In this sacred teaching, the measures of land are carefully described: a rod is ten hands in length, and thirty rods together make a measure. Ten such measures equal what is known as a cow’s hide, the special mark of a Brahma cow’s hide. Tradition holds that wherever a thousand cows, together with their bulls, stand freely and calves are born among them, that place is called a cow’s hide. The scriptures declare that land should be given to a Brahmin who possesses virtue, is steadfast in austerity, and has mastered his senses. Such a gift brings endless reward to the giver, lasting as long as the earth remains surrounded by the ocean. Just as a drop of oil spreads when it falls upon water, so too does the merit of land-giving expand from crop to crop. And just as seeds sown in the earth sprout and flourish, so do the desires of those who are accompanied by the gift of land. Those who give food are always blessed with happiness; those who give clothes become radiant in beauty; and the one who donates land becomes a universal benefactor. In the same way that a cow nourishes her calf with milk, the earth nourishes the giver of land, O thousand-eyed Indra. The rewards for land-giving are heavenly: a conch, a blessed seat, an umbrella, excellent horses, and noble elephants—these are the fruits of merit, O Purandara. The gods themselves rejoice in the giver of land: the sun, Varuna, fire, Brahma, Soma, the sacrificial fire, and Shiva, wielder of the trident. The ancestors clap their hands and praise, the forefathers extol, saying, “One born in the family of a land-giver will become our protector.” Three gifts are considered supreme: cows, earth, and Sarasvati. These raise people from hell through recitation, sowing, and milking. Learned Brahmins declare that these gifts rescue from misfortune: those who give clothes go clothed, those who do not give clothes go naked. Those who give food depart satisfied, while those who do not depart hungry; all ancestors, fearful of hell, long for these offerings. A son who goes to Gaya becomes the protector of his ancestors; many sons are desirable, but even one who visits Gaya fulfills this sacred duty. One may perform the Ashvamedha sacrifice or release a blue bull; the bull may be red, or pale at the tip of its tail. A white bull with hooves and horns is called blue; the blue bull with a pale tail tip is the one who draws up water. By this act, the ancestors are satisfied for sixty thousand years, and whatever mud is on the bull’s horn uplifts the family. The ancestors of such a person partake of the radiant world of Soma, as was the case for the noble kings Dilīpa, Nṛga, and Nahuṣa. For other kings, none attain this; yet the earth has been given by many, including Sagara and others. Whoever owns the earth at any time, to him belongs its fruit, whether he be a slayer of a Brahmin, a woman, a child, or one fallen. The evil of killing a hundred thousand cows is equal to the sin of one who seizes land, whether given by himself or by another. Such a person becomes a worm in excrement and is cooked together with his ancestors, while the giver of land dwells in heaven for sixty thousand years. Both the one who strikes and the one who consents to land seizure will go to hell for that duration; apart from the giver and taker of land, none else bears merit or sin. They remain above and below until the dissolution of creation. Gold is the first offspring of Agni, the earth is of Viṣṇu, and cows are the daughters of the Sun. Whoever gives gold, a cow, or land attains endless reward. Both the receiver and the giver of land are doers of virtue and destined for heaven. But those who unjustly take or carry off land, those who take and those who cause it to be taken, destroy the seventh generation of their family. He who, with dull intellect and shrouded in darkness, seizes and holds land is bound by Varuṇa’s nooses and is born among animals. With tears falling, the gifts of such people are scattered; when a Brahmin’s field is taken, three generations are destroyed. Not even by a thousand wells or ponds, a hundred horse sacrifices, or the gift of ten million cows is the taker of land purified. Whatever is done, given, penance performed, or study of dharma—by seizing even half a finger’s breadth of boundary, all is destroyed. Whoever oppresses a cow’s ford, a village road, a cremation ground, or a village, goes to hell until the dissolution of creation. By falsehood for five maidens, he kills ten; by falsehood for cows, a hundred; by falsehood for horses, a thousand; by falsehood for a man, a thousand. By falsehood for gold, he kills both born and unborn; but by falsehood regarding land, he kills all—therefore, never speak falsehood about land. One should not desire brahminical wealth, even when life itself is at risk; things burned by fire grow back, but what is destroyed by a Brahmin’s curse does not recover. Things burned by fire regrow, and so too those scorched by the sun; those killed by royal punishment may revive, but those struck down by a Brahmin’s curse are truly destroyed. Limbs nourished by brahminical wealth repeatedly decay at the proper time, just as sand is scattered by heat. A man who takes brahminical wealth goes to Raurava, the hell; poison is called poison, but brahminical wealth is the real poison. Poison kills only one person, but brahminical wealth destroys sons and grandsons; a man can neutralize iron or stone powder, but not this poison. Who in the three worlds can neutralize brahminical wealth? The happiness from brahminical wealth, and the pleasure from divine wealth—these are profound and perilous, and their consequences are far-reaching.