(295) A true Brâhmana goes scatheless, though he have killed father and mother, and two holy kings, and an eminent man besides.

(294) A true Brâhmana goes scatheless, though he have killed father and mother, and two valiant kings, though he has destroyed a kingdom with all its subjects.

(26) Thy living relatives may — by way of dedication for the benefit of thee deceased — be sacrificing many animals, and performing religious ceremonies, and giving alms. Thou, because of thy vision not being purified, mayst be inclined to grow very angry at their actions and bring about, at this moment, thy birth in Hell: whatever those left behind thee may be doing, act thou so that no angry thought can arise in thee, and meditate upon love for them.

(3) £ Yajnavalkya/ said he, 'when the voice of a dead man goes into fire, his breath into wind, his eye into the sun, his mind into the moon, his hearing into the quarters of heaven, his body into the earth, his soul (atman) into space, the hairs of his head into plants, the hairs of his body into trees, and his blood and semen are placed in water, what then becomes of this person (purusa)? ' 'Artabhaga, my dear, take my hand. We two only will know of this. This is not for us two [to speak of] in public/ The two went away and deliberated. What they said was karma (action). What they praised was karma. Verily, one becomes good by good action, bad by bad action. Thereupon Jaratkarava Artabhaga held his peace.

(41) Therefore, going near [the body of] one who hath passed out of this life — if the body be there — impress this [upon the spirit of the deceased] vividly, again and again, until blood and the yellowish water-secretion begin to issue from the nostrils. At that time the corpse should not be disturbed. The rules to be observed for this [impressing to be efficacious] are: no animal should be slain on account of the deceased; nor should relatives weep or make mournful wailings near the dead body; [let the family] perform virtuous deeds as far as possible.

(4) There a father becomes not a father; a mother, not a mother; the worlds, not the worlds; the gods, not the gods; the Vedas, not the Vedas; a thief, not a thief. There the destroyer of an embryo becomes not the destroyer of am embryo 3; a Candala [the son of a Sudra father and a Brahman mother] is not a Candala; a Paulkasa [the son of a Sudra father and a Kshatriya mother] is not a Paulkasa; a mendicant hard.' Com. says * chase.' Cf. Chand. 8. 10. 2 and note. is not a mendicant, an ascetic is not an ascetic. He is not followed by good, he is not followed by evil, for then he has passed beyond all sorrows of the heart.

(6) Now, if one's wife have a paramour, and he hate him, let him put fire in an unannealed vessel, spread out a row of reed arrows in inverse order, and therein sacrifice in inverse order those reed arrows, their heads smeared with ghee, saying: — in-breath and out-breath (prdndpanaii) — you, so-and-so ' You have made a libation in my fire! I take away your sons and cattle — you, so-and-so! You have made a libation in my fire! I take away your sacrifices and meritorious deeds x— you, so-and-so ' You have made a libation in my fire! I take away your hope and expectation 1 — you, so-and-so! } Verily, he whom a Brahman who knows this curses — he departs from this world impotent and devoid of merit. There- fore one should not desire sport with the spouse of a person learned in sacred lore (srotriyd] who knows this, for indeed he who knows this becomes superior.

(76) When that is done, then thou art a hellish firebrand, and a billet or faggot to lay upon the hellish fire, and then there is no remedy for thee eternally.

(12) When a house is burning, and the fire may fall upon the next house and seize upon the straw and like stuff within it, we carry this stuff away from it; and in like manner must we straightway cast out the things by touch whereof the spirit is inflamed with the fire of wrath, for fear lest the substance of our merit be consumed.

(24) Thou seest thy relatives and connexions and speakest to them, but receivest no reply. Then, seeing them and thy family weeping, thou thinkest, 'I am dead! What shall I do?' and feelest great misery, just like a fish cast out [of water] on red-hot embers. Such misery thou wilt be experiencing at present. But feeling miserable will avail thee nothing now. If thou hast a divine guru, pray to him. Pray to the Tutelary Deity, the Compassionate One. Even though thou feelest attachment for thy relatives and connexions, it will do thee no good. So be not attached. Pray to the Compassionate Lord; thou shalt have nought or sorrow, or of terror, or of awe.

(17) 'He who has three times performed this Nâkiketa rite, and has been united with the three (father, mother, and teacher), and has performed the three duties (study, sacrifice, almsgiving) overcomes birth and death. When he has learnt and understood this fire, which knows (or makes us know) all that is born of Brahman, which is venerable and divine, then he obtains everlasting peace.'

(67) And in proportion as the burning of their bodies becomes severe, a corresponding change shall take place in their spirit for ever and ever; for before the Lord of Spirits none shall utter an idle word.

