Vaishampayana said After this Yudhishthira, saluted his grand father, the son of Ganga, and with joined hands and rapt attention, once more asked him, saying,-'What are the general duties of the four castes and what the especial duties of each. What mode of life should be adopted by which order and what duties are especially designated as the duties of kings.

By what means does a kingdom prosper and what are the means by which the king himself prospers? How also, O foremost of Bharata's race, do the citizens and the servants of the king prosper?

What sorts of wealth, punishments, forts, allies, counsellors, priests and preceptors, should a king avoid?

Whom should the king trust in what sorts of distress and danger? What evils should the king avoid? Tell me all this, O grandfather.

Bhishma said I salute Dharma who is great and Krishna who is Brahma. Having saluted also the Brahmanas (assembled here) I shall describe the eternal duties.

The control of anger, truthfulness of speech, justice, forgiveness, begetting children upon one's own married wives, purity of conduct, avoidance of quarrel, simplicity, and maintenance of dependents,—these are the nine duties which all the four orders should follow.

I shall now describe the duties which the Brahmanas should exclusively follow. Selfcontrol, o king, has been declared to be the first duty of Brahmanas. Study of the Vedas, and patient practice of austerities, (are also their other duties). By practising these two, all their acts are done.

If while engaged in the observance of his own duties, without doing any unfair act, riches comes to a peaceful Brahmana endued with knowledge, he should then marry and seek to beget children, and should also practise charity and celebrate sacrifices. It has been declared by the wise that wealth thus acquired should be enjoyed by distributing it among worthy persons and relatives.

By his study of the Vedas all the pious acts are done. Whether he does or does not acquire anything else, if he only studies the Vedas, he becomes known as a Brahmana or the friend of all creatures.

I shall also tell you, O Bharata, what the duties of a Kshatriya are. A Kshatriya, O king, should give but not beg, should himself celebrate sacrifices but not officiate as a priest in the sacrifices of others.

He should never teach the Veda but study the same with a Brahmana teacher. He should protect the people. Always trying his best for the destruction of robbers and wicked people, he should display his prowess in battle.

Those among Kshatriya kings who celebrate great sacrifices, who have a knowledge of the Vedas and who gain victories in battle, become foremost of those who acquire many blessed regions hereafter by their merit.

Persons well read in the scriptures do not speak highly of a Kshatriya who returns unscathed from battle.

This is the conduct of a wretched Kshatriya. There is no greater duty for him than the suppression of robbers.

Gifts, study, and sacrifices, yield prosperity to kings. Therefore, a king who desires to obtain religious merit should engage in battle.

Compelling all his subjects to follow their respective duties, a king should make all of them do everything according to the dictates of righteousness.

Whether he does or does not do anything else, if only he protects his subjects, he is considered to accomplish all religious acts and is called a Kshatriya and the foremost of men,

I shall now tell you, O Yudhishthira, what the eternal duties of the Vaishyas are.-A Vaishya should make gifts, study the Vedas, celebrate sacrifices, and acquire wealth by fair means.

With proper care he should also take care of and rear up all domestic animals as a father looking after his sons. Anything else that he will do, will be considered as improper for him.

By looking after the (domestic) animals he would secure great happiness. Having created the (domestic) animals, the Creator, assigned their care to the Vaishyas.

To the Brahmana and the Kshatriya he assigned (the protection of) all creatures. I shall tell you what the Vaishya's profession is and how he is to earn the means of his maintenance.

If he keeps (for others) six kine, he may take the milk of one cow as his own remuneration; and if he keeps (for others) a hundred kine, he may take a pair as his remuneration. If he trades with other's money, he may take a seventh part of the profits, as his share. A seventh part of the profits arising from the trade in horns is also his, but he should take a sixteenth if the trade is in hoofs. If he makes cultivation with seeds given by others, he may take a seventh part of the produce. This should be his annual remuneration.

A Vaishya should never wish that he should not tend cattle. If a Vaishya desires to tend cattle no one else should undertake that task.

I should tell you, O Bharata, what the duties of a Shudra are. The Creator intended the Shudra as the servant of the other three castes.

Therefore, the service of the three other classes is the duty of the Shudra. By thus serving the other three, a Shudra may acquire great happiness.

He should serve the three other classes according to their order of seniority. A Shudra should never amass riches, lest by them, he makes the members of the three superior orders obedient to him. By this he would incur sin. With the king's permission, however, a Shudra, for religious observances, may acquire wealth.

