न तीर्थैर्न तपोभिश्च कृतघ्नस्यास्ति निष्कृतिः । सहते यातनां घोरां स नरो नरके चिरम्
For the ungrateful, there is no atonement through holy places or austerities; such a man endures terrible torment in hell for a long time.
पृथिव्यां यानि तीर्थानि तेषु मज्जति यो नरः । जितेंद्रियो जिताहारो न स याति यमालयम्
A man who bathes in the holy places on earth, with his senses and diet controlled, does not go to the abode of Yama.
न तीर्थे पातकं कुर्यान्न च तीर्थोपजीवनम् । तीर्थे प्रतिग्रहस्त्याज्यस्त्याज्यो धर्मस्य विक्रयः
One should not commit sin at a holy place, nor make a livelihood from holy places; accepting gifts at a holy place must be abandoned, as must the sale of righteousness.
दुर्जरं पातकं तीर्थे दुर्जरश्च प्रतिग्रहः । तीर्थे च दुर्जरं सर्वमेतत्किन्नरकं व्रजेत्
Sin committed at a holy place is hard to overcome, and so is accepting gifts there; all such acts at a holy place are difficult to expiate and lead to hell.
सकृद्गंगांभसि स्नातः पूतो गांगेयवारिणा । न नरो नरकं याति अपि पातकराशिकृत्
A man who bathes even once in the waters of the Ganga is purified by the water of the daughter of Ganga; he does not go to hell, even if he has committed heaps of sins.
व्रतदानतपो यज्ञाः पवित्राणीतराणि च । गंगाबिंद्वभिषिक्तस्य न समा इति नः श्रुतम्
Vows, gifts, austerities, sacrifices, and other purifying acts are not equal, as we have heard, to one who is anointed with even a drop of Ganga water.
अन्यतीर्थसमां गंगां यो ब्रवीति नराधमः । स याति नरकं वैश्य दारुणं रौरवं महत्
The lowest of men who says that the Ganga is equal to any other holy place goes, O Vaisya, to the dreadful and great hell called Raurava.
धर्मद्रवं ह्यपां बीजं वैकुंठचरणच्युतम् । धृतं मूर्ध्नि महेशेन यद्गांगममलं जलम्
The essence of righteousness, the seed of waters, fallen from the feet of Vaikuntha, is the pure Ganga water held on the head by Mahesha.
तद्ब्रह्मैव न संदेहो निर्गुणं प्रकृतेः परम् । तेन किं समतां गच्छेदपि ब्रह्मांडगोचरे
That is indeed Brahman, without doubt—formless, beyond nature; how can anything within the universe be considered equal to it?
गंगागंगेति यो ब्रूयाद्योजनानां शतैरपि । नरो न नरकं याति किं तया सदृशं भवेत् । नान्येन दह्यते सद्यः क्रिया नरकदायिनी
Whoever, even from hundreds of yojanas away, recites 'Ganga, Ganga,' does not go to hell; what can compare with her? No other act instantly destroys the giver of hell.
गंगांभसि प्रयत्नेन स्नातव्यं तेन मानवैः । प्रतिगृह निवृत्तो यः प्रतिग्रहक्षमोऽपि सन् । स द्विजो द्योतते वैश्य तारारूपश्चिरं दिवि
Therefore, men should strive to bathe in the waters of the Ganga; even one who has renounced receiving gifts, though capable, shines as a twice-born, O Vaisya, and remains like a star in heaven for a long time.
गामुद्धरंति ये पंकाद्ये रक्षंति च रोगिणः । म्रियंते गोगृहे ये च तेषां नभसि तारकाः । यमलोकं न पश्यंति प्राणायामपरायणाः
Those who rescue cows from mud, protect the sick, or die in a cowshed—stars in the sky are theirs; devoted to breath control, they do not see the realm of Yama.
अपि दुष्कृतकर्माणस्तैरेव हतकिल्बिषाः । दिवसे दिवसे वैश्य प्राणायामास्तु षोडश । अपि ब्रह्महणं साक्षात्पुनंत्यहरहः कृताः
Even those with evil deeds are freed from their sins by these acts; O Vaisya, by practicing breath control sixteen times each day, even a brahmin-slayer is purified daily.
तपांसि यानि तप्यंते व्रतानि नियमाश्च ये । गोसहस्रप्रदानं च प्राणायामस्तु तत्समः
All the austerities, vows, and disciplines that are practiced, and the giving of a thousand cows—breath control is equal to all these.
