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                      The Laws of Manu - Chapter IX
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1. I will now propound the eternal laws for a husband and his wife who keep
to the path of duty, whether they be united or separated.

2. Day and night woman must be kept in dependence by the males (of) their
(families), and, if they attach themselves to sensual enjoyments, they must
be kept under one's control.

3. Her father protects (her) in childhood, her husband protects (her) in
youth, and her sons protect (her) in old age; a woman is never fit for
independence.

4. Reprehensible is the father who gives not (his daughter in marriage) at
the proper time; reprehensible is the husband who approaches not (his wife
in due season), and reprehensible is the son who does not protect his
mother after her husband has died.

5. Women must particularly be guarded against evil inclinations, however
trifling (they may appear); for, if they are not guarded, they will bring
sorrow on two families.

6. Considering that the highest duty of all castes, even weak husbands
(must) strive to guard their wives.

7. He who carefully guards his wife, preserves (the purity of) his
offspring, virtuous conduct, his family, himself, and his (means of
acquiring) merit.

8. The husband, after conception by his wife, becomes an embryo and is born
again of her; for that is the wifehood of a wife (jāyā), that he is born
(jāyate) again by her.

9. As the male is to whom a wife cleaves, even so is the son whom she
brings forth; let him therefore carefully guard his wife, in order to keep
his offspring pure.

10. No man can completely guard women by force; but they can be guarded by
the employment of the (following) expedients:

11. Let the (husband) employ his (wife) in the collection and expenditure
of his wealth, in keeping (everything) clean, in (the fulfilment of)
religious duties, in the preparation of his food, and in looking after the
household utensils.

12. Women, confined in the house under trustworthy and obedient servants,
are not (well) guarded; but those who of their own accord keep guard over
themselves, are well guarded.

13. Drinking (spirituous liquor), associating with wicked people,
separation from the husband, rambling abroad, sleeping (at unseasonable
hours), and dwelling in other men's houses, are the six causes of the ruin
of women.

14. Women do not care for beauty, nor is their attention fixed on age;
(thinking), '(It is enough that) he is a man,' they give themselves to the
handsome and to the ugly.

15. Through their passion for men, through their mutable temper, through
their natural heartlessness, they become disloyal towards their husbands,
however carefully they may be guarded in this (world).

16. Knowing their disposition, which the Lord of creatures laid in them at
the creation, to be such, (every) man should most strenuously exert himself
to guard them.

17. (When creating them) Manu allotted to women (a love of their) bed, (of
their) seat and (of) ornament, impure desires, wrath, dishonesty, malice,
and bad conduct.

18. For women no (sacramental) rite (is performed) with sacred texts, thus
the law is settled; women (who are) destitute of strength and destitute of
(the knowledge of) Vedic texts, (are as impure as) falsehood (itself), that
is a fixed rule.

19. And to this effect many sacred texts are sung also in the Vedas, in
order to (make) fully known the true disposition (of women); hear (now
those texts which refer to) the expiation of their (sins).

20. 'If my mother, going astray and unfaithful, conceived illicit desires,
may my father keep that seed from me,' that is the scriptural text.

21. If a woman thinks in her heart of anything that would pain her husband,
the (above-mentioned text) is declared (to be a means for) completely
removing such infidelity.

22. Whatever be the qualities of the man with whom a woman is united
according to the law, such qualities even she assumes, like a river
(united) with the ocean.

23. Akṣamālā, a woman of the lowest birth, being united to Vasiṣṭha and
Śāraṅgī, (being united) to Mandapāla, became worthy of honour.

24. These and other females of low birth have attained eminence in this
world by the respective good qualities of their husbands.

25. Thus has been declared the ever pure popular usage (which regulates
the relations) between husband and wife; hear (next) the laws concerning
children which are the cause of happiness in this world and after death.

26. Between wives (striyaḥ) who (are destined) to bear children, who
secure many blessings, who are worthy of worship and irradiate (their)
dwellings, and between the goddesses of fortune (śriyaḥ, who reside) in
the houses (of men), there is no difference whatsoever.

27. The production of children, the nurture of those born, and the daily
life of men, (of these matters) woman is visibly the cause.

28. Offspring, (the due performance of) religious rites, faithful service,
highest conjugal happiness and heavenly bliss for the ancestors and
oneself, depend on one's wife alone.

29. She who, controlling her thoughts, speech, and acts, violates not her
duty towards her lord, dwells with him (after death) in heaven, and in
this world is called by the virtuous a faithful (wife, sādhvī).

