Hear now the sacred narrative as revealed in these verses. It is said that when one beholds the image of a deity, or encounters a worthy guru or a Brahmin, one should respond with reverence. If a twice-born, out of anger or pride, withholds a blessing from one who bows before him, he acts against the proper way. The scriptures declare that the killing of a cow and the killing of a Brahmin are especially grave sins. Savitri, full of curiosity and devotion, asked Yama, “What is the difference between less and more? Please explain this to me.” Yama replied, “O virtuous one, where indeed is the greater, where is the lesser, and where is the true excess? Where is equality between the two, according to the authority of the Vedas?” He continued, “In ancient times, for a well-known Brahmin who imparted knowledge and mantras, there was a special regard. The mother is said to be a hundred times greater than the father, and likewise, the father is a hundred times greater than the mother. The guru and the guru’s wife are both to be regarded with the highest reverence. A Brahmin is equal to Shiva, and his prowess is compared to Vishnu. All water is as sacred as the Ganga, and all twice-born are like Vyasa. The result of killing a preceptor is four times greater than that of an actual killing. Thus, the distinction regarding the killing of a preceptor has been explained. “In the Veda, it is declared that one’s own wife is proper for all. All that is general has now been stated; listen as I speak of the specifics, O beautiful one. “For Shudras, the wife of a Brahmin; for Brahmins, a Shudra woman—if a Shudra approaches a Brahmin woman, he incurs the sin of a hundred brahma-murders. If a Brahmin goes to a Shudra woman, he becomes merely the husband of an outcaste. His offering of food is like excrement, and his libation is as impure as urine. The merit accumulated over millions of births, gained by worship, twilight rites, and austerity, is lost for a Brahmin who drinks liquor, eats excrement, or is the husband of an outcaste woman. “The guru’s wife, the king’s wife, a co-wife’s mother, or one’s own mother; the wife of a brother from the same womb, the wife of a maternal uncle, or the wife of one’s father; a female disciple, the wife of a disciple, or the beloved of a sister’s son—whoever among men approaches any one or more of these women is the lowest of men. Even if he is not fit for any ritual, he is untouchable in the world and exceedingly condemned in the Veda. “Whoever performs the twilight worship impurely, or neglects it altogether, falls from virtue. The Vaiṣṇava, likewise the Śaiva, the Śākta, the Saurya, and the Gāṇapatya—each has his own path, but the flow of purity is the limit, up to the extent of four handfuls. “There, in the field of Nārāyaṇa, in Kurukṣetra at the abode of Hari, at Puṣkara, at the field of Bhāskara, at Prabhāsa, and in the circle of the rāsa, on the bank of the Sarasvatī river, in the holy Vṛndāvana forest—whoever, in these places or elsewhere, accepts gifts out of desire, is marked by impurity. He who is a sacrificer beyond the Shudra, and he who is a village sacrificer, is described as fallen. He who lives by cooking for Shudras is remembered as a cook. The mark of the lord of the outcaste woman has been stated previously; there are other pits for them, listen as I tell you. “Virtuous deeds are the seed of heaven, and evil deeds lead to hell. Whoever eats the food of a wanton woman, or a chaste woman eats the food of a courtesan, after remaining for a hundred years in the thread of time, certainly becomes a Shudra.” Thus, Yama spoke, revealing the distinctions between virtue and sin, and the consequences that follow each deed.