Chapter 5

A twice-born with downcast eyes, malicious, intent on achieving his own ends, crooked, and falsely humble, is one who follows the heron's mode of life. // Mn_4.196[197M] //

Those Brahmanas who follow the heron's mode of life and those who wear the mask of a cat, they fall into the hell of utter darkness because of that sinful action. // Mn_4.197[198M] //

One should not, under the pretext of Dharma, commit a sin and then perform a vow; nor, concealing a sin with a vow, practice deception on women and Shudras. // Mn_4.198[199M] //

Such Brahmanas are condemned by the expounders of the Veda both in this world and the next; and a vow performed with deceit goes to the Rakshasas. // Mn_4.199[200M] //

He who, not belonging to a religious order, makes a living by wearing its garb, he takes away the sin of those who belong to that order and is born in the womb of an animal. // Mn_4.200[201M] //

One should never bathe in reservoirs belonging to others; for by bathing, one is tainted with a portion of the sin of the reservoir's maker. // Mn_4.201[202M] //

By using another's vehicle, bed, seat, well, garden, or house without permission, one becomes a partaker of a quarter of his sin. // Mn_4.202[203M] //

One should always bathe in rivers, in pools dug by the gods, in tanks, and in lakes, and also in pits and springs. // Mn_4.203[204M] //

A wise man should always observe the major restraints (yamas), but not always the minor ones (niyamas); by not performing the yamas but observing only the niyamas, he falls. // Mn_4.204[205M] //

A Brahmana should never eat at a sacrifice offered by one who is not a learned Brahmana, nor at one performed by a village priest, nor at one offered by a woman or a eunuch. // Mn_4.205[206M] //

It is offensive to the good where these offer oblations; it is repugnant to the gods; therefore, one should avoid it. // Mn_4.206[207M] //

One should never eat the food of the intoxicated, the angry, or the sick; nor food contaminated with hair or insects, nor that which has been intentionally touched by a foot. // Mn_4.207[208M] //

Nor that which has been looked at by the slayer of a learned Brahmana, nor touched by a menstruating woman, nor pecked at by a bird, nor touched by a dog. // Mn_4.208[209M] //

Nor food sniffed at by a cow, nor food publicly proclaimed, nor the food of a corporation, nor the food of a prostitute, nor that which is despised by the learned. // Mn_4.209[210M] //

Nor the food of a thief or a singer, of a carpenter or a usurer, of one initiated for a sacrifice, of a miser, or of one bound in fetters. // Mn_4.210[211M] //

Nor of one accused of a great sin, of a eunuch, of an unchaste woman, or of a hypocrite; nor what is sour or stale, nor the leftovers of a Shudra. // Mn_4.211[212M] //

Nor of a physician, a hunter, a cruel man, or one who eats leftovers; nor the food of a violent man, nor food from a house under impurity from childbirth, nor food that has been sipped from but not yet eaten, nor that from the first ten days after a cow has calved. // Mn_4.212[213M] //

Nor unhonored food, nor meat eaten for no purpose, nor the food of a woman who has no husband or sons, nor the food of an enemy, nor the food of a whole town, nor the food of an outcaste, nor that which has been sneezed upon. // Mn_4.213[214M] //

Nor the food of a slanderer or a liar, nor of one who sells sacrifices, nor the food of an actor or a tailor, nor the food of an ungrateful person. // Mn_4.214[215M] //

Nor of a blacksmith, a Nishada, an actor on a stage, a goldsmith, a bamboo-worker, or a seller of weapons. // Mn_4.215[216M] //

Nor of dog-keepers, nor of liquor-sellers, nor of a washerman, a dyer, a cruel man, or one in whose house a paramour lives. // Mn_4.216[217M] //

Nor of those who tolerate a paramour, nor of those who are completely ruled by women, nor food offered to a corpse before the ten days of impurity are over, nor that which gives no satisfaction. // Mn_4.217[218M] //

A king's food takes away energy; a Shudra's food, spiritual luster; a goldsmith's food, lifespan; and a leather-worker's food, fame. // Mn_4.218[219M] //

An artisan's food destroys progeny; a washerman's, strength; the food of a corporation and of a prostitute cuts one off from the worlds. // Mn_4.219[220M] //

A physician's food is pus; an unchaste woman's food is semen; a usurer's food is excrement; and a weapon-seller's food is filth. // Mn_4.220[221M] //

