O King, listen to the mysterious workings of karma as revealed in the sacred teachings. When a person falls from hell after exhausting his punishment, he is reborn according to the nature of his deeds. One who has sinned grievously may find himself born in the womb of a curlew, while a Shudra who harms a Brahmin is reborn among worms. If such a person fathers offspring, he may himself become a worm inside wood, or take birth as a boar, a worm, a waterfowl, or even as a Chandala, an outcaste. The fate of the ungrateful and ignorant is equally grim. Once released from hell, they are born as worms, insects, moths, or scorpions. One who kills a fish, a crow, or a tortoise is reborn as an outcaste, while a man who kills another without using weapons becomes a donkey. The killer of women or children is condemned to be born as a worm, and the one who steals food is reborn as a fly. There are also distinctions concerning the theft of food. One who steals cooked rice, after suffering in hell, is reborn as a cat. If he steals food mixed with sesame cake, he becomes a mouse; if he steals ghee, he becomes a mongoose; and if he steals waterfowl meat, he is reborn as a crow. A crow who steals fish or meat, an osprey who takes meat from the road, and a sandpiper who steals salt or curd—all become worms in their next lives. A thief of milk is reborn as a crane; one who steals oil becomes an oil-drinker. The one who steals honey is reborn as a biting insect; if he steals cakes, he becomes an ant; and the thief of split pulses is reborn as a house lizard. The stealer of liquor becomes a partridge, while the one who steals iron is reborn as a crow. The one who steals bronze becomes a green bird, and the thief of a silver vessel is born as a pigeon; but if he steals a golden vessel, he is cast among worms. Stealing a leaf-cup leads to rebirth as a woodpecker, and a weaver who steals silk is reborn as a weaver once more. The sinner who steals fine linen becomes a heron; by stealing muslin, he becomes a parrot; and by stealing goat’s wool or linen, he is reborn as flax. The thief of cotton cloth is reborn as a curlew; the one who steals bark cloth becomes a crane; the stealer of colored garments is reborn as a peacock and as a vegetable leaf. Stealing a living garment leads to birth as a jivajivaka bird; a red garment, as a mongoose; and fragrant clothes, as a hare. The one who steals fruit becomes a eunuch; the thief of wood, a wood-boring insect; the stealer of flowers becomes poor, and the thief of vehicles is reborn as a lame man. Stealing vegetables leads to rebirth as a green bird; stealing water, as a cātaka bird. But the one who steals land, after passing through the terrible hells like Raurava, is born in dreadful forms. Such a soul gradually takes birth as grass, bush, creeper, vine, bark, and saline trees. When his sin has diminished and become small, he is born again as a human. Even then, he may pass through births as a worm, insect, moth, bird, aquatic animal, and beast, and after being born as a cow, he attains the despised state of an outcaste, such as a Caṇḍāla or Pukkasa. He suffers afflictions as a cripple, blind, deaf, leper, and is tormented by consumption and diseases of the mouth, eyes, and anus. He may become epileptic and be born as a Śūdra. Such is the observed sequence for those who steal cows or gold. Those who steal knowledge, commit grave fraud, take another man’s wife, or give her to another, are also subject to these fates. The deluded one who commits such acts becomes a eunuch, cast out from the torments; and a man who performs sacrifice with unkindled fire is similarly affected. Such a one is born afflicted with indigestion, disease, and suffering, with poor digestion. Slander, ingratitude, and harming another’s vital points also befall him. Harshness, cruelty, adultery, theft, impurity, and reviling the gods are included among these faults. Deceitfully taking gold, killing out of miserliness, and repeatedly engaging in forbidden acts are also causes of downfall. These are the marks of those released from hell. But, O King, compassion towards all beings, truthfulness, and preparation for the next world are their remedies. Truthfulness, speech for the welfare of others, recognition of the authority of the Vedas, honoring teachers, gods, sages, and accomplished seers, and association with the virtuous—these are the ways of the wise. Practicing noble conduct, cultivating friendship, and all actions that are truly righteous are the marks of virtue. O King, I have thus described to you, in summary, the signs of those sinless men who have fallen from heaven. Now, for those who experience the results of their own deeds—whether virtuous or sinful—let us go elsewhere, for you have now seen everything; you have seen hell, so let us proceed further. At that moment, the king’s son, placing his father in front, prepared to depart. But as they began to leave, all those men enduring torments cried out together: “O King, show us your favor! Remain here for a moment; the wind that touches your body brings joy to our minds.” “O tiger among men, O lord of the earth, whenever the wind that has touched your body reaches us, it completely removes the pain and affliction from our limbs.” Hearing their words, the king asked the servant of Yama, “How is it that, because of me, they experience relief? What great meritorious act did I perform in the world of mortals that brings such joy and relief here? Please tell me this.” The servant of Yama replied: “Because your body was nourished by food properly offered to ancestors, gods, guests, messengers, and the worthy, and because your mind was set on this—therefore, O King, the wind that has touched your body brings delight. For those who have committed sinful deeds, the torments do not afflict them in your presence.” “The horse sacrifices and other rituals you performed according to rule, and your very sight, O King, have diminished the suffering caused by Yama’s instruments, weapons, fire, and wind.” Thus the king learned the power of righteous deeds and the far-reaching effects of virtue, even in the realms beyond this world.