Chapter 24 - The Conduit of the Good and Approved usages (sadācāra)

Śūta said:

1. On hearing what was said by Sanaka regarding the merit accruing from Hari’s day (i.e. Ekādaśī) which is incomprehensibly meritorious, the best of all Vratas, that subdues host of sins, the delighted son of Brahmā spoke again.

Nārada said:

2. O sage, expert in the interpretation of principles, everything concerning the narration of holy Vratas has been mentioned by you. It is highly meritorious and it bestows devotion to Hari.

3. O sage, now I wish, to hear the rules of conduct prescribed for all castes and stages of life as well as the procedure for expiation.

4. O highly blessed one, adept in the interpretation of all principles, it behoves you please to explain it to me precisely and with great compassion and favour.”

Śanaka replied:

5. “O prominent sage, listen how the immutable Hari who is affectionate to the devotees, is worshipped by those who are devoted to the conduct of life befitting different castes and stages in life.

6. I shall relate to you the arrangement of castes and stages of life as explained duly by Manu and others, as you are a devotee of Viṣṇu.

7. Those castes are said to be four, viz., the Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas and Śūdras. Among these the Brāhmaṇa is the foremost.

8. The Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas and Vaiśyas—these three are called Dvijas (the twice-born), because at first they are born of their mothers and later on, they are consecrated by means of sacred thread with due repetition of the Mantras (which constitute the second birth). Thus twice-born-ness is attained by these three classes.

9. All holy rites and duties must be performed by these castes in accordance with the specific duties prescribed for their castes. By failing to perform the holy duties prescribed for one’s own caste, one is called a heretic by learned men.

10. A twice-born, performing the holy rites and duties enjoined by his own Gṛhya Sūtra becomes blessed and contented. Otherwise, he will be fallen and excluded from all righteous activities.

11. The Yuga-dharma^[1] (virtuous activities specially pertaining to the particular Yuga) must be pursued by these castes according to propriety and relevancy. The customs and conventions of the different regions and lands must be followed as long as they are not repugnant to the rites and duties enjoined in the Smṛtis.^[2]

12. One must strive to practise prescribed religious duties physically, mentally and verbally. One shall never do anything repugnant to the public and not securing the heaven, even if it is of a righteous nature.

13-16. There are certain activities righteous (in other Yugas) but learned men say that they are to be avoided in the Kaliyuga^[3] viz. undertaking a sea voyage, carrying a (wooden or earthen) jar of water (by a householder i.e. renunciation of that stage of life), the marriage of the twice-borns with girls not belonging to their caste, begetting of sons through (dead) husband’s brother, the slaughtering of animals in Madhuparka (respectful offering to a guest), offering flesh in Śrāddhas, the stage of life called Vānaprastha (forest-hermit), remarriage of a married girl when the marriage was not consummated, Naiṣṭhika Brahmacarya (life long celibacy), human sacrifice, horse-sacrifice, Mahāprasthānagamana (undertaking a long journey to end in death) Gomedha (cowsacrifice) as well as Makhas (sacrifices). These activities, though righteous in other Yugas, are declared as fit to be avoided in the Kaliyuga.

17. The peculiar conventions of the different lands must be followed by men of respective lands. Otherwise he (the dissenter) should be known as a fallen man, excluded from all religious activities (or social intercourse).

18. O excellent Brāhmaṇa, I shall mention in general the holy rites of the Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas and the Śūdras. Listen to it with attention.

19. (The duties of a Brāhmaṇa are:) He should offer charitable gifts to the Brāhmaṇas; he should worship the gods by means of sacrifices; for the sake of livelihood he may beg for alms; he should teach others.

20. He should perform sacrifices on behalf of those who are eligible for the same; he should perpetually offer water libations; he should learn the Vedas and maintain sacrificial fires.

21. He should have impartial conception of the acceptable wealth and that intended for others and should do what is conducive to the welfare of the world; he should speak softly.

22. The sexual intercourse of a Brāhmaṇa. with his wife is commended only on the prescribed ṃghts after the menstruation; he should never utter anything unwholesome and injurious to anyone; he shall be devoted to the worship of Viṣṇu.

23. (The duties of a Kṣatriya are): O excellent Brāhmaṇa, a Kṣatriya should give charitable gifts to Brāhmaṇas, he should learn the Vedas; he should worship Devas by performance of sacrifices.

24. He should maintain himself by means of weapons (i.e. military profession); he should rule over the Earth righteously and should chastise and curb the wicked; he should protect the disciplined (the good).

25. O excellent Brāhmaṇa, breeding of cattle, commerce, agriculture and study of the Vedas are glorified as the duties of the Vaiśya also.

26. He should marry duly and practise righteous activities through wealth earned by means of business transactions or industrial activities.

27. A Śūdra also should give charitable gifts, but he should not perform domestic sacrifices involving cooking. He should render service to the Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas and the Vaiśyas.

28-29. The following duties are common to ail castes: every one should indulge in sexual intercourse with his own wife only on the prescribed ṃghts after the menstruation; sincere desire for the welfare of all worlds, always speaking auspicious and pleasing words, absence of fool-hardiness, joyous temperament, forbearance, absence of over-arrogance, all these have been glorified as attributes common to all castes.