As for these others whose food is forbidden and who have been enumerated in order, the wise say that their food is skin, bones, and hair. // Mn_4.221[222M] //

Having unintentionally eaten the food of any of these, one must fast for three days; having eaten it intentionally, one must perform a Kricchra penance, and the same for eating semen, feces, or urine. // Mn_4.222[223M] //

A learned twice-born should not eat the cooked food of a Shudra who does not perform the śrāddha; but if he has no livelihood, he may take uncooked food from him for one night. // Mn_4.223[224M] //

The gods, having considered both the food of a learned but miserly Brahmana and that of a generous usurer, declared them to be equal. // Mn_4.224[225M] //

Prajapati, approaching them, said, "Do not make the unequal equal. The food of the generous man is purified by faith; the other is destroyed by lack of faith." // Mn_4.225[226M] //

With faith, one should always, without weariness, perform sacrifices and pious works; for those done with faith, with wealth rightly acquired, become imperishable. // Mn_4.226[227M] //

One should always practice the Dharma of giving, both sacrificial and charitable, with a pleased mind, having found a worthy recipient, according to one's ability. // Mn_4.227[228M] //

Whatever is to be given, it should be given without envy when asked for; for a worthy recipient will surely arise who saves one from all troubles. // Mn_4.228[229M] //

A giver of water obtains satisfaction; a giver of food, imperishable happiness; a giver of sesame seeds, desired progeny; and a giver of a lamp, excellent eyesight. // Mn_4.229[230M] //

A giver of land obtains land; a giver of gold, a long life; a giver of a house, excellent dwellings; and a giver of silver, excellent beauty. // Mn_4.230[231M] //

A giver of clothes obtains fellowship with the moon; a giver of a horse, fellowship with the Ashvins; a giver of a bull, abundant prosperity; and a giver of a cow, the world of the sun. // Mn_4.231[232M] //

A giver of a vehicle or a bed obtains a wife; a giver of protection, sovereignty; a giver of grain, eternal happiness; and a giver of the Veda, union with Brahma. // Mn_4.232[233M] //

Of all gifts—of water, food, cows, land, clothes, sesame seeds, gold, and ghee—the gift of the Veda is the most excellent. // Mn_4.233[234M] //

With whatever disposition a man gives any gift, with that same disposition he receives it in return, being duly honored. // Mn_4.234[235M] //

He who accepts a gift with honor, and he who gives one with honor—both go to heaven; but in the opposite case, to hell. // Mn_4.235[236M] //

One should not be proud of one's tapas, nor speak an untruth after performing a sacrifice; even when distressed, one should not revile Brahmanas, nor boast after giving a gift. // Mn_4.236[237M] //

A sacrifice perishes through falsehood; tapas perishes through pride; lifespan perishes through reviling Brahmanas; and a gift perishes through boasting. // Mn_4.237[238M] //

One should slowly accumulate Dharma, as termites build an anthill, for the sake of a companion in the next world, without harming any beings. // Mn_4.238[239M] //

For in the next world, neither father nor mother stands by as a companion, nor son, nor wife, nor kinsman; Dharma alone remains. // Mn_4.239[240M] //

A creature is born alone and alone it perishes; alone it enjoys its good deeds, and alone its evil deeds. // Mn_4.240[241M] //

Leaving the dead body on the ground like a log or a clod of earth, the kinsmen turn away and go; Dharma alone follows him. // Mn_4.241[242M] //

Therefore, for the sake of a companion, one should always accumulate Dharma slowly; for with Dharma as a companion, one crosses the darkness that is difficult to cross. // Mn_4.242[243M] //

Dharma quickly leads a man for whom it is the chief thing, whose sins have been destroyed by tapas, to the next world, radiant and with an ethereal body. // Mn_4.243[244M] //

One who wishes to elevate his family should always form connections with the best of the best, and abandon the lowest of the low. // Mn_4.244[245M] //

By aspiring to the highest of the high and avoiding the low, a Brahmana attains excellence; by the opposite, he attains the state of a Shudra. // Mn_4.245[246M] //

One who is resolute, gentle, self-controlled, not living with those of cruel conduct, non-violent, and who follows his vow—he conquers heaven through self-restraint and giving. // Mn_4.246[247M] //

