सदा दाक्षिण्यसंपन्नः सदा भूतदयान्वितः । गोप्ता च परमर्माणां वक्ता परगुणस्य च
Who is always endowed with generosity, always compassionate to beings, protects the highest secrets, and speaks of others' virtues,
परस्वं तृणमात्रं च मनसापि न यो हरेत् । न पश्यंति विशांश्रेष्ठ ह्येते नरकयातनाम्
Who does not take even a blade of grass belonging to another, not even in thought, O best among men, these do not see the torments of hell.
परापवादी पाखंडः पापेभ्योऽपि मतोऽधिकः । पच्यते नरके तावद्यावदाभूतसंप्लवम्
One who slanders others and is a hypocrite is considered worse than sinners; he is cooked in hell until the dissolution of creation.
वक्ता परुषवाक्यानां मंतव्यो नरकागतः । संदेहो न विशांश्रेष्ठ पुनर्याति च दुर्गतिम्
One who speaks harsh words should be regarded as destined for hell; O best among men, there is no doubt that he again attains misfortune.
न तीर्थैर्न तपोभिश्च कृतघ्नस्यास्ति निष्कृतिः । सहते यातनां घोरां स नरो नरके चिरम्
There is no atonement for the ungrateful, neither by holy places nor by austerities; he endures terrible suffering in hell for a long time.
पृथिव्यां यानि तीर्थानि तेषु मज्जति यो नरः । जितेंद्रियो जिताहारो न स याति यमालयम्
Among all the holy places on earth, the man who bathes in them, who has conquered his senses and appetite, 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 live off the holy place; accepting gifts at a holy place must be abandoned, as must selling 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; all such acts at a holy place are difficult to overcome and lead to hell.
सकृद्गंगांभसि स्नातः पूतो गांगेयवारिणा । न नरो नरकं याति अपि पातकराशिकृत्
A person who bathes even once in the waters of the Ganga, purified by the water of the daughter of the mountains, 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—none of these, we have heard, are equal to being sprinkled with even a drop of Ganga water.
अन्यतीर्थसमां गंगां यो ब्रवीति नराधमः । स याति नरकं वैश्य दारुणं रौरवं महत्
Whoever, being the lowest among men, claims that the Ganga is equal to other sacred places, O Vaiśya, goes to the dreadful and great hell called Raurava.
धर्मद्रवं ह्यपां बीजं वैकुंठचरणच्युतम् । धृतं मूर्ध्नि महेशेन यद्गांगममलं जलम्
The Ganga's pure water, held on the head by Mahesha, is the essence of righteousness among waters, the seed fallen from the feet of Vaikuntha.
तद्ब्रह्मैव न संदेहो निर्गुणं प्रकृतेः परम् । तेन किं समतां गच्छेदपि ब्रह्मांडगोचरे
That is truly Brahman itself, without doubt—formless, beyond nature; how could anything within the universe be considered its equal?
गंगागंगेति यो ब्रूयाद्योजनानां शतैरपि । नरो न नरकं याति किं तया सदृशं भवेत् । नान्येन दह्यते सद्यः क्रिया नरकदायिनी
Whoever utters 'Ganga, Ganga,' even from hundreds of yojanas away, does not go to hell; what could compare to her? No other act instantly destroys the results that lead to hell.
गंगांभसि प्रयत्नेन स्नातव्यं तेन मानवैः । प्रतिगृह निवृत्तो यः प्रतिग्रहक्षमोऽपि सन् । स द्विजो द्योतते वैश्य तारारूपश्चिरं दिवि
Therefore, people should strive to bathe in the waters of the Ganga. Even a householder who has renounced accepting gifts, though capable, shines like a star in the sky, O Vaiśya.
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 become stars in the sky; 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 who have committed evil deeds are freed from their sins by these acts. O Vaiśya, practicing breath-control sixteen times daily purifies even a brahmin-killer, if done every day.
तपांसि यानि तप्यंते व्रतानि नियमाश्च ये । गोसहस्रप्रदानं च प्राणायामस्तु तत्समः
All austerities, vows, and disciplines, as well as the gift of a thousand cows, are considered equal to the practice of breath-control.
अब्बिंदुं यः कुशाग्रेण मासेमासे नरः पिबेत् । संवत्सरशतं साग्रं प्राणायामस्तु तत्समः
Whoever drinks a drop of water with the tip of kusa grass each month for a hundred years—this is considered equal to the practice of breath-control.
पातकं तु महद्यच्च तथा क्षुद्रोपपातकम् । प्राणायामैः क्षणात्सर्वं भस्मसात्कुरुते नरः
Great sins, as well as minor ones, are all instantly reduced to ashes by a person 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 excellent men, O best of men, never experience 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—by him, O Vaiśya, the earth is upheld in both worlds.
तस्माद्धर्म्मान्वितैस्त्याज्यं परदारोपसेवनम् । नयंति परदारास्तु नरकानेकविंशतिम्
Therefore, association with another's wife, O Vaiśya, must be abandoned by those devoted to righteousness; for consorting with another's wife leads to twenty-one hells.
लोभो न जायते येषां परदारेषु मानसे । ते यांति देवलोकं तु न यमं वैश्यसत्तम
Those whose minds do not give rise to greed for other men's wives, O best of Vaiśyas, go to the world of the gods and not to Yama.
शश्वत्क्रोधनिदानेषु यः क्रोधेन न जीयते । जितस्वर्गः स मंतव्यः पुरुषोऽक्रोधनो भुवि
He who is not overcome by anger, even when faced with constant causes for wrath, should be regarded as one who has conquered heaven—such a man is free from anger on earth.
मातरं पितरं पुत्र आराधयति देववत् । अप्राप्ते वार्द्धके काले न याति च यमालयम्
He who honors 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
O best of men, those who worship their guru with greater reverence than their father become honored guests in the world of Brahma.
इह चैव स्त्रियो धन्याः शीलस्य परिरक्षणात् । शीलभंगे च नारीणां यमलोकः सुदारुणः
And here, women are blessed due to their protection of virtue; but for women who violate virtue, the realm of Yama is exceedingly dreadful.
शीलं रक्ष्यं सदा स्त्रीभिर्दुष्टसंगविवर्जनात् । शीलेन हि परः स्वर्गः स्त्रीणां वैश्य न संशयः
Women must always safeguard their virtue, avoiding corrupt company; for by virtue alone, women attain the highest heaven, O Vaiśya, without doubt.
शूद्रस्य पाकयज्ञेन निषिद्धाचरणेन च । दुर्गतिर्विहिता वैश्य तस्य सा नारकी गतिः
For a Śūdra, misfortune is ordained through the performance of unauthorized rites and forbidden conduct; such a path leads surely to a hellish state.