the entrance of the sun into a new sign. On these occasions the wise should control their appetites and engage in the worship of the celestials as laid down in scripture, in meditation and prayer. And he, who acts otherwise, will be doomed to a hell where he will be constrained to live upon ordure. A man should not excite his desires by medicines nor satisfy them with unnatural objects or in public or holy places. A man should not go to a woman under a huge tree, in the courtyard, in a place of pilgrimage, in pasturage, where four streets meet, in a cremation ground, in a garden or in the waters. On all these occasions mentioned before in the morning or in the evening or being unclean the wise should not cohabit with women. If a man goes to a woman during the Parva he loses wealth, if during the day he is visited with sin, if he cohabits with a woman on ground he loses his fame. A man should not think voluptuously of another's wife, nor should, he speak to her for that purpose; for such a wight will be born in his next life as a creeping insect. The cohabitation with another's wife is a source of fear to him both in this life and in the next—for in this he loses his longevity and in the next he is doomed to hell. Considering all these things a man should approach his own wife in proper season or even at other times".
Sagara said—"O Muni, I wish to hear from you of such religious observances, performing which a householder does not meet with the wane of piety either in this world or in the next".
Aurva said—"Hear, O lord of earth, an account of all those religious observances celebrating which a man conquers both this and the next world. The termsatmeansSādhu; and they are calledSādhusor saints who are freed from all blemishes. And their practices are called Sāddhachāras. O lord of earth, the seven Rishis, the Manus and the Patriarchs are those who have laid down and observed those practices. Let the wise, O king, get up at Brahmā Muhartta,[244]when the mind is at rest, meditate upon virtue and wealth not incompatible with the former. He should also meditate upon desire not conflicting with the other two. And he must equally meditate upon the three ends of life for the purpose of counteracting the unseen consequences of good or best acts. He should renounce, O king, such wealth and desire as stand in the way of virtue, and he should abstain from such religious acts as give uneasiness, and as are not compatible with the rules of society. O lord of men, having got up from bed early in the morning, he must offer adoration to the sun and then proceeding to the South-East quarter at a distance of a bow-shot or more, or somewhere remote from the village he must void the impurities of nature. A man should not void the impurities of nature either in the court yard of his house or in any place where is the print of a man's foot. The wise should not pass urine either on his own shadow, nor on the shadow of a tree, nor on a cow, nor against the sun nor on fire, nor against the wind, nor on spiritual preceptor, nor men of the first three castes. Nor he should pass excrement in a ploughed field, or a pasturage, or in the company of men, or on a high road, or in rivers and the like which are holy, or on the bank of a river or in a cremation ground. O king, the wise should pass urine with his face towards the north during the day and towards the south during the night. While passing excrement he should spread grass on the earth and cover his head with cloth and should not wait there long, and should not speak during that time. To clean his hand he should not take earth from an ant-hill, not a rat-hole, nor from water, nor from what has been left after being used for that purpose, nor from what has been used to plaster a cottage, nor that which has been thrown up by insects, or turned over by the plough. He must avoid all these kinds of earth for the purpose of cleanliness; he should use one handful after passing urine, three handfuls after passing excrement, ten handfuls are to be rubbed over the left hand and seven on both hands. He should then rinse his mouth with pure water which is neither fetid, nor frothy nor full of bubbles. After that, he should, being composed, use earth to cleanse his feet, washing them well with water.
"He must then drink water thrice and wash his face twice with it and then touch with his head, the cavities of the eyes, ears and nostrils, the forehead, navel and the heart. Having finally washed his mouth he must clean and arrange his hairs and must decorate his body, before a looking glass with unguents, garlands and perfumes. He, then according to the practice of his caste, should earn money for maintenance and should worship the deities with firm faith. Sacrifices with acid juice, those with clarified butter and those with offerings of food, may be performed with wealth; therefore men should endeavour much to acquire wealth.
