O best of Kauśikas, the king has committed no offense; rather, he stands as one who leads others to the attainment of heaven, not as a wrongdoer. Thus, O Brāhmaṇa, the king’s actions are justified. You both, however, caught in the grip of desire and anger, have become obstacles to the path of asceticism. Abandon these passions, I pray, for Brahman possesses immense power. May good fortune be yours. Hearing these words, both became ashamed. Their hearts softened, and with affection, they forgave each other, embracing warmly. Thereafter, honored by the gods, Brahmā returned to his own world. Vasiṣṭha went to his own place, and Kauśika to his refuge. It is said that whoever among mortals recites or faithfully listens to the tale of the battle of the Āḍibakas and the story of Hariścandra, their sins will be removed, and obstacles to their endeavors will never arise. Now, in the fifteenth chapter, Yamakiṅkara speaks: If a twice-born accepts anything from one who has fallen, he is reborn as a donkey. If a fallen sacrificer is released from hell, he becomes a worm. Should a twice-born commit an offense against his teacher, he is born as a dog. If he merely desires the teacher’s wife or property in his mind, there is no doubt of this consequence. A creature who insults his parents becomes a donkey; one who abuses his mother and father is born as a myna bird. He who insults his brother’s wife becomes a pigeon; if he harms her, he becomes a tortoise. A woman who eats the funeral offering of her husband without performing the prescribed rites, being deluded, is born as a monkey after death. One who steals a deposit, upon release from hell, is born as a worm; and an envious person, when freed from hell, becomes a demon. A man who betrays trust is born in the womb of a fish. One who steals grain—be it barley, sesame, black gram, horse gram, mustard, chickpeas, peas, rice, green gram, wheat, lentils, or any other crop out of delusion—is born as an insentient creature. Such a person is born as a large-mouthed, tawny mouse. But one who covets another’s wife is reborn as a fierce wolf. A wicked man who violates his brother’s wife is reborn, in succession, as a dog, jackal, crane, vulture, snake, or heron. If one violates the wife of a friend, teacher, or king, after falling from hell, he attains the state of a male cuckoo. Driven by lust, he is born as a boar; one who disrupts sacrifices, gifts, or marriages becomes a worm. One who gives away a girl and then takes her back is born as a worm. Whoever eats food without offering it to the gods, ancestors, or Brahmins, even after release from hell, is born as a crow. One who disrespects his eldest brother or a brother equal to his father, even after falling from hell, is born in the womb of a curlew. A Shudra who harms a Brahmin is born in the womb of worms. After producing offspring with her, he becomes a worm inside wood, or is born as a boar, a worm, a waterfowl, or a Chandala. A man who is ungrateful and ignorant, after being released from hell, is born as a worm, insect, moth, or scorpion. One who kills a fish, crow, or tortoise is born as an outcaste; a man who kills another without weapons is born as a donkey. A killer of women or children is born as a worm; a man who steals food is born as a fly. There is also a distinction regarding food: one who steals cooked rice is born as a cat after falling from hell. One who steals food mixed with sesame cake is born as a mouse; one who steals ghee becomes a mongoose; a crow is born from stealing waterfowl meat. A crow who steals fish or meat, an osprey who steals meat from the road, and a sandpiper who steals salt or curd, are born as worms. One who steals milk is born as a crane; one who steals oil is born as an oil-drinker. A man who steals honey is born as a biting insect; one who steals cakes becomes an ant; one who steals split pulses is born as a house lizard. One who steals liquor becomes a partridge; but a wicked soul who steals iron is born as a crow. He who steals bronze becomes a green bird; one who steals a silver vessel is born as a pigeon; but one who steals a golden vessel is born among worms. By stealing a leaf-cup, one attains the state of a woodpecker; and a weaver, by stealing silk cloth, is born again in that form. A sinner who steals fine linen becomes a heron; by stealing muslin, he becomes a parrot; likewise, by stealing goat’s wool or linen, he is born as flax. He who steals cotton cloth becomes a curlew; the stealer of bark cloth becomes a crane; one who steals colored garments is born as a peacock, and as a vegetable leaf. A man who steals a living garment becomes a jivajivaka bird; one who steals a red garment becomes a mongoose; one who steals fragrant clothes becomes a hare. By stealing fruit, one becomes a eunuch; by stealing wood, a wood-boring insect; by stealing flowers, one becomes poor; by stealing vehicles, a lame man. He who steals vegetables becomes a green bird; he who steals water becomes a cātaka bird. But one who steals land, after passing through terrible hells like Raurava, is born in dreadful forms. He gradually attains the forms of grass, bush, creeper, vine, bark, and saline trees. When his sin is diminished and small, he is born as a human again. He becomes a worm, an insect, a moth, a bird, an aquatic animal, a beast; then, after being born as a cow, he attains the despised state of an outcaste, such as a Caṇḍāla or Pukkasa.