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the good things of the world. Indeed, O goddess, it is through their acts that persons become wretched and poor. There are |
others who are full of arrogance and pride caused by the possession of riches. Those senseless wretches never offer seats to |
those that deserve such an offer. Endued with little understandings they do not give way to them that deserve such an |
honour.[575] Nor do they give water for washing the feet to persons unto whom it should be given. Indeed, they do not honour, |
agreeably to the ordinance, with gifts of the Arghya, such persons as deserve to be honoured therewith. They do not offer water |
for washing the mouth unto such as deserve to have that honour. They do not treat their very preceptors, when the latter arrive |
at their houses, in the manner in which preceptors should be treated. Living in cupidity and arrogance, they refuse to treat their |
seniors and aged men with love and affection, even insulting those that deserve to be honoured and asserting their superiority |
over them without showing reverence and humility. Such men, O goddess, sink in Hell. When their sufferings come to an end |
after a long course of years, they rise from Hell, and take birth in the order of humanity, in low and wretched families. Indeed. |
they who humiliate their preceptors and seniors, have to take their birth in such castes as those of Swapakas and Pukkasas who |
are exceedingly vile and bereft of intelligence. He who is not arrogant or filled with pride, who is a worshipper of the deities |
and Brahmanas, who enjoys the respect of the world, who bows to every one that deserves his reverence, who utters smooth |
and sweet words, who benefits persons of all orders, who is always devoted to the good of all beings, who does not feel |
aversion for anybody, who is sweet-tongued, who is an utterer of agreeable and cooling words, who gives way to one that |
deserves to have way, who adores his preceptors in the manner in which preceptors deserve to be adored, who welcomes all |
creatures with proper courtesy, who does not hear ill will towards any creature, who lives, worshipping seniors and guests with |
such honours as they deserve, who is ever bent upon securing as many guests as possible, and who worships all who honour his |
house with their presence, succeeds, O goddess, in ascending to Heaven. Upon the exhaustion of his merit, he takes birth in the |
order of humanity in a high and respectable family. In that life he becomes possessed of all articles of enjoyment in abundance |
and jewels and gems and every kind of wealth in profusion. He gives unto deserving persons what they deserve. He becomes |
devoted to the observance of every duty and every act of righteousness. Honoured by all creatures and receiving their |
reverence, he obtains the fruits of his own acts. Even such a person acquires a high lineage and birth in this world. This that I |
have recited to thee was said by the Ordainer (Brahman) himself in days of old. That man who is fierce in conduct, who |
inspires terror in all creatures, who injures other beings with hands or feet or cords or sticks, or brick-bats or clods of hard clay, |
or other means of wounding and paining, O beautiful lady, who practises diverse kinds of deceit for slaying living creatures or |
vexing them, who pursues animals in the chase and causes them to tremble in fear,--verily, that man, who conducts himself in |
this way, is certain to sink in Hell. If in course of time he takes birth in the order of humanity, he is obliged to be born in a low |
and wretched race or family that is afflicted with impediments of every kind on every side. He becomes an object of aversion |
to all the world. Wretched among men, he becomes so through the consequence of his own acts. Another, who is possessed of |
compassion, casts his eye on all creatures. Endued with a friendly vision, behaving towards all creatures as if he were their |
father, divested of every hostile feeling, with all his passions under complete control, he never vexes any creature and never |
inspires them with fear by means of his hands or feet which are always under his control. He inspires the confidence of all |
beings. He never afflicts any creature with either cords or clubs or brick-bats or clods of hard earth or weapons of any kind. His |
deeds are never fierce or cruel, and he is full of kindness. One who is endued with such practices and conduct certainly ascend |
to Heaven. There he lives like a god in a celestial mansion abounding with every comfort. If, upon the exhaustion of his merit, |
he has to take birth in the order of humanity, he becomes born as a man that has not to fight with difficulties of any kind or to |
encounter any fear. Indeed, he enjoys great happiness. Possessed of felicity, without the obligation of undergoing distressing |
labour for his subsistence, he lives freed from every kind of anxiety. Even this, O goddess, is the path of the righteous. In it |
there are no impediments or afflictions.' |
"Uma said, 'In the world some men are seen well-versed in inferences and the premises leading to them. Indeed, they are |
possessed of science and knowledge, have large progeny, and are endued with learning and wisdom. Others, O god, are |
destitute of wisdom, science, and knowledge, and are characterised by folly. By what particular acts does a person become |
possessed of wisdom? By what acts, again, does one become possessed of little wisdom and distorted vision? Do thou dispel |
