Dakshasmriti 2
English (machine translation) 2
- Language
- English
Contents
- 2.56 — 1 part
2.1
Rising at dawn, what must be done by the twice-born day by day— / all that I shall explain fully, for the benefit of the twice-born.
2.2
From sunrise to sunset, a brāhmaṇa should not be idle, / free [from idleness] through obligatory regular, occasional, and desire-prompted rites, and other blameless duties.
2.3
A twice-born who abandons his own duty and performs another, / whether through ignorance or delusion, becomes fallen on that account.
2.4
In the first part of the day, his duty is prescribed; / and in the second, third, fourth, and fifth,
2.5
and in the sixth, seventh, and eighth separately— / whatever rite belongs to these divisions, I will expound completely.
2.6
When dawn arrives, having properly performed purification, / he should then bathe, preceded by brushing his teeth.
2.7
Extremely dirty is the body, endowed with nine openings; / it exudes secretions day and night; the morning bath is its purifier.
2.8
For when one is asleep, the senses become foul and exude fluids; / the upper limbs become equal with the lower.
2.9
Covered with various sweats, a man who has risen from bed / must not perform any rite, such as muttered recitation or fire offering, without having bathed.
2.10
Rising at dawn, a brāhmaṇa who regularly bathes in the morning / removes the sin born of all his lifetimes within three years.
2.11
The bath taken dawn after dawn, at the morning twilight devotion as the sun rises, / is equal to a Prājāpatya penance, destroying cardinal sins.
2.12
They praise the morning bath, for it produces visible and unseen spiritual effects; / with a purified self, one who bathes in the morning is worthy of all [rites], such as muttered recitation.
2.13
Immediately after bathing, sipping water for purification is prescribed; / purified by sipping water according to this rule, one attains purity.
2.14
Having washed both feet and hands, he should thrice drink inspected water; / covering [it], he should then wipe his mouth twice with the root of the thumb.
2.15
Bringing together three fingers, he should first touch his mouth in this manner; / then, having sprinkled both feet, he should touch the limbs.
2.16
With the thumb and forefinger, the nose immediately thereafter; / with the thumb and ring finger, the eyes and ears repeatedly;
2.17
with the little finger and thumb, the navel; the heart with the palm; / with all fingers, the head thereafter; and the two arms with the tips [of the fingers].
2.18
At twilight, both at dawn and again at midday, / whoever does not perform the twilight devotion, especially a brāhmaṇa,
2.19
becomes a śūdra while still alive, and when dead is born as a dog. / Lacking the twilight devotion, he is always impure and unfit for all rites.
2.20
Whatever other rite he performs, he does not enjoy its fruit. / At the conclusion of the twilight devotion rite, offering into the fire is prescribed to be done by oneself; / the fruit that comes from making the fire offering oneself does not arise through another.
2.21
The officiating priest, a son, a guru, a brother, a nephew, or a son-in-law— / what is offered by these alone is indeed offered by oneself.
2.22
Having then performed the rite for the gods, one should look upon one's guru and auspicious objects. / Rites for the gods are to be performed in the forenoon, and those for humans at midday;
2.23
and rites for ancestors in the afternoon—these must be performed with effort. / If one performs in the evening a rite that belongs to the forenoon,
2.24
he does not obtain its fruit, just like intercourse with a barren woman. / All this is prescribed for the first part of the day.
2.25
And in the second part, study of the Veda is prescribed; / for study of the Veda is called the supreme austerity of brāhmaṇas.
2.26
That is to be known as the Vedic sacrifice, accompanied by the six auxiliary disciplines: / first acquisition of the Veda, then reflection, repeated recitation, muttered recitation,
2.27
and then imparting to disciples; for study of the Veda is fivefold. / That time is declared [also] for firewood, flowers, kuśa grass, and the like.