अब्बिंदुं यः कुशाग्रेण मासेमासे नरः पिबेत् । संवत्सरशतं साग्रं प्राणायामस्तु तत्समः
Whoever drinks a drop of water with kusa grass each month for a year and more—breath control is equal to that for a hundred years.
पातकं तु महद्यच्च तथा क्षुद्रोपपातकम् । प्राणायामैः क्षणात्सर्वं भस्मसात्कुरुते नरः
Whatever great or minor sin there may be, a man destroys it all in an instant through breath control.
मातृवत्परदारान्ये मन्यंते वै नरोत्तमाः । न ते यांति नरश्रेष्ठ कदाचिद्यम यातनाम्
The best of men regard the wives of others as they would their own mother; such men, O foremost of men, never go to the torments of Yama.
मनसापि परेषां यः कलत्राणि न सेवते । सह लोकद्वये नास्ति तेन वैश्य धरा धृता
He who does not even mentally desire the wives of others, O Vaiśya, upholds the earth in both worlds.
तस्माद्धर्म्मान्वितैस्त्याज्यं परदारोपसेवनम् । नयंति परदारास्तु नरकानेकविंशतिम्
Therefore, one endowed with righteousness should always avoid approaching the wives of others; for consorting with others' wives leads to twenty-one hells.
लोभो न जायते येषां परदारेषु मानसे । ते यांति देवलोकं तु न यमं वैश्यसत्तम
Those in whose minds greed does not arise for the wives of others, O best of Vaiśyas, they attain the world of the gods, not the realm of Yama.
शश्वत्क्रोधनिदानेषु यः क्रोधेन न जीयते । जितस्वर्गः स मंतव्यः पुरुषोऽक्रोधनो भुवि
He who is not overcome by anger, even in situations that provoke wrath, is to be considered one who has conquered heaven, a man free from anger upon the earth.
मातरं पितरं पुत्र आराधयति देववत् । अप्राप्ते वार्द्धके काले न याति च यमालयम्
He who worships his mother, father, and son as if they were gods, and does so before they reach old age, does not go to the abode of Yama.
पितुश्चाधिकभावेन येऽर्चयंति गुरुं नराः । भवंत्यतिथयो लोके ब्रह्मणस्ते विशांवर
Those men who honor their teacher even more than their father, O Viśāṃvara, become guests in the world of Brahmā.
इह चैव स्त्रियो धन्याः शीलस्य परिरक्षणात् । शीलभंगे च नारीणां यमलोकः सुदारुणः
Here, too, women are blessed because of their protection of virtue; but for women who break their virtue, the world of Yama is exceedingly dreadful.
शीलं रक्ष्यं सदा स्त्रीभिर्दुष्टसंगविवर्जनात् । शीलेन हि परः स्वर्गः स्त्रीणां वैश्य न संशयः
Women must always guard their virtue, avoiding evil company; for by virtue alone, O Vaiśya, women certainly attain the highest heaven—of this there is no doubt.
शूद्रस्य पाकयज्ञेन निषिद्धाचरणेन च । दुर्गतिर्विहिता वैश्य तस्य सा नारकी गतिः
For the Śūdra, by performing forbidden acts and unauthorized sacrifices, a miserable fate is ordained, O Vaiśya—that is the path to hell.
विचारयंति ये शास्त्रं वेदाभ्यासरताश्च ये । पुराणं संहितां ये च श्रावयंति पठंति च
Those who reflect upon scripture, who are devoted to the study of the Vedas, and those who recite and teach the Purāṇas and Saṃhitās,
व्याकुर्वंति स्मृतिर्ये च ये धर्मप्रतिबोधकाः । वेदांतेषु निषण्णा ये तैरियं जगती धृता
Those who explain the Smṛtis, who awaken understanding of dharma, and who are established in the Vedāntas—by them this world is upheld.
तत्तदभ्यासमाहात्म्यैः सर्वे ते हतकिल्बिषाः । गच्छंति ब्रह्मणो लोकं यत्र मोहो न विद्यते
All these, purified of sin by the greatness of such study and practice, go to the world of Brahmā, where delusion does not exist.
ज्ञानमज्ञाय यो दद्याद्वेदशास्त्रसमुद्भवम् । अपि वेदास्तमर्चंति भवबंधविदारणम्
He who gives knowledge born of the Vedas and scriptures, even without fully knowing it, is said to sever the bonds of worldly existence—even the Vedas praise him.