स गतायुर् नरस् तेन मत्स्ययोनौ प्रजायते मत्स्ययोनिम् अनुप्राप्य मृतो जायेत मानुषः
That man, having lost his lifespan, is born in the fish species; after attaining the fish birth and dying, he is born as a human.
मानुषत्वम् अनुप्राप्य क्षीणायुर् उपजायते पापानि तु नरः कृत्वा तिर्यग् जायेत भो द्विजाः
Upon attaining human birth, with a diminished lifespan, he is born again; and after committing sins, a man is born as an animal, O twice-borns.
न चात्मनः प्रमाणं तु धर्मं जानाति किंचन ये पापानि नराः कृत्वा निरस्यन्ति व्रतैः सदा
He does not know the measure of his own self nor any aspect of dharma; those men who commit sins always reject them through vows.
सुखदुःखसमायुक्ता व्याधिमन्तो भवन्त्य् उत असंवीताः प्रजायन्ते म्लेच्छाश् चापि न संशयः
They are afflicted equally by happiness and sorrow, and indeed become diseased; they are born unclothed, and also as mlecchas, without doubt.
नराः पापसमाचारा लोभमोहसमन्विताः वर्जयन्ति हि पापानि जन्मप्रभृति ये नराः
Men of sinful conduct, filled with greed and delusion, avoid sins; those men who shun sins from birth onward.
अरोगा रूपवन्तश् च धनिनस् ते भवन्त्य् उत स्त्रियो ऽप्य् एतेन कल्पेन कृत्वा पापम् अवाप्नुयुः
They become healthy, handsome, and wealthy; women too, by this rule, after committing sin, attain such results.
एतेषाम् एव पापानां भार्यात्वम् उपयान्ति ताः प्रायेण हरणे दोषाः सर्व एव प्रकीर्तिताः
The wives of these sinners also attain such outcomes; in theft, all faults are generally described.
एतद् वै लेशमात्रेण कथितं वो द्विजर्षभाः अपरस्मिन् कथायोगे भूयः श्रोष्यथ भो द्विजाः
This has been told to you only in brief, O best of twice-borns; in another context of discourse, you will hear more, O twice-borns.
एतन् मया महाभागा ब्रह्मणो वदतः पुरा सुरर्षीणां श्रुतं मध्ये पृष्टं चापि यथा तथा
This was formerly heard by me, O illustrious ones, from Brahma speaking among the divine sages, and asked as it was.
मयापि तुभ्यं कार्त्स्न्येन यथावद् अनुवर्णितम् एतच् छ्रुत्वा मुनिश्रेष्ठा धर्मे कुरुत मानसम्
I have also described it to you fully and properly; hearing this, O best of sages, set your mind on dharma.
अधर्मस्य गतिर् ब्रह्मन् कथिता नस् त्वयानघ धर्मस्य च गतिं श्रोतुम् इच्छामो वदतां वर
O Brahman, you have told us the course of unrighteousness; we wish to hear the course of righteousness from you, O best of speakers.
कृत्वा पापानि कर्माणि कथं यान्त्य् अशुभां गतिम् कर्मणा च कृतेनेह केन यान्ति शुभां गतिम्
After committing sinful deeds, how do people attain an evil course? And by what action here do they attain a good course?
कृत्वा पापानि कर्माणि त्व् अधर्मवशम् आगतः मनसा विपरीतेन निरयं प्रतिपद्यते
Having committed sinful deeds, coming under the sway of unrighteousness, with a perverse mind, he attains hell.
मोहाद् अधर्मं यः कृत्वा पुनः समनुतप्यते मनःसमाधिसंयुक्तो न स सेवेत दुष्कृतम्
Whoever, out of delusion, commits unrighteousness and then repents, with a mind joined in concentration, does not engage in evil deeds.
यदि विप्राः कथयते विप्राणां धर्मवादिनाम् ततो ऽधर्मकृतात् क्षिप्रम् अपराधात् प्रमुच्यते
If the Brahmins speak, those who are followers of Brahminical dharma, then one is quickly freed from the offense of unrighteous acts.
यथा यथा नरः सम्यग् अधर्मम् अनुभाषते समाहितेन मनसा विमुञ्चति तथा तथा
As a man sincerely confesses his unrighteousness, with a concentrated mind, he is freed accordingly.