"For performing daily devotional rites a man should bathe in the water of a river, a natural channel, or a mountain torrent or he should bathe on a dry ground with the water drawn from well or he should bring that water to his house if he had any objection to bathing on the spot. Bathed and clad in clean clothes, he should, with concentrated mind offer oblations to the manes and Rishis with that water. He should offer water thrice for the satisfaction of the celestials, thrice for the satisfaction of the Rishis and once for the patriarchs. He should make three libations for the satisfaction of the manes. He should, with the part of the hand sacred to the manes, offer wafer to his paternal grand father, great grand father, maternal grand father, great grand father and his father, and according to his pleasure to his own mother and his mother's mother and grand mother, to the wife of his preceptor, to his preceptor, his maternal uncle, and other relations, to a dear friend and to the king. He should then, O king, offer water to the celestials for the benefit of all animals, reciting the prayer. 'May the celestials, demons, Yakshas, Serpents, Rākshasas, Gandharvas, Pisāchas, Guhyakas, Siddas, Kushmandas, trees, birds, fish, all that inhabit the waters or the earth, or the air, be propitiated by the water I have offered to them. This water is presented by me for the mitigation of the sufferings of all those who have been put to hell. Let them be propitiated with this water who are my friends, who are not my friends, who were my friends in my former birth and all those who expect water from me. May this water and sesamum offered by me remove the hunger and thirst of all those who are suffering therefrom wherever they may live'. The offerings, of water, O king, in the manner I have described, give satisfaction to all the world. Having offered water duly and reverentially to all the sinless man obtains the piety that comes from satisfying the world.
"Having rinsed his mouth he must offer water to the sun touching his forehead with folded hands and reciting the following player—'Salutation to the radiant Vaivaswat—the effulgence of Vishnu; to the pure illuminator of the universe; to Sāvitri, the giver of fruits for all actions'. He must then go through the family worship, offering water, flowers, and incense to the tutelary deity. He must then offer oblations to fire, first invoking Brahmā then Prajāpati. He must then offer water to Guhya, Kāshyapa and Anumati in succession and then offer the remainder to the earth, to water and to rain in a pitcher at hand. O foremost of men, he must offer water to Dhātri Vidhātri at the doors of his house and to Brahmā in the middle of it. Hear from me how he should then worship the deities presiding over the various quarters.
"He should offer the Bali containing the remaining portions of the oblations to Indra, Yama, Varuna and Soma on the four sides of his house. And in the north-east quarter the wise should offer it to Dhanwantari; then he should offer the remaining portion to Viswadevas, then in the north-east to wind then in all directions to the cardinal points, to Brahmā, to the atmosphere, and to the sun, to all the celestials, to all beings, to the lords of beings, to the manes, and to Yakshas. Thereupon taking other rice the learned should cast it on a clean spot of ground as an offering to all beings and with a collected mind should repeat the following prayer—'May celestials, men, animals, birds, saints. Yakshas, serpents, demons, ghosts, goblins, trees and all those who desire food from me; may ants, worms, moths and other insects who are hungry and chained in acts, obtain satisfaction from food offered by me and enjoy bliss. I offer this food on the ground for them who have got no mother, no father, no friends, no food, nor the means for preparing it. May they be satisfied with the food offered for their satisfaction. All these animals, this food and myself are at one with Vishnu—for there exists nothing but Vishnu; I am not different from all beings, and therefore for their sustenance I offer this food. May all beings, that belong to the fourteen orders of existent things, be satisfied and delighted with the food offered by me'.
"Having repeated this prayer the householder should devoutly throw the food on the ground for the benefit of all beings; for the householder is thence the supporter of them all. He should also disperse food on the ground for dogs, outcasts, birds and all mean and degraded persons.