Fuel, water, roots, fruit, and whatever food is offered, one may accept from anyone; and also honey and a gift of protection. // Mn_4.247[248M] //

Prajapati considered that alms, brought and offered without being previously solicited, may be accepted even from a man of evil deeds. // Mn_4.248[249M] //

The ancestors of him who scorns such an offering do not eat for fifteen years, nor does the fire carry his oblation. // Mn_4.249[250M] //

A bed, houses, Kusha grass, perfumes, water, a flower, jewels, curds, parched grains, fish, milk, meat, and vegetables—these one should not refuse when offered. // Mn_4.250[251M] //

Desiring to support his gurus and dependents, and to worship the deities and guests, he may accept gifts from anyone, but he should not satisfy himself with them. // Mn_4.251[252M] //

But when his gurus have passed away, or when living in a house without them, seeking a livelihood for himself, he should always accept gifts from good people. // Mn_4.252[253M] //

A sharecropper, a family friend, a cowherd, a servant, and a barber—among Shudras, the food of these may be eaten, and also of one who offers himself as a servant. // Mn_4.253[254M] //

Whatever his own nature may be, and whatever he may wish to do, and how he may serve him—so should he present himself. // Mn_4.254[255M] //

He who, being one way, represents himself as another to the good, he is the greatest sinner in the world, a thief, a stealer of his own self. // Mn_4.255[256M] //

All meanings are fixed in speech, have speech as their root, and proceed from speech; but the man who steals that speech, he is a thief of everything. // Mn_4.256[257M] //

Having discharged his debts to the great sages, the ancestors, and the gods according to the rule, having entrusted everything to his son, he should dwell in a state of neutrality. // Mn_4.257[258M] //

Alone, in a secluded place, he should always contemplate what is beneficial for his soul; for one who contemplates alone attains the supreme good. // Mn_4.258[259M] //

This has been declared as the eternal rule of life for a Brahmana householder, and the rule for the vows of a snātaka, which is auspicious and increases goodness. // Mn_4.259[260M] //

A Brahmana who knows the Veda and the sacred treatises, living by this rule of life, is always freed from sin and is exalted in the world of Brahma. // Mn_4.260[261M] //

Having heard these Dharmas of a snātaka as they had been declared, the sages spoke this to the great-souled Bhrigu, who was born of fire. // Mn_5.1 //

"O Lord, for Brahmanas who thus follow their own Dharma as prescribed, how does death have power over these knowers of the Veda and the sacred treatises?" // Mn_5.2 //

The righteous-souled Bhrigu, descendant of Manu, said to those great sages: "Listen, by what fault death desires to slay Brahmanas." // Mn_5.3 //

Through neglect of the study of the Vedas, through abandonment of proper conduct, through laziness, and through the fault of eating forbidden food, death desires to slay Brahmanas. // Mn_5.4 //

Garlic, a type of onion/leek, and also onion, and mushrooms, and things grown on impure ground are forbidden foods for the twice-born. // Mn_5.5 //

One should diligently avoid red exudations from trees, and those that flow from an incision, the śelu fruit, and the colostrum of a cow. // Mn_5.6 //

A dish of sesame and grains, cakes, rice pudding, and sweet cakes made for no purpose, and meats not consecrated, and foods for the gods, and oblations. // Mn_5.7 //

The milk of a cow within ten days of calving, of a camel, of a one-hoofed animal, of a ewe, the milk of a cow in heat, and the milk of a cow whose calf has died. // Mn_5.8 //

And the milk of all wild animals, except the buffalo, and the milk of women, and all things that have turned sour are to be avoided. // Mn_5.9 //

But among sour things, curds are edible, and everything made from curds, and those things which are fermented with pure flowers, roots, and fruits. // Mn_5.10 //

One should avoid all carnivorous birds, and those that live in villages, and unspecified one-hoofed animals, and the sandpiper. // Mn_5.11 //

The sparrow, the diver bird, the swan, the ruddy goose, the village rooster, the crane, the francolin partridge, the gallinule, and the parrot and myna. // Mn_5.12 //

Birds that strike with their beaks, web-footed birds, the woodpecker, birds that scratch for food, diving birds that eat fish, and meat from a slaughterhouse, and dried meat. // Mn_5.13 //

