Skandapurana 3.2.40
English (machine translation) 3.2.40
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- 3.2.40.40 — 3 parts
3.2.40.40.1
Nārada said: / When the division of castes occurred in that town of Moheraka, / what was done by those conversant with the three Vedas, O Brahmā? Relate that to me who am asking. / Brahmā said: / All the brahmins in their own abode, their minds full of joy, / some devoted to the Agnihotra, some intent on Vedic sacrifices, / some tending the sacred fire, some continually engaged in Smārta rites, / knowers of the Purāṇas and Nyāya, expounders of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas, / performing their righteous conduct with happiness, speakers of the Veda— / while those skilled souls were thus observing righteous conduct, / the best of brahmins spoke of the traditional duty, / the local customs, the family customs, those spoken by the tutelary goddess, / all that is laid down in the Dharmaśāstras, and that which was proclaimed by the Kājeśas. / The brahmins said: / O brahmins, whoever reveres the document with the red footprints, / he should be known as the chief of the caste; thereafter tribute should be given. / Having prepared red sandalwood, and likewise their renowned family, / with their feet reddened with saffron, anointed with fragrant unguents, flowers, and the like, / uniting, that which is written is called "the Red Footprint". / Attentive, let them all revere the written deed of Rāma; / and let the twice-born always worship the handprint of Rāma. / If there are faults in anyone’s good conduct, such as infidelity and the like, / a punishment should be imposed upon them as properly stated by the twice-born. / Let there be no mark of Rāma’s seal as long as he does not pay the fine; / without paying the fine, the mark of the seal is not to be worn. / And the brahmins should be known as having the seal on their hand, O best of kings. / When a son is born, the father should always give an offering to Śrīmātṛ: / twenty palas of clarified butter and five palas of molasses. / Having worshipped the son with saffron and the like as soon as he is born, / on the sixth day, O king, he should always worship Ṣaṣṭhī. / He should make an offering there with clarified butter and perform a fivefold offering.
3.2.40.40.2
He should offer five prastha measures of offerings, accompanied by cloths and coconuts. / Having worshipped the Holy Mother with devotion using saffron and other offerings, / he should not practice deceit in matters of family wealth for the increase of offspring. / That wealth which was borrowed during prosperous times must surely be given back. / Immediately after birth, the natal rite must be performed according to the rule. / And whatever livelihood was specified for the brahmins, that too is divided: / indeed, whatever initial livelihood is obtained, / half of that livelihood should be allocated to the family goddess. / And from a merchant it shall be double when a son is born. / And for the Śūdras of Māṇḍala, this is twelve coins; / for those of Aḍālaja, three times as much; for the Gobhujas, four times as much. / All this has been stated, and similarly for the other Śūdra castes. / When the guilt of homicide arises in a person by the power of fate, / a punishment must be imposed upon him according to rule by those learned in the Veda and Śāstras. / One who speaks unrighteousness in place of righteousness, or casts blame on the blameless, / and one who creates division in the dining-row, is considered equal to the killer of a thousand cows. / The division of livelihood shares, as well as the determination of justice, / must be executed in front of Śrī Rāma’s messenger—this is the decision. / One should perform his worship at that time or always; / one should anoint his body with oil indeed for the pacification of obstacles. / One should offer incense, a lamp, fruit, and various kinds of flowers. / Hanumān, when worshipped, surely grants his desired wish. / For each son, one should perform [rites] before him and nowhere else. / The share for the Holy Mother and Bakulasvāmin should be given first; / afterwards, the acceptance of gifts by the brahmins is to be made—this is settled. / In the assemblies of the brahmins for deciding justice and injustice, / holding the verdict in one's heart, one stationed there should announce it to the twice-born. / Purely through the sense of righteousness, he must avoid bias. / That which is agreed upon by all, and indeed unaltered, is to be enacted.