"Thereupon to receive guests the householder should wait in the courtyard of his house as long as it takes to milch a cow or for a longer period if he pleases. If a guest comes he must be received with all hospitality; he must be offered a seat, his feet are to be washed, food should be respectfully given to him, he must be spoken to with all kindness and civility and when he goes away, the friendly wishes of the host must accompany him. The householder should pay attention to that guest who comes from another place and whose lineage is not known. He should not make him a guest who is an inhabitant of the same village. He who feeds himself, neglecting a guest, who is poor, who is not his relation, who comes from another place and is desirous of eating, goes to hell. The householder should receive his guest regarding him as the golden embryo[245]without inquiring his studies, his schools, his practices or his race.
"A householder, O king, at the Srādha ceremony of his father, should feed another Brāhmin, who is of the same village, whose pedigree and practices are known and who performs the five sacramental rites. He should also present to a Brāhmin, who is well versed in the Vedas, four handfuls of food, set apart, with the exclamation Hanta. If he has got means left after making these three sorts of gifts, the learned should, according to his pleasure, make gifts to a mendicant and a religious student. These three, with the addition of the mendicant described before, are to be considered as guests; and he, who treats these four sorts of persons with hospitality, is freed of the debt due to his fellow beings. The guest, who goes elsewhere disappointed from any house, transfers his own sins to the owner of the house and takes away the house-holder's merits. Brahmā, Prajāpati, Indra, fire, the Vasus, the sun are present in the person of a guest and share the food that is offered to him. Therefore a man should assiduously satisfy the duties of hospitality; for a man, who eats his food without giving any to his guest, feeds only upon his own sin. Thereupon the householder must satisfy with well-seasoned food the damsel living in her father's house, those who are ill, the pregnant woman, the aged and the infants of the house and then he should eat himself. The householder, who eats his food without feeding these, feeds upon his own iniquity and after his death is condemned in hell to feed upon phlegm. He, who eats, without performing ablutions, feeds upon filth; he, who eats without repeating his prayers, feeds upon matter and blood; he, who eats unconsecrated food, drinks urine; and he, who eats before the infants and the aged are fed, is doomed in hell to live upon ordure. O foremost of kings, I shall now describe, do you hear, how a householder should eat and for which he would not be sullied with iniquity, his perpetual health and increased vigour would be secured and all evils and hostilities would be averted. Having bathed and offered duly libations to the celestials, Rishis, and manes and adorned his hand with precious jewels, having recited introductory prayers, offered oblations with fire, food to guests, to Brāhmans, to his elders and to his family, the householder should take his meal, wearing unsullied cloth, excellent garlands and sprinkled with perfumes. He must not eat, O lord, of men, with a single garment on, nor with wet hands and feet.
"He must not eat with his face directed to my intermediate point of horizon, but facing the east or the north; and with a smiling countenance, happy and attentive, let him take good and wholesome food boiled with clean water, procured from no mean person, nor by improper means nor improperly cooked. Having given a part to his hungry companions he should take food without reproach from a clean, handsome vessels which must not be placed upon a low stool or bed. He must not take his food in an unbecoming place or out of season or in an unsuitable mood, giving the first morsel to fire. His food, O king, must be consecrated with suitable texts, must be good and must not be stale except in the case of fruit or meat. Nor it should be made of dry vegetable substances other than jujubes or preparation of molasses. And a man should never eat that of which the juices have been extracted. Nor a man should so eat as nothing will be left of his meal except in the case of flour, cakes, honey, water, curds and butter. He should with a devoted mind first taste that which has good flavour; in the middle he should take salt and sour things and in the end he should take those which are pungent and bitter. The person, who begins his food with fluid things, takes solid food in the middle and finishes with fluid things, will ever be strong and healthy. In this wise he should take such food as is not prohibited, should be silent at the time of eating and should take five handfuls for the nutriment of the vital principle. After he has taken his food, he should, facing the east or the north, rinse his mouth, and having washed his hands up to the wrist he should again sip water. Then with a satisfied and calm mind he should take his seat, meditate upon his tutelary deity and pray 'May fire excited by air cause this food to digest in the space afforded by the etherial atmosphere, convert this into the earthly elements of this body and give me satisfaction. May this food, when assimilated, contribute to the vigour of the earth, water, fire, and air of my body and afford unmixed satisfaction. May Agasti, Agni and submarine fire bring about the digestion of the food I have taken and may I enjoy happiness consequent thereupon and may my body be freed from all ills. May Vishnu, who is the chief principle of all senses, of all bodies and souls, be propitiated with my faith and may cause such assimilation the food I have eaten as may invigorate my health. Verily Vishnu is the eater, the food and the nourishment, may the food I have taken, through this faith, be digested'.