The heron and the crane, the raven, the wagtail, fish-eaters, village pigs, and all kinds of fish. // Mn_5.14 //

He who eats the meat of any being is called the eater of that meat; an eater of fish is an eater of all meat; therefore, one should avoid fish. // Mn_5.15 //

The Pathina and the Rohita may be eaten when offered in rites to the gods and ancestors; and likewise the Rajiva, the Simhatunda, and all scaly fish. // Mn_5.16 //

One should not eat solitary animals, nor unknown beasts and birds, nor any five-toed animals, even among those specified as edible. // Mn_5.17 //

They declare that the porcupine, the hedgehog, the iguana, the rhinoceros, the tortoise, and the hare are edible among five-toed animals, as are all animals with one row of teeth, except the camel. // Mn_5.18 //

A twice-born who intentionally eats a mushroom, a village pig, garlic, a village rooster, an onion, or a type of onion/leek, falls from his caste. // Mn_5.19 //

Having unintentionally eaten these six, he should perform a Kricchra Santapana penance, or a Yati-Chandrayana; for the others, he should fast for a day. // Mn_5.20 //

A best of the twice-born should perform at least one Kricchra penance a year for the purification of eating forbidden food unknowingly, and especially for doing so knowingly. // Mn_5.21 //

For the sake of a sacrifice, praiseworthy beasts and birds may be slain by Brahmanas, and also for the sustenance of dependents, for Agastya did so in ancient times. // Mn_5.22 //

For in ancient sacrifices and in the sacrificial sessions of Brahmanas and Kshatriyas, the sacrificial cakes were made of the meat of edible beasts and birds. // Mn_5.23 //

Whatever edible or enjoyable food is mixed with fat and is not reprehensible, that may be eaten even if stale, as may whatever is the remnant of an oblation. // Mn_5.24 //

But all things made of barley and wheat, and all preparations of milk, may be eaten by the twice-born even if they have been kept for a long time, provided they are not mixed with fat. // Mn_5.25 //

This has been declared in its entirety concerning what may and may not be eaten by the twice-born; now I will declare the rule concerning the eating and avoidance of meat. // Mn_5.26 //

One may eat meat that has been sprinkled with consecrated water, and when it is the wish of Brahmanas, and when one is appointed according to the rule, and when one's life is in danger. // Mn_5.27 //

Prajapati ordained all this as food for the living spirit; both the immovable and the movable, everything is food for the living spirit. // Mn_5.28 //

The unmoving are the food of the moving; those without fangs are the food of those with fangs; those without hands are the food of those with hands; and the timid are the food of the brave. // Mn_5.29 //

The eater is not at fault for eating edible living beings, even day after day; for the Creator himself created both the edible beings and the eaters. // Mn_5.30 //

The eating of meat for a sacrifice—this is remembered as the divine law; but the practice of eating it for any other purpose is called the demonic law. // Mn_5.31 //

Having bought it, or having procured it himself, or having received it as a gift from another, one does not sin by eating meat after having worshipped the gods and the ancestors. // Mn_5.32 //

A twice-born who knows the rule should not eat meat contrary to the rule, unless in distress; for having eaten meat contrary to the rule, he will be devoured by them helplessly after death. // Mn_5.33 //

The sin of a hunter who kills game for money is not as great as that which accrues after death to one who eats meat eaten for no purpose. // Mn_5.34 //

But the man who, having been duly appointed according to the rule, does not eat meat, he, after death, attains the state of an animal for twenty-one births. // Mn_5.35 //

A Brahmana should never eat animals that have not been consecrated with sacred formulas; but he should eat those consecrated with sacred formulas, adhering to the eternal rule. // Mn_5.36 //

In a rite, one may make an animal of ghee, or one may make an animal of flour; but one should never wish to kill an animal for no purpose. // Mn_5.37 //

As many hairs as the animal has, so many times does the one who kills it for no reason suffer a violent death in future births. // Mn_5.38 //

Animals were created for the sake of sacrifice by the Self-existent One himself; the sacrifice is for the prosperity of this whole world; therefore, in a sacrifice, killing is not killing. // Mn_5.39 //

Herbs, animals, trees, beasts, and birds, which have met their death for the sake of a sacrifice, attain higher states of existence again. // Mn_5.40 //

In a madhuparka and in a sacrifice, and in a rite for the ancestors and gods, // Mn_5.41 //