Atri Smriti 3

He who has accomplished over a hundred rites and masters the Veda, / the Vedic fire burns away all of his [sin], just as fire burns fuel.

Just as a fire that has gained strength burns even moist trees, / so do knowers of the Veda burn away their own faults born of action.

Just as a lump of earth thrown into a great lake is completely dissolved, / so the threefold Veda burns the self-committed sin of an embodied soul.

One should not delight in sinful actions relying on the power of the Veda; / [action done] out of ignorance and negligence is burned away, not otherwise.

The sage who performs austerity in the forest, eating roots and fruits, / and he who recites a single Ṛgvedic verse—the fruit of that [recitation] equals all of those [austerities].

Repetition of the Veda according to ability, and performance of the great sacrifices, / quickly destroy sins, even those born of grave sins.

One should reinforce the Veda with the Itihāsas and the Purāṇas; / the Veda fears a man of little learning, thinking: 'He will betray me.'

From officiating at sacrifices, teaching, giving gifts, and likewise from accepting gifts, / they say no fault arises in brahmins; for they are equal to fire and the sun.

When a doubtful situation arises regarding food, eatables, or acceptance of gifts, / I will declare the purification of food; hear that from me as I speak.

Hereafter I shall declare the purifying texts of all the Vedas, / by whose silent recitations, fire oblations, and sesame rites vows are fulfilled:

The Aghamarṣaṇa, the Vedavrata, the Śuddhavatī verses, the Śaratsamas, / the Kūṣmāṇḍa mantras, the Pāvamāna hymns, the Durgā hymn, and the Sāvitrī;

the Śatarudrīya, the Dharmaśiras, the Trisuparṇa, the Mahāvrata, / the Aniṣaṅga and other stobhas, the sāmans, and the sacred utterances;

the Gāruḍa sāmans, the Gāyatrī, the Raivata, / the Puruṣavrata, the Bhāva, and those composed in the Vedas;

the Abliṅga verses, the Bārhaspatya, the Vāksūkta, the Amṛta, / the Gosūkta, the Aśvasūkta, and the two sāmans of Indraśuddhi;

the three Ājyadohas, the Rathantara, the Agnervrata, the Vāmadevya, and the Bṛhat— / these, when recited, purify from sin; and one attains remembrance of past births if one desires.

Gold is the firstborn child of Agni, the earth belongs to Viṣṇu, and cows are the daughters of Sūrya; / these three worlds are given by him who gives gold, a cow, and land.

The fruit of all other gifts lasts for a single birth, / [but] the fruit of [gifts of] gold, land, and milch cows extends through seven births.

Where trees yield all desired fruits, where rivers run with milk-porridge mud, / and where palaces are made of gold—thither go the givers of cows.

On the full-moon day of the month of Vaiśākha, having gratified according to rule / five or seven brahmins with sesame and honey,

or whatever is in one's mind, saying 'May Dharmarāja be pleased,' / the sin committed throughout one's life is destroyed that very moment.

He who gives [a cow] with a golden navel, handsome, and properly directed, / with sesame seeds—hear the fruit, the flower, and the merit thereof:

that cow becomes, without doubt, the earth of gold, / endowed with mountains and forests, reaching to the very ocean, that has been gifted.

He who, having placed sesame seeds on a black antelope skin with gold, honey, and clarified butter, / gives it to a brahmin, crosses over all evil deeds.

Thus ends the third chapter in the Smṛti of Atri.