30. But for disloyalty to her husband a wife is censured among men, and
(in her next life) she is born in the womb of a jackal and tormented by
diseases, the punishment of her sin.

31. Listen (now) to the following holy discussion, salutary to all men,
which the virtuous (of the present day) and the ancient great sages have
held concerning male offspring.

32. They (all) say that the male issue (of a woman) belongs to the lord,
but with respect to the (meaning of the term) lord the revealed texts
differ; some call the begetter (of the child the lord), others declare
(that it is) the owner of the soil.

33. By the sacred tradition the woman is declared to be the soil, the man
is declared to be the seed; the production of all corporeal beings (takes
place) through the union of the soil with the seed.

34. In some cases the seed is more distinguished, and in some the womb of
the female; but when both are equal, the offspring is most highly
esteemed.

35. On comparing the seed and the receptacle (of the seed), the seed is
declared to be more important; for the offspring of all created beings is
marked by the characteristics of the seed.

36. Whatever (kind of) seed is sown in a field, prepared in due season, (a
plant) of that same kind, marked with the peculiar qualities of the seed,
springs up in it.

37. This earth, indeed, is called the primeval womb of created beings; but
the seed develops not in its development any properties of the womb.

38. In this world seeds of different kinds, sown at the proper time in the
land, even in one field, come forth (each) according to its kind.

39. The rice (called) vrīhi and (that called) śāli, mudga-beans, sesamum,
māṣa-beans, barley, leeks, and sugar-cane, (all) spring up according to
their seed.

40. That one (plant) should be sown and another be produced cannot happen;
whatever seed is sown, (a plant of) that kind even comes forth.

41. Never therefore must a prudent well-trained man, who knows the Veda
and its Aṅgas and desires long life, cohabit with another's wife.

42. With respect to this (matter), those acquainted with the past recite
some stanzas, sung by Vāyu (the Wind, to show) that seed must not be sown
by (any) man on that which belongs to another.

43. As the arrow, shot by (a hunter) who afterwards hits a wounded (deer)
in the wound (made by another), is shot in vain, even so the seed, sown on
what belongs to another, is quickly lost (to the sower).

44. (Sages) who know the past call this earth (pṛthivī) even the wife of
Pṛthu; they declare a field to belong to him who cleared away the timber,
and a deer to him who (first) wounded it.

45. He only is a perfect man who consists (of three persons united), his
wife, himself, and his offspring; thus (says the Veda), and (learned)
Brāhmaṇas propound this (maxim) likewise, 'The husband is declared to be
one with the wife.'

46. Neither by sale nor by repudiation is a wife released from her
husband; such we know the law to be, which the Lord of creatures
(Prajāpati) made of old.

47. Once is the partition (of the inheritance) made, (once is) a maiden
given in marriage, (and) once does (a man) say,' I will give;' each of
those three (acts is done) once only.

48. As with cows, mares, female camels, slave-girls, buffalo-cows,
she-goats, and ewes, it is not the begetter (or his owner) who obtains the
offspring, even thus (it is) with the wives of others.

49. Those who, having no property in a field, but possessing seed-corn, sow
it in another's soil, do indeed not receive the grain of the crop which
may spring up.

50. If (one man's) bull were to beget a hundred calves on another man's
cows, they would belong to the owner of the cows; in vain would the bull
have spent his strength.

51. Thus men who have no marital property in women, but sow their seed in
the soil of others, benefit the owner of the woman; but the giver of the
seed reaps no advantage.

52. If no agreement with respect to the crop has been made between the
owner of the field and the owner of the seed, the benefit clearly belongs
to the owner of the field; the receptacle is more important than the seed.

53. But if by a special contract (a field) is made over (to another) for
sowing, then the owner of the seed and the owner of the soil are both
considered in this world as sharers of the (crop).

54. If seed be carried by water or wind into somebody's field and
germinates (there), the (plant sprung from that) seed belongs even to the
owner of the field, the owner of the seed does not receive the crop.

55. Know that such is the law concerning the offspring of cows, mares,
slave-girls, female camels, she-goats, and ewes, as well as of females of
birds and buffalo-cows.

56. Thus the comparative importance of the seed and of the womb has been
declared to you; I will next propound the law (applicable) to women in
times of misfortune.

57. The wife of an elder brother is for his younger (brother) the wife of
a Guru; but the wife of the younger is declared (to be) the
daughter-in-law of the elder.

58. An elder (brother) who approaches the wife of the younger, and a
younger (brother who approaches) the wife of the elder, except in times of
misfortune, both become outcasts, even though (they were duly) authorised.