"Having recited this prayer he should rub his stomach with his hand, and renouncing idleness should engage in such action as can easily he performed. He should spend the day in the reading of sacred writings and in such amusements as are authorized by the righteous and when the Sandhya sets in he must engage in devotion. O king, he must perform the morning rites before the stars have disappeared and perform the evening rites before the sun has quite set. The morning and evening rites should never be neglected except at seasons of impurity, anxiety, sickness or alarm. He, who but for illness lies on bed at the hours of sunrise and sunset, is guilty of iniquity. Therefore a man should rise before the sun in the morning and sleep not until after he has set. Those, who sinfully neglect the performance of both the morning and evening rites, go to the hell of darkness after death. And having prepared food in the evening, the wife, of the householder with a view to obtain the fruit of the Viçwadeva rite, should give food, without offering any prayers, to outcasts or unclean persons. The householder, as his means allow, should again show hospitality to any guest who may come receiving him with the salutation of evening and offering him water to wash his feet, a seat, a supper and a bed. The sin, consequent upon not receiving hospitably a guest who comes after sunset, is eight times greater than that of turning away one who comes during the day. A person should therefore particularly show respect to him who seeks refuge after sunset, for the respect, given to his satisfaction, will afford pleasure to all the celestials. The householder should, therefore, as his means permit him, give a guest food, potherbs, water, a bed, a mat, or if he cannot give any thing more, ground only on which to lie.
"Having taken his evening meal and washed his feet a householder should take rest. His bed must be complete and made of wood, it must have ample space, must not be cracked nor uneven, nor dirty nor infested by insects and must have a bedding. The householder must sleep with his head either to the east or to the south; any other position is unhealthy. In proper time, under the influence of an auspicious planet and in an auspicious moment he should go to his wife if she is not unbathed, sick, unwell, unwilling, angry, pregnant, hungry or over-fed. He should also be free from all these imperfections and should be neatly dressed and adorned and excited by tenderness and affection. Having bathed, wearing garlands, using perfumes, delighted and animated by desire he should go to his wife—not being hungry and excited with anxiety. There are certain days on which the use of unguents, flesh and women is prohibited as the eighth and fourteenth lunar days, new-moon and full-moon and the entrance of the sun into a new sign. On these occasions the wise should control their appetites and engage in the worship of the celestials as laid down in scripture, in meditation and prayer. And he, who acts otherwise, will be doomed to a hell where he will be constrained to live upon ordure. A man should not excite his desires by medicines nor satisfy them with unnatural objects or in public or holy places. A man should not go to a woman under a huge tree, in the courtyard, in a place of pilgrimage, in pasturage, where four streets meet, in a cremation ground, in a garden or in the waters. On all these occasions mentioned before in the morning or in the evening or being unclean the wise should not cohabit with women. If a man goes to a woman during the Parva he loses wealth, if during the day he is visited with sin, if he cohabits with a woman on ground he loses his fame. A man should not think voluptuously of another's wife, nor should, he speak to her for that purpose; for such a wight will be born in his next life as a creeping insect. The cohabitation with another's wife is a source of fear to him both in this life and in the next—for in this he loses his longevity and in the next he is doomed to hell. Considering all these things a man should approach his own wife in proper season or even at other times".