29 - Madálasa’s Exhortation (continued).

 Mudalasa explains to Alarka the position of a griha-stha—and personifies as a cow, the Vedas, pious acts, the words of the good and the vis sváhá, svadhá, vashat and hanta-She describes the bali offering, and utsarga oblation-the duties of a griha-stha to guests-the shradha--and further duties to guests-She pronounces a blessing on griha-sha state-and quotes a song by Atri on it. 

Alarka spoke.

1. “And what men must do who are engaged in the griha-stha period; and what becomes confined in the absence of action,

2 and what increases by action; and what is beneficial to men; and what a good man should avoid at home; and how things are done-declare that accurately to me who ask.” 

Madálasá spoke.

3 “My child, a man on assuming the griha-stha status, thereby nourishes all this earth and conquers the worlds he longs for.

4 The pitris, the Munis, the gods, living things, and mankind, and worms, insects, and flying creatures, birds, cattle,

5 Asuras subsist upon the griha-stha, and derive satisfact from him; and gaze indeed at his countenance, wonderi ‘Will he give us anything?’

6 “The support of everything is this cow, my child, which consists of the three Vedas, in which the universe is established

7 and which is believed to be the cause of the universe. Her back in the Rig-Veda; her loins the Yajur-Veda; her and neck the Sáma-Veda; and her horns are pious acts; her

8 hair the excellent words of the good; her ordure and urine are tranquillity and prosperity; she is supported on feet wh0 are the four classes; she is the sustenance of the worlds; being

9 imperishable she does not wane. The word sváhá,* and word svadhá,† and the word vashat, my son, and the of

* The oblation to the gods.

† The oblation to the pitris.   

10 word hanta are her †† four teats. The gods drink of teat which is the word sváhá; and the pitris of that consting of svadhá; and the Munis of that which is the word

†† Read tasyah for tasya.

11 vashat; the gods, living things and Asuras, and mankind drink constantly of the teat which is the word hanta Thus this cow consisting of the three Vedas, my child, fattens

12 them. And the man, who grievously sinning causes destruction, sinks into the hell Tamas, § the hell Andhatamisra||

§ Darkness. 

                  || Complete darkness. 

13 and the hell Támisra. ¶ And the man, who gives this cow drink with his own children and with the immor and other objects of worship at the proper time, attains Svarga,

                                          ¶ Deep gloom.

14     “Therefore,, my son, a man must nourish the gods, risshis and pitris and men and living things daily, even as his own

15 body. Therefore,, having bathed and become clean he sho composed in mind, delight the gods, rishis and pitris, and the

16 prajá-pati also with water at the proper time. And a man** having worshipped the gods with the fragrant flowers of great-flowered jasmine, should next delight Agni; and the

** Read mánavah for manavah

17 bali offering should also be made. Let him cast the bali offering to Brahma and the Vishva-devas inside the house, and

18 to Dhanvantari to the north-east; let him offer the bali eastward to Indra, southwards to Yama, and the bali west-wards

19 to Varuna, and northwards to Soma. And let him also give the bali to Dhátri and Vidhátri at the house-door, and let him give it to Aryaman outside and all around the houses. 

20 Let him offer the bali to night-walking goblins in the air, and let him scattor, it to the pitris, standing with his face south-ward.

21 Then the griha-stha, being intent and having his mind well composed, shonld take the water and cast it, as a wise

22 man, into those places for those several deities, that they may rinse out their mouths. 

“Having thus performed in his house the family-bali, the pure griha-stha should perform the utsarga oblation respectfully for the nonrishment of living things. And let him scatter it on the ground both for the dogs, and low-caste men

24 and the birds; for certainly this offering to the Viśhva-devas is declared to be one for evening and morning. 

“And then he, as a wise man, having rinsed out his mouth,

25 shoull look towards the door the eighth part of a muhúrta, whether a guest is to be seen. He should honour the guest, who has arrived there, with rice and other food and with

26 water and with fragrant flowers and other presents, according to his power. He should not treat as a guest a friend, nor a

27 fellow-villager, nor one who bears the name of an unknown family, nor one who has arrived at that timo. Men call

28 a bráhman who has arrived, hungry, wearied, supplicating, indigent, a guest; he should be honoured by the wise according to their power. A learned man should not inquire

29 his lineage or conduct, nor his private study; he should esteem him, whether handsome or unhandsome in appearance, as a prajá-pati. For since he stays but a transitory time, he is

30 therefore, called an a-tithi, ‘a guest.’ When he is satisfied, the griha-stha is released from the debt which arises from hospitality. The guilty man, who without giving to the guest

31 himself eats, he incurs only sin and feeds on ordure in another life. The guest transferring his misdeeds to that man, from whose 

32 house he turns back with broken hopes, and taking that man’s merit, goes off. Moreover,, a man should honour a guest respectfully

35 according to his power with gifts of water and vegetables, or with just what he is himself eating. 

“And he should daily perform the śhráddha with rice and

34 other food and with water with regard to the pitris and brahmans; or he should feed a bráhman. Taking up an agra* of

* A measure.

35 the rice, he should present it to a bráhman: and he should give an alms to wandering bráhmans who ask. The alms should be the size of a mouthful, the agra four mouthfuls

36 Bráhmans call tho agra four times a hanta-kára. † But without giving food, or a hantakára, an agra or an alms

† A formula of salutation, or an offering to a guest.

37 according to his substance, ho must not himself eat. And he should eat, after he has done reverence to guests, friends

38 paternal kinsmen, relatives, and petitioners, the maimed, and children and old men and the sick. 

“If a man consumed with hunger, or another who is destitute 39 wants food, he should be fed by a householder who has adequatet †† substance. Whatever kinsman is dispirited when he

†† Read samarthe for samartho?

40 reaches a prosperous kinsman, the latter gets the sin that ha been done by the dispirited man. And the precept must b observed at evening, and he should do reverence to the guest

41 who has arrived there after sunset, accordingly to his ability with a bed, a seat and food. 

“Thus a weight is placed on the shouldor of one who

42 undertakes family life. Vidhátri, and the gods, and th pitris, the great Rishis, all shower bliss on him, and so also

43 do guests and relatives: and the herds of cattle and the flocks of birds, and the minute insects that exist besides, are satisfied 

44 And Atri himself used to sing songs on this subject, noble one! Hear those, O noble one! that appertain to the griha-sth period- “Having done reverence to the gods, and the pitris

45 and guests, relatives likewise, and fomale relations, ad gurus also, the gļiha-stha who has substance should scatter the fragments on the ground for both dogs and low caste men

46 and birds: for he should certainly porform this offering to the Vishva-devas evening and day. And he should not himself eat flesh, rice and vegetables and whatever may have been prepared in the house, which he may not scatter according to the procept.’”