59. On failure of issue (by her husband) a woman who has been authorised,
may obtain, (in the) proper (manner prescribed), the desired offspring by
(cohabitation with) a brother-in-law or (with some other) Sapiṇḍa (of the
husband).

60. He (who is) appointed to (cohabit with) the widow shall (approach her)
at night anointed with clarified butter and silent, (and) beget one son,
by no means a second.

61. Some (sages), versed in the law, considering the purpose of the
appointment not to have been attained by those two (on the birth of the
first), think that a second (son) may be lawfully procreated on (such)
women.

62. But when the purpose of the appointment to (cohabit with) the widow
has been attained in accordance with the law, those two shall behave
towards each other like a father and a daughter-in-law.

63. If those two (being thus) appointed deviate from the rule and act from
carnal desire, they will both become outcasts, (as men) who defile the bed
of a daughter-in-law or of a Guru.

64. By twice-born men a widow must not be appointed to (cohabit with) any
other (than her husband); for they who appoint (her) to another (man),
will violate the eternal law.

65. In the sacred texts which refer to marriage the appointment (of
widows) is nowhere mentioned, nor is the re-marriage of widows prescribed
in the rules concerning marriage.

66. This practice which is reprehended by the learned of the twice-born
castes as fit for cattle is said (to have occurred) even among men, while
Vena ruled.

67. That chief of royal sages who formerly possessed the whole world,
caused a confusion of the castes (varṇa), his intellect being destroyed
by lust.

68. Since that (time) the virtuous censure that (man) who in his folly
appoints a woman, whose husband died, to (bear) children (to another man).

69. If the (future) husband of a maiden dies after troth verbally
plighted, her brother-in-law shall wed her according to the following
rule.

70. Having, according to the rule, espoused her (who must be) clad in
white garments and be intent on purity, he shall approach her once in each
proper season until issue (be had).

71. Let no prudent man, after giving his daughter to one (man), give her
again to another; for he who gives (his daughter) whom he had before
given, incurs (the guilt of) speaking falsely regarding a human being.

72. Though (a man) may have accepted a damsel in due form, he may abandon
(her if she be) blemished, diseased, or deflowered, and (if she have been)
given with fraud.

73. If anybody gives away a maiden possessing blemishes without declaring
them, (the bridegroom) may annul that (contract) with the evil-minded
giver.

74. A man who has business (abroad) may depart after securing a
maintenance for his wife; for a wife, even though virtuous, may be
corrupted if she be distressed by want of subsistence.

75. If (the husband) went on a journey after providing (for her), the wife
shall subject herself to restraints in her daily life; but if he departed
without providing (for her), she may subsist by blameless manual work.

76. If the husband went abroad for some sacred duty, (she) must wait for
him eight years, if (he went) to (acquire) learning or fame six (years),
if (he went) for pleasure three years.

77. For one year let a husband bear with a wife who hates him; but after
(the lapse of) a year let him deprive her of her property and cease to
cohabit with her.

78. She who shows disrespect to (a husband) who is addicted to (some evil)
passion, is a drunkard, or diseased, shall be deserted for three months
(and be) deprived of her ornaments and furniture.

79. But she who shows aversion towards a mad or outcast (husband), a
eunuch, one destitute of manly strength, or one afflicted with such
diseases as punish crimes, shall neither be cast off nor be deprived of
her property.

80. She who drinks spirituous liquor, is of bad conduct, rebellious,
diseased, mischievous, or wasteful, may at any time be superseded (by
another wife).

81. A barren wife may be superseded in the eighth year, she whose children
(all) die in the tenth, she who bears only daughters in the eleventh, but
she who is quarrelsome without delay.

82. But a sick wife who is kind (to her husband) and virtuous in her
conduct, may be superseded (only) with her own consent and must never be
disgraced.

83. A wife who, being superseded, in anger departs from (her husband's)
house, must either be instantly confined or cast off in the presence of
the family.

84. But she who, though having been forbidden, drinks spirituous liquor
even at festivals, or goes to public spectacles or assemblies, shall be
fined six kṛṣṇalas.

85. If twice-born men wed women of their own and of other (lower castes),
the seniority, honour, and habitation of those (wives) must be (settled)
according to the order of the castes (varṇa).

86. Among all (twice-born men) the wife of equal caste alone, not a wife
of a different caste by any means, shall personally attend her husband and
assist him in his daily sacred rites.

87. But he who foolishly causes that (duty) to be performed by another,
while his wife of equal caste is alive, is declared by the ancients (to
be) as (despicable) as a Caṇḍāla (sprung from the) Brāhmaṇa (caste).