this doubt of mine, O thou that art the foremost of all beings conversant with duties. Others there are, O god, that are blind |
from the moment of their birth. Others there are that are diseased and afflicted and impotent. Do thou, O god, tell me the reason |
of this.' |
"Maheswara said, 'Those men that always enquire, about what is for their benefit and what is to their detriment, Brahmanas |
learned in the Vedas, crowned with success, and conversant with all duties, that avoid all kinds of evil deeds and achieve only |
such deeds as are good, succeed in ascending to Heaven after departing from this world and enjoy great happiness as long as |
they live here. Indeed, upon the exhaustion of their merit when they take birth in the order of humanity, they become born as |
men possessed of great intelligence. Every kind of felicity and auspiciousness becomes theirs in consequence of that |
intelligence with which they are born. Those men of foolish understandings who cast wicked eyes upon the wedded spouses of |
other men, become cursed with congenital blindness in consequence of that sinfulness of theirs. Those men who, impelled by |
desire in their hearts, cast their eyes on naked women, those men of wicked deeds take birth in this world to pass their whole |
lives in one continuous disease. Those men of foolish and wicked deeds who indulge in sexual congress with women of orders |
different from their own,--those men of little wisdom,--have to take birth in their next lives as persons destitute of virility. |
Those men who cause animals to be slain, and those who violate the beds of their preceptors, and those who indulge |
promiscuously in sexual congress, have to take birth in their next lives as persons destitute of the virile power.' |
"Uma said, 'What acts, O foremost of the deities, are faulty, and what acts are faultless? What, indeed, are those acts by doing |
which a man succeeds in attaining to what is for your highest good?' |
"Maheswara said, 'That man who is desirous of ascertaining what is righteousness, and who wishes to acquire prominent |
virtues and accomplishments, and who always puts questions to the Brahmanas with a view to find out the path that leads to his |
highest good, succeed in ascending to Heaven. If (after exhaustion of his merit) he takes birth in the order of humanity, he |
becomes endued with intelligence and memory and great wisdom. This, O goddess, is the line of conduct that the righteous are |
to follow and that is fraught with great benefit. I have told thee of it for the good of human beings.' |
"Uma said, 'There are men who hate righteousness and who are possessed of little understanding. They never wish to approach |
Brahmanas conversant with the Vedas. There are others who are observant of vows and who are devoted to the duty of |
performing Sraddhas. Others, again, are destitute of all vows. They are unmindful of observance and are like Rakshasas in |
conduct. Some there are who are devoted to the performance of sacrifices and some who are unmindful of the Homa. Through |
the consequences of what acts do men become possessed of These different natures?' |
"Maheswara said, 'Through the Vedas, the limits have been assigned of all the acts of human beings. Those men that conduct |
themselves according to the authority of the Vedas, are seen (in their next lives) to become devoted to the observance of vows. |
Those men, however, who having become subject to the sway of folly accept unrighteousness for its reverse, become destitute |
of vows, transgress all restraints, and come to be regarded as Brahmarakshasas. Indeed, it is these men that become unmindful |
of the Homa, that never utter the Vashat and other sacred Mantras, and that come to be regarded as the lowest and vilest of men |
Thus, O goddess, have I explained to thee the entire ocean of duties in respect of human beings for the sake of removing thy |
doubts, not omitting the sins of which they become guilty.'" |
SECTION CXLVI |
"Narada said, 'Having said these words, the puissant Mahadeva himself became desirous of hearing (instead of talking), and |
with that view he questioned his dear spouse who was seated by his side and she was fully inclined to act up to his desire.' |
"Mahadeva said, 'Thou, O goddess, art conversant with what is Supreme and what is not.[576] Thou art acquainted with all |
duties, O thou that lovest to reside in the retreats of ascetics. Thou art endued with every virtue, possessed of beautiful |
eyebrows and hair ending in the fairest curls, O daughter of Himavat, the king of mountains! Thou art skilled in every work. |
Thou art endued with self-restraint and thou lookest impartially upon all creatures. Divested of the sense of meum, thou art |
devoted to the practice of all the duties. O thou of beautiful features, I desire to ask thee about something. I wish that, asked by |
me, thou wilt discourse to me on that topic. Savitri is the chaste wife of Brahma. The chaste Sachi is the wife of Indra. |
Dhumrorna is the spouse of Markandeya, and Riddhi of (king) Vaisravana. Varuna has Gauri for his spouse, and Surya has |
Suvarchala. Rohini is the chaste wife of Sasin, and Swaha of Vibhavasu. Kasyapa has Aditi. All these regard their husbands as |
their gods. Thou hast, O goddess, conversed and associated with all of them every day. It is for this reason, O thou that art |
conversant with every duty, that I desire to question thee about the duties of women, O thou whose words are always consistent |
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