The Institutes Of Vishnu
| Introduction |
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THE Vishnu-smriti or Vaishnava Dharmasāstra or Vishnu-sūtra is in the main a collection of ancient aphorisms on the sacred laws of India, and as such it ranks with the other ancient works of this class which have come down to our time.
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| Vishnu and The Goddess Of The Earth |
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1. THE night of Brahman being over, and the God sprung from the lotus (Brahman) having woke from his slumber, Vishnu purposing to create living beings, and perceiving the earth covered with water,...
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| Weights and Measures |
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1. The (very small mote of) dust which may be discerned in a sun-beam passing through a lattice is called trasarenu (trembling dust)....
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| Law of Debt |
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1. A creditor shall receive his principal back from his debtor exactly as he had lent it to him....
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| Writings |
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1. Documents are of three kinds:
2. Attested by the king, or by (other) witnesses, or unattested....
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| Witnesses |
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1. Now follow (the laws regarding) witnesses.
2. The king cannot be (made a witness); nor a learned Brāhmana; nor an ascetic; nor a gamester; nor a thief;....
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| Ordeals |
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1. Now follows (the rule regarding) the performance of ordeals....
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| Inheritance |
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1. Now there are twelve kinds of sons.
2. The first is the son of the body, viz. he who is begotten (by the husband) himself on his own lawfully wedded wife.
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| Funeral Ceremonies |
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1. He must not cause a member of a twice-born caste to be carried out by a Sūdra (even though he be a kinsman of the deceased);...
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| Funeral Oblations |
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1. Now then, (on the day) after the impurity is over, let him bathe duly (during the recitation of Mantras), wash his hands and feet duly, and sip water duly, (and having invited some Brāhmanas),...
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| Impurity |
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1. The impurity of a Brāhmana caused by the birth or death of Sapindas lasts ten days....
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| Women |
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1. Now a Brāhmana may take four wives in the direct order of the (four) castes;...
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| Crimes |
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1. Now man has three most dangerous enemies, called carnal desire, wrath, and greed....
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| Hells |
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1. Now follow the hells. (They are called:)
2. Tāmisra (darkness);...
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| Transmigration |
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1. Now after having suffered the torments inflicted in the hells, the evil-doers pass into animal bodies....
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| Penances |
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1. Now follow the penances.
2. Let a man fast for three days;...
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| Rules For a Snātaka |
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1. Now he must not contemn any one (whether of equal rank, or of higher or lower rank than himself)....
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| Self-restraint |
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1. He must persist in keeping his mind and his organs of sense under restraint....
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| Srāddhas |
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1. One desirous of celebrating a Srāddha must invite the Brāhmanas on the day before (it is to take place)....
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| Pious Gifts |
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1. Now on the day of full moon in the month Vaisākha he must spread out upon a woollen blanket the skin of a black antelope (together with the horns and hoofs), ....
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| The Hermit |
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1. A householder, when he sees his skin has become wrinkled and his hair turned grey, must go to live in a forest....
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| The Ascetic |
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1. After having passed through the first three orders and annihilated passion, he must offer an oblation to Pragāpati, ...
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| Meditation on Vishnu |
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1. Sitting with the feet stretched out and crossed so as to touch the thighs, with the right hand (stretched out and) resting upon the left, with the tongue fixed in the palate,....
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| Conclusion |
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1. When Vishnu had finished his speech, the goddess of the earth inclined her knees and her head before him and said:...
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| Additions and Corrections |
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I, 17 (p. 4) read Rākshasas--I, 22 (p. 5) for bow read shaft--V, 48 (p. 29) and V, 77 (p. 31) for or one read and one--VIII, 9 (p. 49) before one add and approved by both (parties)--XIV,...
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Copyright © by Hindu Books Universe All Right Reserved. Published on: 2003-07-04 (4286 reads) [ Go Back ] |
