Skandapurana 2.9.22

English (machine translation) 2.9.22

Language: English

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Wishing to become a householder, he should give a fee (dakṣiṇā) to the teacher according to his means,

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and only by his permission perform the rite of return from studentship (samāvartana).

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Then, according to rule, he should marry a woman suitable to his family, younger in age, free from disease,

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devoid of masculine characteristics, and free from sin.

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According to his qualification, every day for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa,

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he should then worship the gods, seers, ancestors, and living beings according to rule.

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Bathing, the twilight devotions, recitation (japa), burnt offering (homa), self-study of the Veda (svādhyāya), the worship of Viṣṇu,

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water libation (tarpaṇa), the offering to all gods (vaiśvadeva), and hospitality to guests he should perform daily.

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He should perform virtuous deeds according to his ability with wealth acquired by righteous means.

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Unattached, he should support those dependent upon him for maintenance, but never torment [them].

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Because of the body or bodily relations, he should not, like a beast,

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bear enmity toward others; he should abandon the notion of 'I' and 'mine' with regard to the body and so forth.

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Unwearied, he should keep company with the good, the devotees of the Lord (Bhāgavatas);

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he should not keep company with womanisers, the dissolute, or the greedy.

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He should never look upon another man's wife with lustful intent;

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nor should he approach his own wife on days of ancestral rites (śrāddha), sacred junctions (parvan), vows, and the like.

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Even a man who has attained perfection in Sāṃkhya and Yoga

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is bewildered in a secluded place by contact even with his own daughter.

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Therefore, a wise man should not sit together with his mother, sister, or daughter

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in a solitary place, [if she is] a young woman—how much less with any other woman?

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Of all inauspicious things, a widow is indeed the most inauspicious;

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therefore, looking upon her and touching her robs men of their merit.

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If, at the time of departure on a journey, the sight of a widow occurs right in front,

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then one must not go; otherwise, death is certain.

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The blessings of widowed women are equal to the hissing of the serpent of death;

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hence, a householder should fear them as he would demonesses (rākṣasīs).

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He should shun liquor, meat, intoxicants, and gambling from afar;

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he should never cause injury to any living being, even by speech.

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He should daily listen to the deeds of the incarnations of Hari;

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faithful, he should perform all actions for the sake of Vāsudeva.

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In the months of Ūrja (Kārttika), Māgha, and Vaiśākha, during the Cāturmāsya, and in an intercalary month (malimluca),

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as well as on other meritorious occasions, he should observe special observances.

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In a sacred place, at an auspicious time, to a worthy recipient according to rule, a householder

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should give gifts according to his capacity, and show compassion toward living creatures.

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O sinless one, I shall describe to you specifically the sacred places, auspicious times,

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and worthy recipients that increase righteousness (dharma).

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The best of all regions on earth is that which is inhabited by Me,

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where hosts of great sages of noble vows perform austerities.

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The sanctity of places arises from the greatness of Hari and His devotees:

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Gaṅgādvāra, Madhupurī (Mathurā), and Naimiṣāraṇya;

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Kurukṣetra, Ayodhyā, Prayāga, and Gayāśiras;

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the city of Vārāṇasī, and the sacred Pulahāśrama;

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Kapilāśrama, Śrīraṅga, Prabhāsa, and Kuśasthalī (Dvārakā);

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the sacred field named Siddhaprada, and the great lake Pauṣkara (Puṣkara);

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Mount Raivata, the sporting ground of the Blessed Lord with Śrī;

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likewise Mount Govardhana, and the sacred forest Vṛndāvana;

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the seven principal mountain ranges, beginning with Mahendra and Malaya;

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the most holy Bhāgīrathī (Gaṅgā), the Yamunā, and the Sarasvatī;

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the holy major rivers and streams celebrated in the Purāṇas,

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headed by the Godāvarī, Sarayū, Kāverī, and Gomatī;

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wherever the worship of the image of the Blessed Lord takes place with great festivals;

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and wherever there are unswerving devotees of the Lord;

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and wherever there are excellent brahmins who are non-violent and devoted to their own duty—

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and where animals such as deer roam fearlessly. (27)

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Wherever are the descents of Hari, or wherever is his abode,

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these regions in particular are the most meritorious on earth. (28)

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Even a little virtue performed in these yields a thousandfold to men.

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Now listen, O Nārada: I shall tell the times that increase merit. (29)

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The two solstices, the equinox, an eclipse of the sun and moon,

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the loss of a lunar day, a Vyatīpāta, and the Śravaṇa asterisms in all respects, (30)

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the twelfth lunar days, the eleventh lunar days, the beginnings of the manvantaras, the beginnings of the yugas,

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all these are meritorious lunar days, as well as the new moon and Vaidhṛti, (31)

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the full moons conjoined with the month’s asterism, the four Aṣṭakās likewise,

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the asterisms of one’s own birth, and the festival days of Hari’s appearance, (32)

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the life-cycle rites and celebrations of oneself, of [one’s] wife, and of [one’s] children,

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and whenever a worthy recipient is found: these are the most meritorious times. (33)

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The worship of the gods, ancestors, twice-born, and virtuous according to one’s capacity,

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and ritual ablution, gifts, recitation, and so forth, indeed yield endless fruit. (34)

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The worthy recipient in person, however, is the Blessed Lord Himself, O Nārada,

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just as water given to the root satisfies all the branches. (35)

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By non-violence, Vedic knowledge, contentment, right conduct, and devotion,

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those twice-born who hold Viṣṇu in their hearts are indeed worthy recipients. (36)

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The single-minded devotees of the Blessed Lord, who release the bound—

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know that those in whom the Blessed Lord Himself resides are worthy recipients. (37)

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A wealthy man should cause firm temples of Viṣṇu to be built,

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and should also provide endowments for them to secure an ongoing stream of worship. (38)

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He should prepare water reservoirs and gardens for the sake of Viṣṇu,

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and he should satisfy virtuous people and brahmins with wholesome, delicious food. (39)

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He should perform non-violent Vaiṣṇava sacrifices according to his capacity and the rules,

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and observe the observances and appearance-festivals of Viṣṇu with abundant provisions. (40)

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In the dark fortnight of the month of Prauṣṭhapada, on the day of death, and on auspicious festival days at sacred fords,

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he should diligently perform the śrāddha of his parents and of his relatives according to his capacity. (41)

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In rituals for the gods and for the ancestors,

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he should worship twice-born devotees of the Blessed Lord who abide in their own duty, and feed them regarding them as the Blessed Lord. (42)

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He should feed two brahmins in a rite for the gods and three in a rite for the ancestors according to the rule,

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or one in each case; he should certainly not expand [the number] in a śrāddha. (43)

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Place, time, offerings, recipients, and utensils for worship—

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it is certain that there would not be [success] through expansion according to the scriptures. (44)

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A person should never offer meat in a śrāddha, nor should he eat it;

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the ancestors are greatly pleased by ascetic food, milk, and clarified butter. (45)

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By that non-violence toward every living being through mind, speech, and body,

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all the ancestors, being exceedingly compassionate, are satisfied. (46)

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Therefore, never through bad company nor through failing to understand the core meaning of scripture,

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should a man devoted to Vāsudeva give meat in a śrāddha. (47)

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He should perform the observances of Viṣṇu along with the restraints such as celibacy;

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intent solely on that, he should not perform any other business on that day. (48)

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He should observe the impurity of his own relatives upon birth and death according to the scripture,

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and likewise at an eclipse of the sun and the moon. (49)

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In a dispute over worldly matters and in deciding them,

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those who have abandoned the householder's stage must not be employed, nor vile persons. (50)

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Where these are present, that business would never succeed anywhere, O best of the twice-born;

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the loss of all one’s property would happen there—such is the settled conclusion. (51)

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These duties of householders have been declared briefly by me,

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by whose practice there will be inexhaustible, desired happiness for men. (52)

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Twice-born householders are celebrated as being of four kinds,

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according to the distinction of means of livelihood such as gleaning, each with its name, O Nārada. (53)

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Next, I shall declare the duties of women, O best of the virtuous,

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remaining steadfast in which all women attain their desired happiness. (54)

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By married women whose husbands are living, one’s own husband should always be served

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and complied with like a god, even if he is old, diseased, or destitute. (55)

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His relatives should also be complied with through appropriate service;

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and the household utensils should be kept bright and clean. (56)

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The house should be made clean day after day with sweeping, sprinkling, and so forth.

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Pleasant and truthful words should be spoken, and one should always remain pure.

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Fickleness, excessive greed, anger, theft, violence,

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and the company of unrighteous people are to be avoided by women as well as by men. // 58

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They should always be devoted to religious duties;

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having abandoned arrogance, they should remain humble and with senses conquered. // 59

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Established in the virtue of devotion to their husbands, they

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should practice devotion to the Lord of Ramā; they should never act independently. // 2.9.22.60

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A widow, however, should constantly serve Viṣṇu with the attitude [held toward] a husband.

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She should not listen to nor speak words connected with desire. // 61

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Except for close relatives, she should never,

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except in an emergency, touch other men, nor look [at them] lustfully. // 62

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A husbandless woman incur no fault from the touch of an infant boy or of an old man,

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or from speaking with them in necessary affairs. // 63

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In worldly matters, she should not engage in excessive dispute

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with men; in necessary business, she may speak with them, but not in secret. // 64

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She should never intentionally look upon even animals engaged in mating.

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She should renounce all pleasures, eat only once [a day], and eat moderately. // 65

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She should not wear metallic or fine garments, nor ornaments;

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she should not sleep during the day, nor on a cot, except in times of calamity. // 66

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She must not chew betel, nor use unguents or collyrium;

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and she should constantly fear contact with men as if with a black serpent. // 67

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A woman who does not become infatuated upon seeing a man—

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such a woman does not exist anywhere, except for Lakṣmī alone. // 68

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Therefore, a woman steadfast in righteousness and desiring her own highest good

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should not gaze at the male form, nor intentionally touch it. // 69

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She should continually perform religious observances out of devotion,

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such as kṛcchra and cāndrāyaṇa penances, and always be dedicated to self-restraint. // 2.9.22.70

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Even with her father or son, a young woman

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should not remain in secret with a young man; she must completely avoid bad company. // 71

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A woman, whether married or a widow, should never conceal the appearance of her menses;

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for three nights she should not touch human beings and others. // 72

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On the first day she is declared to be a caṇḍālī, on the second a slayer of a brahmin,

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and on the third a washerwoman; she becomes pure on the fourth day. // 73

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Thus the duties of women have been briefly related to you by me,

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endowed with which women attain great happiness both here and in the hereafter. // 74

Thus ends the twenty-second chapter, titled 'Delineation of the Duties of the Householder', in the Śrīvāsudevamāhātmya of the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. // 22

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit