Chapter 2

[Vol. I, Part 2:]

Hereafter, I shall explain the duties and conduct of a householder in the Kali yuga, the common dharma for the four varṇas and stages of life, to be performed according to one's ability. (I,2, p. 1) // Par_2.1 //

I shall first proclaim this according to the words of Parāśara. A Brāhmaṇa, while engaged in his six duties, may also have agriculture performed. (I,2, p. 3) // Par_2.2 //

One should not yoke an ox that is hungry, thirsty, or tired. A Brāhmaṇa should not use an ox that is missing a limb, is sick, impotent, or a bull. (I,2, p. 6) // Par_2.3 //

One should use an ox that has strong limbs, is free from disease, is satisfied, bellows well, and is not a bull, for half the day. Afterwards, one should perform bathing. // Par_2.4 //

One should practice sacred recitation (japya), worship of deities, fire offerings, and study of the Veda. A dvija should feed one, two, three, or four Brāhmaṇas who are learned graduates (snātakas). (I,2, p. 8) // Par_2.5 //

With grains that he has personally acquired from a field he has cultivated himself, he should perform the five great sacrifices (pañca yajña) and also undertake the consecration for a major sacrifice (kratu). (I,2, p. 9) // Par_2.6 //

Sesame and liquids should not be sold, but they may be sold if they are of equal value to grain. This is the livelihood for a Brāhmaṇa, along with the sale of grass, wood, and the like. // Par_2.7 //

If a Brāhmaṇa himself engages in agriculture, he incurs a great sin. The sin that a fish-killer incurs in a year, (I,2, p. 13) // Par_2.8 //

a plowman incurs in a single day with his iron-tipped wooden plow. A snarer, a fish-killer, a hunter, and a fowler, // Par_2.9 //

an unwilling giver, and a farmer—all these are equal partners in sin. Having cut down trees, broken the earth, and killed worms and insects, // Par_2.10 //

a farmer is freed from all sins by the threshing-floor sacrifice. He who does not give to the dvijas when they come to the heap of grain, (I,2, p. 14) // Par_2.11 //

he is a thief, he is a great sinner; one should declare him a slayer of a Brāhmaṇa. After giving a sixth part to the king and a twenty-first part to the gods, (I,2, p. 15) // Par_2.12 //

and a thirtieth part to the Brāhmaṇas, he is freed from all sins. A Kṣatriya also, having performed agriculture, should worship the gods and the Brāhmaṇas. // Par_2.13 //

A Vaiśya and a Śūdra should likewise engage in agriculture, commerce, and crafts. If Śūdras, having abandoned service to the dvijas, perform unauthorized work, (I,2, p. 16) // Par_2.14 //

they become short-lived and, without a doubt, go to hell. This is the eternal dharma for all four varṇas. // Par_2.15 //