88. To a distinguished, handsome suitor (of) equal (caste) should (a
father) give his daughter in accordance with the prescribed rule, though
she have not attained (the proper age).

89. (But) the maiden, though marriageable, should rather stop in (the
father's) house until death, than that he should ever give her to a man
destitute of good qualities.

90. Three years let a damsel wait, though she be marriageable; but after
that time let her choose for herself a bridegroom (of) equal (caste and
rank).

91. If, being not given in marriage, she herself seeks a husband, she
incurs no guilt, nor (does) he whom she weds.

92. A maiden who chooses for herself, shall not take with her any
ornaments, given by her father or her mother, or her brothers; if she
carries them away, it will be theft.

93. But he who takes (to wife) a marriageable damsel, shall not pay any
nuptial fee to her father; for the (latter) will lose his dominion over
her in consequence of his preventing (the legitimate result of the
appearance of) her menses.

94. A man, aged thirty years, shall marry a maiden of twelve who pleases
him, or a man of twenty-four a girl eight years of age; if (the
performance of) his duties would (otherwise) be impeded, (he must marry)
sooner.

95. The husband receives his wife from the gods, (he does not wed her)
according to his own will; doing what is agreeable to the gods, he must
always support her (while she is) faithful.

96. To be mothers were women created, and to be fathers men; religious
rites, therefore, are ordained in the Veda to be performed (by the
husband) together with the wife.

97. If, after the nuptial fee has been paid for a maiden, the giver of the
fee dies, she shall be given in marriage to his brother, in case she
consents.

98. Even a Śūdra ought not to take a nuptial fee, when he gives away his
daughter; for he who takes a fee sells his daughter, covering (the
transaction by another name).

99. Neither ancients nor moderns who were good men have done such (a deed)
that, after promising (a daughter) to one man, they have given her to
another;

100. Nor, indeed, have we heard, even in former creations, of such (a
thing as) the covert sale of a daughter for a fixed price, called a
nuptial fee.

101. 'Let mutual fidelity continue until death,' this may be considered as
the summary of the highest law for husband and wife.

102. Let man and woman, united in marriage, constantly exert themselves,
that (they may not be) disunited (and) may not violate their mutual
fidelity.

103. Thus has been declared to you the law for a husband and his wife,
which is intimately connected with conjugal happiness, and the manner of
raising offspring in times of calamity; learn (now the law concerning) the
division of the inheritance.

104. After the death of the father and of the mother, the brothers, being
assembled, may divide among themselves in equal shares the paternal (and
the maternal) estate; for, they have no power (over it) while the parents
live.

105. (Or) the eldest alone may take the whole paternal estate, the others
shall live under him just as (they lived) under their father.

106. Immediately on the birth of his first-born a man is (called) the
father of a son and is freed from the debt to the manes; that (son),
therefore, is worthy (to receive) the whole estate.

107. That son alone on whom he throws his debt and through whom he obtains
immortality, is begotten for (the fulfilment of) the law; all the rest
they consider the offspring of desire.

108. As a father (supports) his sons, so let the eldest support his younger
brothers, and let them also in accordance with the law behave towards
their eldest brother as sons (behave towards their father).

109. The eldest (son) makes the family prosperous or, on the contrary,
brings it to ruin; the eldest (is considered) among men most worthy of
honour, the eldest is not treated with disrespect by the virtuous.

110. If the eldest brother behaves as an eldest brother (ought to do), he
(must be treated) like a mother and like a father; but if he behaves in a
manner unworthy of an eldest brother, he should yet be honoured like a
kinsman.

111. Either let them thus live together, or apart, if (each) desires (to
gain) spiritual merit; for (by their living) separate (their) merit
increases, hence separation is meritorious.

112. The additional share (deducted) for the eldest shall be one-twentieth
(of the estate) and the best of all chattels, for the middlemost half of
that, but for the youngest one-fourth.

113. Both the eldest and the youngest shall take (their shares) according
to (the rule just) stated (each of) those who are between the eldest and
the youngest, shall have the share (prescribed for the) middlemost.

114. Among the goods of every kind the eldest shall take the best
(article), and (even a single chattel) which is particularly good, as well
as the best of ten (animals).

115. But among (brothers) equally skilled in their occupations, there is
no additional share, (consisting of the best animal) among ten; some
trifle only shall be given to the eldest as a token of respect.

116. If additional shares are thus deducted, one must allot equal shares
(out of the residue to each); but if no deduction is made, the allotment
of the shares among them shall be (made) in the following manner.

117. Let the eldest son take one share in excess, the (brother) born next
after him one (share) and a half, the younger ones one share each; thus
the law is settled.

