Imatges de pàgina
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water, yet a man cannot purify water by merely pronouncing the name of that fruit: he must throw it, when pounded, into the jar.

68. For the sake of preserving minute animals by night and by day, let him walk, though with pain to his own body, perpetually looking on the ground.

69. Let a Sannyásí, by way of expiation for the death of those creatures, which he may have destroyed unknowingly by day or by night, make six suppressions of his breath, having duly bathed :

70. Even three suppressions of breath, made according to the divine rule, accompanied with the triverbal phrase (bhur bhuvah swah) and the triliteral syllable (óm), may be considered as the highest devotion of a Bráhmen;

71. For as the dross and impurities of metallick ores are consumed by fire, thus are the sinful acts of the human organs consumed by suppressions of the breath, while the mystick words, and the measures of the gáyatrì arę revolved in the mind.

72. Let him thus, by such suppressions of breath, burn away his offences; by reflecting intensely on the steps of ascent to beatitude, let him destroy sin; by coercing his members, let him restrain all sensual attachments; by meditating on the intimate union of his own soul and the divine essence, let him extinguish all qualities repugnant to the nature of God.

73. Let him observe, with extreme application of mind, the progress of this internal spirit through various bodies, high and low; a progress hard to be discerned by men with unimproved intellects.

74. He, who fully understands the perpetual omnipresence of GOD, can be led no more captive by criminal acts; but he, who possesses not that sublime knowledge, shall wander again through the world.

75. By injuring nothing animated, by subduing all sensual habits, by devout rites ordained in the Véda, and by rigorous mortifications, men obtain, even in this life, the state of beatitude.

76. A mansion with bones for its rafters and beams;

with nerves and tendons, for cords; with muscles and blood, for mortar; with skin, for its outward covering; filled with no sweet perfume, but loaded with feces and urine;

77. A mansion infested by age and by sorrow, the seat of malady, harassed with pains, haunted with the quality of darkness,* and incapable of standing long; such a mansion of the vital soul let its occupier always cheerfully quit:

78. As a tree leaves the bank of a river, when it falls in, or as a bird leaves the branch of a tree at his pleasure, thus he, who leaves his body by necessity or by legal choice, is delivered from the ravening shark, or crocodile, of the world.

79. Letting his good acts descend (by the law of the Véda), to those, who love him, and his evil deeds, to those, who hate him, he may attain, through devout meditation, the eternal spirit.

80. When, having well considered the nature and consequence of sin, he becomes averse from all sensual delights, he then attains bliss in this world; bliss, which shall endure after death.

81. Thus having gradually abandoned all earthly attachments, and indifferent to all pairs of opposite things, as honour and dishonour, and the like, he remains absorbed in the divine essence.

82. All, that has now been declared, is obtained by pious meditation; but no man, who is ignorant of the Supreme Spirit, can gather the fruit of mere ceremonial acts.

83. Let him constantly study that part of the Véda, which relates to sacrifice; that, which treats of subordinate deities; that, which reveals the nature of the Supreme GOD; and whatever is declared in the Upanishads.

84. This holy scripture is a sure refuge even for those, who understand not its meaning, and of course for those, who understand it; this Véda is a sure resource for those,

*Instead of "the quality of darkness," we should read "the quality of passion," as the original word is rajaswalam, “possessing the quality of passion."

who seek bliss above; this is a sure resource for those, who seek bliss eternal.

85. That Bráhmen, who becomes a Sannyásí by this discipline, announced in due order, shakes off sin here below, and reaches the Most High.

86. THIS general law has been revealed to you for anchorites with subdued minds: now learn the particular discipline of those who become recluses according to the Véda, that is, of anchorites in the first of the four degrees.

87. The student, the married man, the hermit, and the anchorite, are the offspring, though in four orders, of married men keeping house;

88. And all, or even any, of those orders, assumed in their turn, according to the sacred ordinances, lead the Bráhmen, who acts by the preceding rules, to the highest mansion:

89. But of all those, the house-keeper, observing the regulations of the Sruti and Smriti, may be called the chief; since he supports the three other orders.

90. As all rivers, female and male, run to their determined place in the sea, thus men of all other orders, repair to their fixed place in the mansion of the house-keeper.

91. By Bráhmens, placed in these four orders, a ten-fold system of duties must ever be sedulously practised:

92. Content, returning good for evil, resistance to sensual appetites, abstinence from illicit gain, purification, coercion of the organs, knowledge of scripture, knowledge of the Supreme Spirit, veracity, and freedom from wrath, form their tenfold system of duties.

93. Such Bráhmens, as attentively read the ten precepts of duty, and after reading, carefully practise them, attain the most exalted condition.

94. A Bráhmen having practised, with organs under command, this ten-fold system of duty, having heard the Upanishads explained, as the law directs, and who has discharged his three debts, may become an anchorite, in the house of his son, according to the Véda;

95. And, having abandoned all ceremonial acts, having expiated all his offences, having obtained a command over

his organs, and having perfectly understood the scripture, he may live at his ease, while the household affairs are conducted by his son.

96. When he thus has relinquished all forms, is intent on his own occupation, and free from every other desire, when, by devoting himself to GOD, he has effaced sin, he then attains the supreme path of glory.

97. THIS four-fold regulation for the sacerdotal class, has thus been made known to you; a just regulation, producing endless fruit after death: next, learn the duty of kings, or the military class.

CHAPTER VII.

ON GOVERNMENT, AND PUBLICK LAW; OR, ON THE
MILITARY CLASS.

1. I WILL fully declare the duty of kings; and show how a ruler of men should conduct himself, in what manner he was framed, and how his ultimate reward may be attained by him.

2. By a man of the military class, who has received in due form the investiture which the Véda prescribes, great care must be used to maintain the whole assemblage of laws.

3. Since, if the world had no king, it would quake on all sides through fear, the ruler of this universe, therefore, created a king, for the maintenance of this system, both religious and civil,*

4. Forming him of eternal particles drawn from the substance of INDRA, PAVANA, YAMA, SU'RYA, of AGNI and VARUNA, of CHANDRA and CUVE'RA:

5. And since a king was composed of particles drawn from those chief guardian deities, he consequently surpasses all mortals in glory.

6. Like the sun, he burns eyes and hearts; nor can any human creature on earth even gaze on him.

7. He is fire and air; he, both sun and moon; he, the

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*The learned translator seems to have understood the word vidruté as in the present tense of the middle voice, instead of being the perfect participle employed in the ablative absolute to agree with lóké, on (this) world." Perhaps the following will be a more literal interpretation of the verse, which is curious, as shewing the ancient opinion of the Hindus as to the origin of sovereignty:

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Since this world, on being destitute of a king, quaked on all sides, therefore the Lord created a king, for the maintenance of this system (locomotive and stationary)."

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