2.28
And in the third part, securing the means of sustenance for the group of dependents: / father, mother, guru, wife, offspring, and the destitute who depend on one,
2.29
a visitor and another guest are declared to be the group of dependents; / an impoverished kinsman and relative, and likewise a helpless person who has sought shelter,
2.30
and others who lack wealth are declared to be the group of dependents. / Supporting the group of dependents is praised as the means of attaining heaven;
2.31
and tormenting them leads to hell; therefore one should support them with effort. / Food and the like should be provided for all living beings, especially / bestowed upon those who possess knowledge; otherwise, one goes to hell.
2.32
He alone truly lives upon whom many depend for life; / other men who feed only themselves are alive yet dead. / One person lives for the sake of many, others for the sake of family,
2.33
while another, miserable on account of his own belly, cannot live even for himself. / One desiring prosperity should give to the poor, the helpless, and the distinguished.
2.34
Those who do not give gifts are born depending upon others' fortunes. / What one gives to distinguished persons, what one offers daily into the fire,
2.35
that alone I consider wealth; the rest one preserves for someone else. / And likewise in the fourth portion [of the day], one should fetch earth for bathing,
2.36
sesame seeds, flowers, kuśa grass, and the like, and [perform] bathing in natural water. / Bathing is stated to be threefold: obligatory regular duty, occasional duty, and desire-prompted rite.
2.37
Among these, that which is the obligatory regular duty is again divided into three: / the removal of dirt, and then [the bath] in water accompanied by mantras, it is remembered,
2.38
and the twilight devotion bath—by these two kinds, the divisions of bathing are proclaimed. / Sprinkling is done in the midst of water, and breath control wherever appropriate;
2.39
thereafter, worship of the sun; then the muttered recitation of the Sāvitrī is prescribed. / She whose deity is Savitṛ, whose mouth is fire, abiding threefold,
2.40
whose seer is Viśvāmitra, whose metre is the Gāyatrī—she is supreme. / And likewise in the fifth portion, distribution according to merit
2.41
is taught for ancestors, gods, humans, and insects. / Indeed, by gods, humans, and animals alike is [the householder] lived upon;
2.42
because of this every day, the householder is the eldest stage of life. / The householder is declared to be the source of the three stages of life.
2.43
If he languishes, the other three languish here as well. / The root is the life of the trunk; from the trunk come the branches with their sprouts.
2.44
When the root is destroyed, all of this is destroyed. / Therefore, with every effort, the one in the householder stage of life must be protected
2.45
by the king and honored by the other three [stages], and always revered. / Even a householder is so by engaging in rites, not a householder merely by possessing a house,
2.46
nor indeed by sons and wife, if he has abandoned his own duties. / Without having bathed, offered into fire, muttered recitations, and given gifts, a man,
2.47
becoming indebted to the gods and others, enters hell. / One man eats food alone, while another is eaten by food.
2.48
He alone is not eaten who eats food with witnesses [at his table]. / He who is given to sharing, who is constantly endowed with patience, intent on compassion,
2.49
devoted to the gods and guests—that householder is righteous. / Compassion, modesty, patience, faith, wisdom, yoga, gratitude—
2.50
the householder who possesses these virtues is called foremost. / Then, having made the distribution, the householder should eat what remains.
2.51
Having eaten, remaining at ease, he should digest that food. / He should spend the sixth and seventh [portions of the day] with the Epics, Purāṇas, and the like.
2.52
In the eighth, worldly affairs; then again, the twilight devotion outdoors, / the fire offering, eating, and whatever other household duties there are.
2.53
Having done this, he should then undertake a little Vedic self-recitation. / The early night watch and the last watch, he should spend those two in Vedic study.
2.54
Sleeping for two watches, he becomes fit for becoming one with Brahman. / As occasional and desire-prompted duties present themselves,
2.55
so in that very manner are they to be performed; no fixed time is ordained [beforehand]. / Absorbed in this [dharma], one is indeed dissolved into this [supreme reality].
2.56
Therefore, by one desiring happiness, it must be performed with all effort. / Everywhere, [sleeping] during the two middle watches, and eating the sacrificial residue and offering, / a brāhmaṇa does not decline.
2.56.p1
Thus ends the second chapter in the Dharmaśāstra of Dakṣa.
Linked texts (1)
- Dakṣasmṛti — Dakṣa, Sanskrit