30. By performing the rites befitting one’s own stage of life, everyone attains the status of a sage, O Brāhmaṇa. In times of emergency^[4] a Brāhmaṇa may take to the conduct of life of a Kṣatriya.

31. In times of grave emergency, a Kṣatriya also may take to the activities of a Vaiśya. Even in times of very grave emergency, a twice-born person should not take to the activities of a Śūdra.

32-34a. If a twice-born person in a confused state of mind takes to it, he shall become a Cāṇḍāla. O excellent sage, in the case of the three castes, the Brāhmaṇas, the Kṣatriyas and the Vaiśyas, four Āśramas (stages of life) have been mentioned. There is no fifth stage of life. They are: (the stages of) the religious student, the householder, the forest-hermit and the mendicant, O good one. Excellent Dharma is achieved through these four Āśramas.

34b-35. O leading Brāhmaṇa, Viṣṇu is pleased with a person who is engaged in the path of action, whose mind is quiescent, free from desire, and is absorbed in his own duties. Thereafter, he goes to the greatest abode from which he does not return to this world.

Notes regarding the term Sadācāra:

The term Sadācāra is used in the sense of ‘customs and usages’. The customs in Brahmāvarta were looked upon with great respect in Smṛtis and Purāṇas. But here the term means ‘the conduct of the good’. Viṣṇu Purāṇa III. 11.3 defines it:

sādhavaḥ kṣīṇa-doṣās tu sac-chabdāḥ sādhu-vācakāḥ /
teṣām ācaraṇaṃ yat tu sadācāras sa ucyate //

This is attributed to Hārīta in Parāśaramādhavīya I.i., p. 144.

This topic is treated in many Purāṇas e.g. Viṣṇu Purāṇa III. Chs. 11 & 12, Kūrma Purāṇa II. chs. 16 and 19, Agni Purāṇa Chs. 155, 165, 253, Bhāgavata Purāṇa VII.11, XI.17 & 18 to mention a few. In the Nārada Purāṇa it is later described again in ch. 1.43; overlapping and repetition of verses is expected in such a work, but a number of verses are common to many of these Purāṇas and are found in Smṛtis as well.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

According to Mahābhārata Sānti 232.28, the principal aspects of religious life were: penance (tapas) in the Kṛta-age; metaphysical knowledge in the Tṛetā, performance of sacrifices in the Dvāpara and Dāna (religious gifts) in the Kali age.

tapaḥ paraṃ kṛta-yuge, tretāyāṃ jñanam uiyate /
dvāpare yajñam evāhur, dānam ekaṃ kalau yuge //

This verse is repeated in Manu 1.86, Parāśara 1.23 and Vāyu Purāṇa. 8.65 substitutes dhyānam ‘meditation’ for tapas in the Kṛta age.

[2]:

This sanction to customs is granted in the Sūtra period. For example, the Āśvalāyana sūtra gives its sanction to different customs belonging to different regions and villages in celebration of marriages:

uccāvacā vai jānapadadharmā grāmadharmās tān vivāhe pratīyat /—Aśv.Gr.S.

[3]:

The general principle of Sadācāra is that if a religious practice though sanctioned by Dharma Śāstra is found abhorrent to the public taste, it should be avoided. (Verse No. 12). Thus the sea-voyage involved pollution through contact with Mlecchas and hence was forbidden. The moral sense of the public abhorred the idea of niyoga, marrying a girl from a lower class, killing an animal for madhuparka (receiving a guest), offering meat or non-vegetarian diet to Brāhmaṇas at the time of Śrāddha, etc. and it came to be prohibited in the Kali Age. These four verses from the Nārada Purāṇa (Nos. 13-16) enumerate what acts are to be avoided in the Kali age. Kali-varjya are quoted in the Nirṇayasindhu, p. 367, Aparārka, p.15, Caturvarga Cintāmaṇi III.2, p. 666, Sc. I. p.12, Parāśara Mādhavīya I.i p.133. The number of such forbidden acts differ with different texts. P.V. Kane in H.D.III. pp.930-966 enumerates 55 Kalivarjya acts—one-fourth of which are against the institution of sacrifice, ten are due to the public insistence on purity of women and two, viz., the prohibition against Vānaprastha and Samnyāsa give a blow to the ancient āśrama-dharma. The wording “though righteous in other yugas” (verse 16) is just to show respect to the authorities which prescribed them. Kane’s view that ‘Kalivarjya lists were put together at the earliest in the 10th and 11th century A.D. needs modification in view of its occurrence in the Nārada Purāṇa—unless we regard these verses as later interpolations.

[4]:

Verses 30-33 deal with the Āpad-dharma The principle is that in times of emergency one should resort to the means of livelihood prescribed for the caste (Varṇa) which is immediately below one’s own, vide Manu X.81-82. Yājñavalkya III.35, Viṣṇu Dh.S. 54.28, but Nārada Purāṇa insists that one should never follow Śūdra’s vocation. When the emergency is over, the person following a ‘lower’ avocation should undergo expiation and follow his profession (Manu XI. 193-194, Yājñavalkya III.35).