3.2.40.40.3
If a brahmin summoned there feels fear in the assembly, / his word is not to be heard in setting aside a decided matter. / The person who is ostracized by all the brahmins assembled together / must be avoided by everyone in matters of food, drink, and the like. / No daughter should be given to him, and one who associates with him is deemed the same. / Then a fine should be imposed on him by all the excellent twice-born. / Dining together and the giving of a maiden are prohibited—such is the opinion of the son of Daśaratha. / Whatever sin one commits in order to obtain a place or property, / it dwells in dry and wet food; therefore, one should abandon his food. / One who consumes it becomes a sharer in that sin; his fine shall be according to rule. / He who, though having the power, does not uphold justice, / is to be known as a sharer in sin; this is truth, without a doubt. / He who takes a bribe from sinners who perform wicked deeds, / all their sin falls upon him; of this there is no doubt. / His food is never to be accepted, nor ever his daughter. / A man who seeks the welfare of his sons / should observe all these rules; of this there is no doubt. / Having written this deed, those brahmins rejoiced greatly. / Knowing how, when the terrible Kali age arrives, they might not commit sin, / they all established this righteous law.
Vyāsa said:
When the Kali age arrives, all the twice-born will fall from their places here and there; / they will take sides with partiality and become partisans. / They will feed upon the villages of the mlecchas, destroyed by the Kolas; / those brahmins will fall away from the Veda in the Kali age.
3.2.40.40_1
Yudhiṣṭhira said:
Those brahmins and merchants will go to different lands. / How then will they all be known? By what mark, venerable sir?
3.2.40.42
In which gotra are those mighty brahmins born?
3.2.40.43
Vyāsa said:
The designation of their gotras is known, and some by their heroic deeds; / whatever work belongs to each person, from that arises his family name.
3.2.40.44
For they are known by their family names; nowhere are they known otherwise; / by gotras, pravaras, and family names, O prince,
3.2.40.44_2
the twice-born, the best among the Moḍha brahmins, are recognized, O king.
3.2.40.44_3
Yudhiṣṭhira said:
These have been heard from your mouth by gotras and pravaras; / tell me, grandfather, which Vedic branch were they studying?
3.2.40.47
Vyāsa said:
Wherever they dwell, the mighty followers of the Mādhyandina [branch] are known, / and some virtuous brahmins rely upon the Kauthuma [branch].
3.2.40.48
The branches born of the Ṛgveda and Atharvaveda were lost, O wise one. / Thus living, those brahmins born of dharma
3.2.40.49
in Dharmāraṇya, highly fortunate, were accompanied by sons and grandsons. / All the Śūdras, highly fortunate, were surrounded by sons and grandsons.
3.2.40.50
In the great sacred ford of Dharmāraṇya, they were all servants of the twice-born; / they were devotees of Rāma, and they obey Rāma's command.
3.2.40.51
The valorous Hanūmat also with great reverence / protects that command even now, when the Kali age has properly arrived.
3.2.40.52
In an unseen form, Hanumān constantly wanders there / where the brahmins knowing three Vedas and knowing four Vedas reside.
3.2.40.53
For those seated in the assembly who commit sin through injustice: / victory belongs to those who act righteously, and defeat to those who act unjustly.
3.2.40.54
If someone shows partiality towards a son, father, or brother / who has committed an offense, the son of the Wind becomes angry with him.
3.2.40.55
Enraged, this Hanumān brings about the loss of wealth, / he brings about the loss of sons, and likewise the loss of home.
3.2.40.56
If a Śūdra, created for the purpose of service, does not serve the brahmins / or does not give their livelihood, Hanumān becomes angry with him.
3.2.40.57
Remembering Rāma’s word, the son of the Wind brings about / loss of wealth, loss of sons, loss of dwelling, and great fear.
3.2.40.58
Wherever the brahmins or Śūdras dwell, O best of kings, / they will not become impoverished, by the grace of Rāghava.
