Chapter 19

Vishnu Smriti 19

One shall not have a deceased twice-born man carried out by a Śūdra. // Vi_19.1 //

Nor a Śūdra by a twice-born man. // Vi_19.2 //

Sons shall carry out their father and mother. // Vi_19.3 //

Śūdras shall not carry out a twice-born man, even if he is their father. // Vi_19.4 //

Those Brāhmaṇas who carry out a helpless Brāhmaṇa partake of the world of heaven. // Vi_19.5 //

Having carried out and cremated a deceased kinsman, they shall go to the funeral pyre without circumambulating it and shall immerse themselves in water with their clothes on. // Vi_19.6 //

Having made a water-offering to the deceased, they shall give one piṇḍa (ritual offering of a rice-ball) on kuśa grass. // Vi_19.7 //

And having changed their clothes, they shall chew neem leaves, place their feet on a stone at the door, and enter the house. // Vi_19.8 //

And they shall throw unhusked rice grains into the fire. // Vi_19.9 //

On the fourth day, they shall perform the collection of the bones. // Vi_19.10 //

Their immersion is in the water of the Ganges. // Vi_19.11 //

For as many thousands of years as the number of a man's bones that remain in the water of the Ganges, for that long he resides in the world of heaven. // Vi_19.12 //

As long as the āśauca (ritual impurity) lasts, they shall give water and one funeral cake (piṇḍa) to the deceased. // Vi_19.13 //

And they shall eat food that has been bought or received as a gift. // Vi_19.14 //

And they shall not eat meat. // Vi_19.15 //

They shall sleep on the ground. // Vi_19.16 //

And they shall sleep separately. // Vi_19.17 //

Having gone out of the village, at the end of the āśauca, having had their beards and hair cut, and having bathed with a paste of sesame or mustard seeds, they shall enter the house with changed clothes. // Vi_19.18 //

There, having performed a rite of peace, they shall also honor the Brāhmaṇas. // Vi_19.19 //

The gods are invisible gods; Brāhmaṇas are visible gods. // Vi_19.20 //

The worlds are supported by Brāhmaṇas. // Vi_19.21 //

By the grace of Brāhmaṇas, the deities reside in heaven; A word spoken by a Brāhmaṇa never proves to be false. || Vi_19.22 ||

What Brāhmaṇas, being most pleased, declare, that the deities applaud; When the visible gods are pleased, the invisible gods are ever pleased. || Vi_19.23 ||

With unwavering minds, they should console those afflicted with grief for their deceased relatives, With such words, O Earth, as I shall now declare to you, O you of enchanting mind. || Vi_19.24 ||