Chapter 31

Vishnu Smriti 31

Three persons are a man's supreme elders (atiguru). // Vi_31.1 //

The mother, the father, and the teacher. // Vi_31.2 //

One must always be ready to serve them. // Vi_31.3 //

What they say, that one shall do. // Vi_31.4 //

One shall do what is pleasing and beneficial to them. // Vi_31.5 //

Without their permission, one shall not do anything at all. // Vi_31.6 //

These three are the three Vedas, these three are the three gods, / These three are the three worlds, these three are the three fires. || Vi_31.7 ||

The father is the Gārhapatya fire, the mother is the Dakṣiṇāgni, and the teacher is the Āhavanīya. // Vi_31.8 //

All his religious duties are honored, for whom these three are honored; / But for him by whom these are dishonored, all his rites are fruitless. || Vi_31.9 ||

Through devotion to his mother, he gains this world; through devotion to his father, the middle world; / But through service to his teacher, he attains the world of Brahma. || Vi_31.10 ||