3.2.40.59
That fool, unrighteous in mind, who resorts to sinful heresy, / and, abandoning his own brahmins, honors the kinfolk of others,
3.2.40.60
the religious merit he acquired previously turns to ash; it cannot be otherwise. / When a gift is given to others, whether small or great,
3.2.40.61
just as it was anciently ordained by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva, / the gods do not accept his offering to the gods, nor the ancestors his offering to the ancestors.
3.2.40.62
He who defrauds his own brahmins and gives to others instead, / the religious merit earned across his lifetimes turns to ash that very moment.
3.2.40.65
Those excellent twice-born honored by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva— / the Śūdras who turn away from them dwell in Raurava. / He who, out of greed, would abolish his family customs or lineage customs, / or who, thoroughly deluded, would ever fail to perform his own proper duties, / suffers complete ruin; it turns to ash that very moment. / Therefore, every family custom and local custom as well,
3.2.40.66
and lineage custom must be maintained according to one's wealth. / Thus has the ancient Dharmāraṇya been related to you, O king,
3.2.40.68
established by the gods of gods: Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, and the rest. / It is called Dharmāraṇya in the Kṛta age, Satyamandira in the Tretā, / Vedabhavana in the Dvāpara, and Moheraka in the Kali age. / Brahmā said: / Whoever hears this with supreme faith, my son, / this māhātmya of Dharmāraṇya, which destroys all sins,
3.2.40.69
whatever threefold sin was born of mind, speech, or body, / all of it is destroyed by hearing or reciting [it] well.
3.2.40.70
Bestowing fortune, fame, longevity, happiness, and offspring, / a man should hear this māhātmya, my child, to obtain all happiness.
3.2.40.71
Whatever religious merit is in all sacred fords, whatever fruit in all sacred fields, / that fruit he obtains completely from serving Dharmāraṇya.
3.2.40.72
Nārada said: / The māhātmya of Dharmāraṇya which has been heard from your lotus face, / where Dharma performed very severe austerity at the Dharmavāpī—
3.2.40.75
the greatness of that sacred field has been comprehended by me from you. / May it be well with you; I shall go, desiring to see Dharmāraṇya. / There I have been purified by the flood of water that is your speech, O Four-faced One! / Vyāsa said: / All this narrative has been related, O son of Pāṇḍu; / hearing which, a man obtains the fruit of [gifting] a thousand cows.
3.2.40.76
The childless obtains sons; the penniless becomes wealthy; / the sick is freed from sickness; the bound is released from bondage.
3.2.40.77
The seeker of learning obtains supreme learning that accomplishes ritual actions; / he obtains the fruit of pilgrimage to sacred fords, the fruit of [gifting] ten million maidens.
3.2.40.78
Whatever man or woman hears it with devotion, O best of men, / they never see hell, together with one hundred and one [ancestors].
3.2.40.79
Then, having placed the Purāṇa manuscript in an auspicious place / upon silken cloth and the like, O king, pure and approved by the virtuous,
3.2.40.80
one should worship it properly with perfumes and garlands individually. / At the conclusion of the book, O king, there is the worship of the reciter
3.2.40.81
with gifts and the like according to rule, for the sake of obtaining the complete fruit: / a finger-ring, two earrings, and a golden sacred thread,
3.2.40.82
variegated garments, with perfumes, garlands, and ungents; / having performed worship as to a deity, one should also give a milch cow.
3.2.40.83
Having thus heard the narrative of Dharmāraṇya according to the precept, / one undoubtedly obtains the fruit of residing in Dharmāraṇya.
3.2.40.83_4
Thus ends the fortieth chapter, named 'The Description of the māhātmya of Hearing the Dharmāraṇya Purāṇa, Preceded by the Description of the Regulations for the Inhabitants of Dharmāraṇya', in the Dharmāraṇyamāhātmya, in the first part of the third Brahmakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand [verses]. // 40
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit