O King, listen attentively to the fate that befalls those who commit grave sins. In the realms of torment, sinners endure terrible afflictions—some are struck by the sharp tusks of elephants, while others are bitten by fierce and venomous serpents. They are forced to drink dreadful, caustic waters and consume salt in excess, their suffering unrelenting. Some are thrust into pits filled with alkaline water, compelled to eat flesh as further punishment. Others are hurled from the tops of tall trees or submerged in deep, suffocating waters. There are those who are bitten relentlessly by ants and tormented by the stings of scorpions. Some are made to lie in foul, stinking mud, their bodies covered in filth and overwhelmed by offensive odors. Others must drink oil heated to unbearable temperatures and eat substances so pungent that they burn the senses. Some are plunged into water that is scalding hot or freezing cold, their teeth shattered from the torment. Such are but a few examples, O illustrious one—these torments exist by the tens of millions. Each sinner, O protector of the earth, suffers whatever punishment is fitting for his misdeeds. The slayer of a Brahmin, the one who drinks liquor, the thief, or he who violates the bed of his teacher; one who disrupts sacred order, who cooks without purpose, or who continually reviles Brahmins; even the one who says, "There is no food," is declared a slayer of Brahman. He who causes obstacles is known as a destroyer of Brahman, and one who is ever devoted to falsehood is also counted among Brahmin-slayers. Those who delight in disturbing others, who constantly point out the faults of their fellows, who are greedy for gifts, or intent on killing living beings—O King, all these various sins are equal to the slaying of a Brahmin. So too are eating food from guilds or associating with courtesans, abandoning the company of spiritual guides, or partaking of food meant for the gods. A twice-born who, after being struck by a Shudra, eats food, or who, with a Shudra's permission, performs the work of a servant—these are sins equal to the drinking of liquor. Taking roots, tubers, fruits, musk, or bark-cloth unlawfully; stealing copper, tin, bell-metal, clarified butter, or honey; taking betel, water, or sandalwood without right; neglecting ancestral rites or obstructing acts of righteousness; stealing edible items or grain; engaging in forbidden relations—such as with one's sister, son's wife, a woman of lower caste, the wife of a drunkard, a brother's wife, a friend's wife, or even one's own daughter—these, O King, are known as the gravest of sins. The great sages have described some of these sins in various ways. But now, O King, hear of those transgressions for which there is no prescribed atonement. For sins like killing a Brahmin, some form of expiation is possible. However, for one who betrays trust, for murderers, for those who sustain themselves by food from Shudras, who are devoted to reviling the Vedas, or who speak ill of sacred narratives—there is no expiation for them, neither here nor in the next world. For these, O King, no atonement is seen, even through hundreds of acts of penance.