Agnipurana 151
English (machine translation) 151
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Contents
151.1
Agni said: / Puṣkara spoke to Paraśurāma that which was declared by Varuṇa, / the duties of worldly enjoyment and liberation, practising which Manu and others attain [their goals].
151.2
Puṣkara said: / I will declare to you the all-granting duties common to all castes and stages of life, / proclaimed by Manu and others, which grant satisfaction to Vāsudeva and others:
151.2.p1
[p. 117]
151.3
non-violence, truthful speech, compassion, kindness to living beings, / visiting sacred fords, generosity, celibacy, absence of malice,
151.4
service to gods and twice-born persons, and of gurus, O best of the Bhṛgus, / listening to all duties, and likewise the worship of the ancestors,
151.5
constant devotion to the king, and viewing things through the excellent scriptures, / non-cruelty, endurance, and firm faith.
151.6
The common duty and non-duty of the castes and stages of life has been declared. / Sacrificing for oneself, officiating at sacrifices for others, giving gifts, teaching the Vedas and other texts,
151.7
receiving gifts, and studying: these are prescribed as the activities of a Brahmin. / Giving gifts, studying, and sacrificing in accordance with the rule:
151.8
this duty is proclaimed for the Kṣatriya and the Vaiśya. / For the Kṣatriya in particular, [his duty is] protection and punishing the wicked.
151.9
Agriculture, cattle rearing, and trade are proclaimed for the Vaiśya. / For the Śūdra, service to the twice-born, or all craft traditions.
151.10
From the tying of the muñja grass cord comes the second birth of the Brahmin and others. / In the natural order of the castes, the offspring is remembered to be equal to the mother.
151.11
A Caṇḍāla is born against the natural order from a Śūdra by a Brahmin woman; / a Sūta is born from a Kṣatriya woman, and a Devala from a Vaiśya woman;
151.12
a Pukkasa is born against the order from a Śūdra by a Kṣatriya woman; / a Māgadha from a Vaiśya woman, and an Āyogava from a Śūdra woman.
151.13
Through unions against the natural order with a Vaiśya woman, thousands of mixed castes against the natural order arise.
151.13.p1
[Note]
151.13.p2
1. ga, gha, ṅa, and ña read: 'dharmarūpam'. / [p. 118]
151.13_2
Their marriage is with their equals, not with those higher, nor with those lower.
151.14
The duty of a caṇḍāla is prescribed as the execution of those condemned to death. / The duty of a Vaidehaka is declared to be living off women and guarding them.
151.15
For Sūtas, driving horses and chariots; for Pukkasas, hunting; / for Māgadhas, the act of singing praises; and likewise for an Āyogava,
151.16
entering the stage is prescribed, as well as living by crafts. / Dwelling outside the village, wearing the clothes of the dead,
151.17
and no physical contact with others is prescribed for a caṇḍāla. / Whoever here gives up their body for the sake of a brāhmaṇa or a cow,
151.18
or in defense of women, children, and others, is the cause of spiritual success for outcastes. / Castes arising in miscegenation should be known through the acts of father and mother.
151.18.p1
Thus ends the one hundred fifty-first chapter in the great Agni Purāṇa, entitled “Duties of the Intermediate Castes.”
151.18.p3
Now, the one hundred fifty-second chapter:
151.18.p4
The Livelihood of the Householder.
Other recensions (1)
- Agnipurāṇa (Nag Publishers edition, Delhi) — Sanskrit
Linked texts (1)
- Agnipurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit