Chapter 46

Vishnu Smriti 46

Now, there are the kṛcchras (types of penance). // Vi_46.1 //

For three days he shall not eat. // Vi_46.2 //

And each day he shall perform a bath at the three junctures of the day. // Vi_46.3 //

At each bath, he shall submerge himself in water three times. // Vi_46.4 //

When submerged, he shall mutter the Aghamarṣaṇa prayer three times. // Vi_46.5 //

During the day, he shall remain standing. // Vi_46.6 //

At night, seated. // Vi_46.7 //

At the end of the rite, he shall give a milch cow. // Vi_46.8 //

This is the Aghamarṣaṇa penance. // Vi_46.9 //

For three days he shall eat in the evening only; for the next three days, in the morning only; for the next three days, he shall eat what he receives without asking. This is the prājāpatya penance. // Vi_46.10 //

For three days he shall drink hot water; for three days, hot clarified butter; for three days, hot milk; and for three days, he shall not eat. This is the taptakṛcchra penance. // Vi_46.11 //

With these same things, but cold, it is the śītakṛcchra penance. // Vi_46.12 //

The kṛcchrātikṛcchra penance is subsisting on milk for twenty-one days. // Vi_46.13 //

By subsisting on water and barley-meal for a month, it is the udakakṛcchra penance. // Vi_46.14 //

By subsisting on lotus-roots, it is the mūlakṛcchra penance. // Vi_46.15 //

By subsisting on Bel fruit, it is the śrīphalakṛcchra penance. // Vi_46.16 //

Or with lotus seeds. // Vi_46.17 //

The parāka penance is fasting for twelve days. // Vi_46.18 //

For one day he shall eat cow's urine, cow-dung, milk, curd, clarified butter, and water boiled with Kuśa grass; on the second day, he shall fast. This is the sāṃtapana penance. // Vi_46.19 //

With cow's urine and the rest, taken on successive days, it is the mahāsāṃtapana penance. // Vi_46.20 //

Taken over three-day periods, it is the atisāṃtapana penance. // Vi_46.21 //

Subsisting on oil-cake, sour rice-gruel, buttermilk, and water and barley-meal, with a fast in between each, is the tulāpuruṣa penance. // Vi_46.22 //

By drinking a decoction of the leaves of Kuśa, Palāśa, Udumbara, lotus, Śaṅkhapuṣpī, Vaṭa, Brāhmī, and Suvarcalā, one for each day, it is the parṇakṛcchra penance. // Vi_46.23 //

All these kṛcchra penances one shall perform with a shaven head, / Bathing daily at the three junctures, sleeping on the ground, with senses subdued. || Vi_46.24 ||

And one shall avoid excessive conversation with women, Śūdras, and outcastes, / He shall constantly mutter sacred prayers and offer oblations according to his ability. || Vi_46.25 ||