(90) But if the spirit breaketh out of prison, then put it in again, make good thy part against it as long as thou livest, and if thou gettest so much advantage, that it does not wholly kindle the source or fountain of thy heart, whereby thy soul would become a dry firebrand of wood, each fountain or source having yet its sap, when thou departest from hence:

(25) [Instructions to the Officiant]: Yet, again, it may be possible that because of the influence of bad karma one will not recognize even thus. Therefore, call the deceased by name, and speak as follows: O nobly-born, (so-and-so), listen. That thou art suffering so cometh from thine own karma; it is not due to any one else's: it is by thine own karma. Accordingly, pray earnestly to the Precious Trinity; that will protect thee. If thou neither prayest nor knowest how to meditate upon the Great Symbol nor upon any tutelary deity, the Good Genius, who was born simultaneously with thee, will come now and count out thy good deeds [with] white pebbles, and the Evil Genius, who was born simultaneously with thee, will come and count out thy evil deeds [with] black pebbles. Thereupon, thou wilt be greatly frightened, awed, and terrified, and wilt tremble; and thou wilt attempt to tell lies, saying, 'I have not committed any evil deed'.

(70) If thou stirrest or awakest the spirit in the fire, then there riseth up in thee the bitter and harsh anger; for as soon as the fire is kindled, which is done in the hardness and fierceness, then springeth up the bitter fierceness or wrath in the flash.

(11) Again, at the death of those discipline -holding abbots and doctors in metaphysical discourses [who remain uninstructed in these Bardo teachings], however assiduously they may have devoted themselves to religious practices, and however in the human world, there will not come any phenomenal signs such as rainbow-halo [at the funeral-pyre] nor bone-reliques [from the ashes]. This is because when they lived the mystic [or esoteric] doctrines were never held within their heart, and because they had spoken contemptuously of them, and because they were never acquainted [through initiation] with the deities of the mystic [or esoteric] doctrines; thus, when these dawn on the Bardo, they do not recognize them. Suddenly [seeing] what they had never seen before, engendered, they pass into the miserable states because of that. Therefore, if the observers of the disciplines, and the [or esoteric] doctrines, such signs as the rainbow-halo come not, nor are bone-reliques and seed-like bones ever produced [from the bones of their funeral-pyre]: these are the reasons for it.

(6) Those who know this, and those too who in the forest truly worship (ujasate) faith (traddka), pass into the flame [of the cremation-fire]; from the flame, into the day; from the day, into the half month of the waxing moon; from the half month of the waxing moon, into the six months during which the sun moves northward; from these months, into the world of the gods (deva-loka); from the world of the gods, into the sun -^ from the sun, into the lightning-fire. A Peison (puntsd) consisting of mind (manasa) goes to those regions of lightning and conducts them to the Brahma-worlds. In those Brahma- worlds they dwell for long extents. Of these there is no return. 1 6. But they who by sacrificial offering, charity, and austerity conquer the worlds, pass into the smoke [of the cremation-fire]; from the smoke, into the night; from the night, into the half month of the waning moon; from the half month of the waning moon, into the six months during which the sun moves southward; from those months, into the world of the fathers; from the world of the fathers, into the moon. Reaching the moon, they become food. There the gods—as they say to King Sotna, " Increase! Decrease!"_even so feed upon them there. When that passes away for them, then they pass forth into this space; from space, into air; from air, into rain; from rain, into the earth. On reaching the earth they become food. Again they are offered in the fire of man. Thence they are born in the fire of woman. Rising up into the world, they cycle round again thus. But those who know not these two ways, become crawling and flying insects and whatever there is here that bites/

(67) But when the power or might of that spirit is allayed, then the kindled fire can be no more useful to the juggler.

(120) Whereby then, in many a creature the wrath-fire would be so very hard kindled that the body, together with the spirit, will afford and produce an eternal wrathSalitter in hell.

(26) Furthermore, even if thou feelest attached to the worldly goods thou hast left behind, or, because of seeing such worldly goods of thine in the possession of other people and being enjoyed by them, thou shouldst feel attached to them through weakness, or feel angry with thy successors, that feeling will affect the psychological moment in such a way that, even though thou wert destined to be born on higher and happier planes, thou wilt be obliged to be born in Hell, or in the world of pretas [or unhappy ghosts]. On the other hand, even if thou art attached to worldly goods left behind, thou wilt not be able to possess them, and they will be of no use to thee. Therefore, abandon weakness and attachment for them; cast them away wholly; renounce them from thy heart. No matter who may be enjoying thy worldly goods, have no feeling of miserliness, but be prepared to renounce them willingly. Think that thou art offering them to the Precious Trinity and to thy guru, and abide in the feeling of unattachment, devoid of weakness [of desire].