I shall now describe the profession, he should pursue and the means by which he may earn his subsistence. It is said that the Shudras should be maintained by the three other castes.

Used umbrellas, hed-gears, beds, seats, shoes and fans, should be given to the Shudra servants.

Torn clothes, which are no longer fit for wear, should be given by the upper three castes to the Shudra. These are the latter's rightful acquisitions.

Men, well read in the science of duties, hold that if the Shudra approaches anyone belonging to the three twice-born orders for doing menial service, the latter should give him proper work.

The master should offer the funeral cake to the sonless Shudra servant. The weak and the old amongst them should be maintained. The Shudra should never leave his master whatever may be the miseries he may suffer from.

If the master loses his wealth, he should with greatest care be maintained by the Shudra servant. A Shudra cannot enjoy wealth even if it be his own. Whatever he possesses belongs lawfully to his master.

Sacrifice has been laid down as a duty of the three other castes, it has been laid down for the Shudra also, O Bharata, but he is not competent to utter svaha and svadha or any other Vedic mantra.

Therefore the Shudra, without observing the vows laid down in the Vedas, should adore the gods in minor sacrifices, called Pakayajnas. The gift called Purnapatra is known as the Dakshina of such sacrifices,

We have heard that in days of yore a Shudra of the name of Paijavana gave Dakshina (in one of his sacrifices) consisting of a hundred thousand Purnapatras, according to the ordinance called Aindragni, (i.e., a hundred thousand animals).

Sacrifice, O Bharata, has been as much sanctioned for the Shudra as for the three other orders. Of all sacrifices, devotion has been laid down to be the foremost.

Devotion is a great god. It purifies all sacrificers. Then again Brahmanas are foremost of gods to their respective Shudra servants.

They adore the gods in sacrifices, for obtaining the fruits of various wishes. The members of the three other orders have all originated from the Brahmanas.

The Brahmanas are the gods of the very gods. Whatever they would say would be for your great good. Therefore all kinds of sacrifices naturally belong to all the four orders. The celebration of these sacrifices is obligatory and not optional.

The Brahmana, who is conversant with Richs, Yajus, and Samans, should always be adored as a god. The Shudra, who is without Richs and Yajus and Samans, has Prajapati for his god.

Mental sacrifice, O sire, is sanctioned for all the orders, O Bharata. It is not true that the gods and other persons do not express a desire to share the offerings in such sacrifices ofs even the Shudra. For this reason, the sacrifice of devotion is laid down for all the castes.

The Brahmana is the foremost of gods. It is not true that they that belong to that order do not celebrate the sacrifices of the other orders. The fire called Vitana, though procured from Vaishyas and inspired with mantras, is stili inferior. The Brahmana can celebrate the sacrifices of the three other castes.

Therefore, all the four castes are holy. All the castes are allied to one another by blood through the intermediate classes. They have all originated from Brahmanas. In ascertaining (the priority of origin) it will be seen that amongst all the cases the Brahmana was created first. Originally Saman was one; Yajus was one, and Rich was one.

Regarding it, persons, conversant with ancient histories, cite a verse, O king, sung in praise of sacrifice by the Vaikhanasa Munis on the occasion of performing a sacrifice of theirs.

Before or after sun rise, a person of controlled senses, with heart filled with devotion poured libations on the (sacrificial) fire according to the Vedic prescription. Devotion is a powerful agent.

Respecting homas again, that variety which is called skanna is the first one, while that which is called askanna is the last though the most important. Sacrifices are many, their rites and fruits again are many.

That Brahmana, possessed of devotion who, gifted with scriptural learning, knows all the rites, is competent to celebrate sacrifices.

That person who desires to celebrate a sacrifice is regarded as righteous even if he happens to be a thief, a sinner or the worst of sinners.

The Rishis speak highly of such a man. Forsooth they are right. This then is the conclusion that all the castes should always and by every means in their power celebrate sacrifices.

There is nothing in the three worlds equal to sacrifice. Therefore, it has been said that every one,-with heart shorn of malice, should celebrate sacrifices, helped by devotion which is sacred to the best of his ability and as he pleases.

There is nothing in the three worlds equal to sacrifice. Therefore, it has been said that every one,-with heart shorn of malice, should celebrate sacrifices, helped by devotion which is sacred to the best of his ability and as he pleases.