After the king had spoken with a heretic and bathed at a sacred place, he was reborn into a degraded existence. “Do you not remember this, O lord?” his devoted wife gently reminded him, seeking to awaken his recollection of past deeds. Her words stirred deep reflection within him, and as he pondered his previous birth, a rare and profound dispassion arose in his heart. Overwhelmed by despair, the king left his city behind. He wandered until, in his sorrow, he cast himself down in a desolate desert. There, he was reborn—this time in the womb of a jackal. Two years passed, and his faithful wife, endowed with divine sight, perceived his condition. She journeyed to the mountain called Kolahala to see him in his new form. Finding him as a jackal, the beautiful daughter of the king addressed her husband once more. “O king, do you remember what I told you when you were born as a dog—how your former actions and association with heretical speech have led you here?” Again, her words awakened his memory. Realizing the truth, he gradually gave up food, and in time, abandoned his body. He was then born as a wolf. His steadfast wife, flawless in her devotion, sought him out in that lonely forest. She reminded him yet again: “O fortunate one, you are not truly a wolf; you are King Shatadhanu. After being a dog, you became a jackal, and now you have attained this wolf’s birth.” Upon her reminder, he relinquished that body as well, and his soul entered the form of a vulture. Once more, his wife, destined to guide him, instructed him: “O king, remember your true self—now dwelling as a vulture. This unfortunate state has arisen from heretical speech.” In the very next birth, he became a crow. His slender and perceptive wife found him again and addressed him: “All the rulers of earth who once offered you tribute have now become your food, O lord, as you live as a crow.” Reminded by her even in that form, the king abandoned his life as a crow and was born as a peacock. His auspicious wife followed him, taking birth as a peahen, always content with the food appropriate to that species. Later, King Janaka performed the great horse-sacrifice, and at its concluding bath, he purified the king, who had by then taken the form of a peacock. There, the slender-limbed queen herself, along with King Janaka, reminded him of the sequence of his births—as a dog, jackal, and so on. Recalling all these stages, the king relinquished his peacock body and was born as the son of the great-souled Janaka. The queen, now his companion from life to life, urged her father regarding her marriage, and the king arranged a svayamvara ceremony. At the svayamvara, she chose him, who had arrived there, as her husband; once more, the devoted lady served him as her lord. He, the delight of kings, enjoyed pleasures with her, and upon his father’s passing, ruled the kingdom of the Videhas. He performed many sacrifices, gave generously to those who asked, begot sons, and valiantly fought his enemies. Having enjoyed his kingdom justly and protected the earth, the king ultimately gave up his life in battle, upholding righteousness to the end. His virtuous-eyed wife, joyful and steadfast, followed him once more—ascending the funeral pyre according to the proper rites, as she had done before. Thereafter, the king, together with his beloved princess, attained worlds beyond even those of Indra—everlasting realms that fulfill all desires. Having reached the incomparable and exceedingly rare state of marital union in heaven, and having received the fruits of his merit and purification, he attained that supreme state. Thus, O best of the twice-born, is described the fault that arises from association with heretics, and the greatness of the Ashvamedha sacrifice and the Avabhritha bath. Therefore, one should avoid conversation and contact with sinful heretics, especially during rituals, at the commencement of sacrifices, and particularly when initiated. If, due to the fault of ritual neglect, a person is born for even a month in a degraded state, the wise should look at the sun to be purified from even seeing such a one. What then of those who have completely abandoned the three Vedas, who eat food from others, who are sinful, and who oppose the teachings of the Vedas? Association, conversation, and even being with such extremely sinful heretics of evil conduct should therefore be avoided. One should not honor, even with words, heretics engaged in forbidden acts—those who follow the ways of cats, who are deceitful, argumentative, or hypocritical. Contact and association with such sinful heretics must be shunned from afar. Those called naked ascetics and heretics are destroyers of śrāddha rites; by conversing with them, a person’s merit for the day is lost. These heretics are sinful; the wise should not converse with them, for even speaking with them destroys the merit gained that day. Even those who wear matted hair or are shaven-headed, who eat in vain, who reject all purity, who are excluded from water offerings and ancestral rites—by conversing with them, men go to hell. At this point, Maitreya spoke: “O venerable one, you have explained to me what should be done by those established in virtuous deeds, both regular and occasional. Please tell me further, O teacher. You have described the duties of the social orders and the stages of life; now, I wish to hear about the lineage of kings—please tell me that, O teacher.” Śrī Parāśara replied: “Maitreya, listen as I recount the lineage of Manu, adorned by many kings accomplished in sacrifice, valor, heroism, and wisdom, beginning with Brahmā. Now, to dispel the sins of this lineage, hear this account in its proper order, O Maitreya.