यथा यथा मनस् तस्य दुष्कृतं कर्म गर्हते तथा तथा शरीरं तु तेनाधर्मेण मुच्यते
Just as, to the extent that a person's mind reproaches their wrongful deeds, so too, by that very unrighteousness, the body is freed.
भुजंग इव निर्मोकान् पूर्वभुक्ताञ् जहाति तान् दत्त्वा विप्रस्य दानानि विविधानि समाहितः
Like a serpent sheds its old skins, so does one, having given various gifts to a learned Brahmin with a focused mind, cast off former enjoyments.
मनःसमाधिसंयुक्तः स्वर्गतिं प्रतिपद्यते दानानि तु प्रवक्ष्यामि यानि दत्त्वा द्विजोत्तमाः
Endowed with concentration of mind, one attains the path to heaven; now I will declare the gifts which, when given, O best of twice-born, yield this result.
नरः कृत्वाप्य् अकार्याणि ततो धर्मेण युज्यते सर्वेषाम् एव दानानाम् अन्नं श्रेष्ठम् उदाहृतम्
Even if a man has committed improper acts, he is joined to righteousness through giving; among all gifts, food is declared to be the highest.
सर्वम् अन्नं प्रदातव्यम् ऋजुना धर्मम् इच्छता प्राणा ह्य् अन्नं मनुष्याणां तस्माज् जन्तुः प्रजायते
All food should be given by one who desires righteousness, with straightforwardness; for food is the life of people, and from it living beings are born.
अन्ने प्रतिष्ठिता लोकास् तस्माद् अन्नं प्रशस्यते अन्नम् एव प्रशंसन्ति देवर्षिपितृमानवाः
All worlds are established upon food; therefore, food is praised. Indeed, gods, sages, ancestors, and humans all extol food.
अन्नस्य हि प्रदानेन स्वर्गम् आप्नोति मानवः न्यायलब्धं प्रदातव्यं द्विजातिभ्यो ऽन्नम् उत्तमम्
By the gift of food, a person attains heaven; the best food, obtained justly, should be given to the twice-born.
स्वाध्यायसमुपेतेभ्यः प्रहृष्टेनान्तरात्मना यस्य त्व् अन्नम् उपाश्नन्ति ब्राह्मणाश् च सकृद् दश
To those engaged in self-study, with an inwardly joyful heart—if ten Brahmins partake even once of one’s food,
हृष्टेन मनसा दत्तं न स तिर्यग्गतिर् भवेत् ब्राह्मणानां सहस्राणि दशाभोज्य द्विजोत्तमाः
Food given with a delighted mind does not lead to a lower rebirth; O best of twice-born, feeding even a thousand Brahmins at once brings this result.
नरो ऽधर्मात् प्रमुच्येत पापेष्व् अभिरतः सदा भैक्षेणान्नं समाहृत्य विप्रो वेदपुरस्कृतः
A man always attached to sin is freed from unrighteousness by gathering food through alms, when a Brahmin, devoted to the Veda, receives it.
स्वाध्यायनिरते विप्रे दत्त्वेह सुखम् एधते अहिंसन् ब्राह्मणस्वानि न्यायेन परिपाल्य च
When food is given to a Brahmin devoted to self-study, happiness increases here; not harming, and protecting Brahmin property justly.
क्षत्रियस् तरसा प्राप्तम् अन्नं यो वै प्रयच्छति द्विजेभ्यो वेदमुख्येभ्यः प्रयतः सुसमाहितः
A Kshatriya who, with effort and full attention, gives food obtained by strength to the foremost twice-born, especially those learned in the Veda,
तेनापोहति धर्मात्मा दुष्कृतं कर्म भो द्विजाः षड्भागपरिशुद्धं च कृषेर् भागम् उपार्जितम्
By this, O twice-born, the righteous soul removes sinful deeds, and the portion of the field thus earned is purified by six parts.
वैश्यो ददद् द्विजातिभ्यः पापेभ्यः परिमुच्यते अवाप्य प्राणसंदेहं कार्कश्येन समार्जितम्
A Vaishya, by giving food to the twice-born, is freed from sins, even if he has acquired it with difficulty and risk to life through hard labor.