118. But to the maiden (sisters) the brothers shall severally give
(portions) out of their shares, each out of his share one-fourth part;
those who refuse to give (it), will become outcasts.

119. Let him never divide (the value of) a single goat or sheep, or a
(single beast) with uncloven hoofs; it is prescribed (that) a single goat
or sheep (remaining after an equal division, belongs) to the eldest alone.

120. If a younger brother begets a son on the wife of the elder, the
division must then be made equally; this the law is settled.

121. The representative (the son begotten on the wife) is not invested
with the right of the principal (the eldest brother to an additional
share); the principal (became) a father on the procreation (of a son by
his younger brother); hence one should give a share to the (son begotten
on the wife of the elder brother) according to the rule (stated above).

122. If there be a doubt, how the division shall be made, in case the
younger son is born of the elder wife and the elder son of the younger
wife,

123. (Then the son) born of the first wife shall take as his additional
share one (most excellent) bull; the next best bulls (shall belong) to
those (who are) inferior on account of their mothers.

124. But the eldest (son, being) born of the eldest wife, shall receive
fifteen cows and a bull, the other sons may then take shares according to
(the seniority of) their mothers; that is a settled rule.

125. Between sons born of wives equal (in caste) (and) without (any other)
distinction no seniority in right of the mother exists; seniority is
declared (to be) according to birth.

126. And with respect to the Subrahmaṇya (texts) also it is recorded that
the invocation (of Indra shall be made) by the first-born, of twins
likewise, (conceived at one time) in the wombs (of their mothers) the
seniority is declared (to depend) on (actual) birth.

127. He who has no son may make his daughter in the following manner an
appointed daughter (putrikā, saying to her husband), 'The (male) child,
born of her, shall perform my funeral rites.'

128. According to this rule Dakṣa, himself, lord of created beings,
formerly made (all his female offspring) appointed daughters in order to
multiply his race.

129. He gave ten to Dharma, thirteen to Kaśyapa, twenty-seven to King
Soma, honouring (them) with an affectionate heart.

130. A son is even (as) oneself, (such) a daughter is equal to a son; how
can another (heir) take the estate, while such (an appointed daughter who
is even) oneself, lives?

131. But whatever may be the separate property of the mother, that is the
share of the unmarried daughter alone; and the son of an (appointed)
daughter shall take the whole estate of (his maternal grandfather) who
leaves no son.

132. The son of an (appointed) daughter, indeed, shall (also) take the
estate of his (own) father, who leaves no (other) son; he shall (then)
present two funeral cakes to his own father and to his maternal
grandfather.

133. Between a son's son and the son of an (appointed) daughter there is
no difference, neither with respect to worldly matters nor to sacred
duties; for their father and mother both sprang from the body of the same
(man).

134. But if, after a daughter has been appointed, a son be born (to her
father), the division (of the inheritance) must in that (case) be equal;
for there is no right of primogeniture for a woman.

135. But if an appointed daughter by accident dies without (leaving) a
son, the husband of the appointed daughter may, without hesitation, take
that estate.

136. Through that son whom (a daughter), either not appointed or appointed,
may bear to (a husband) of equal (caste), his maternal grandfather (has)
a son's son; he shall present the funeral cake and take the estate.

137. Through a son he conquers the worlds, through a son's son he obtains
immortality, but through his son's grandson he gains the world of the sun.

138. Because a son delivers (trāyate) his father from the hell called Put,
he was therefore called put-tra (a deliverer from Put) by the Self-existent
(Svayambhū) himself.

139. Between a son's son and the son of a daughter there exists in this
world no difference; for even the son of a daughter saves him (who has no
sons) in the next world, like the son's son.

140. Let the son of an appointed daughter first present a funeral cake to
his mother, the second to her father, the third to his father's father.

141. Of the man who has an adopted (Dattrima) son possessing all good
qualities, that same (son) shall take the inheritance, though brought
from another family.

142. An adopted son shall never take the family (name) and the estate of
his natural father; the funeral cake follows the family (name) and the
estate, the funeral offerings of him who gives (his son in adoption) cease
(as far as that son is concerned).

143. The son of a wife, not appointed (to have issue by another), and he
whom (an appointed female, already) the mother of a son, bears to her
brother-in-law, are both unworthy of a share, (one being) the son of an
adulterer and (the other) produced through (mere) lust.

144. Even the male (child) of a female (duly) appointed, not begotten
according to the rule (given above), is unworthy of the paternal estate;
for he was procreated by an outcast.

145. A son (legally) begotten on such an appointed female shall inherit
like a legitimate son of the body; for that seed and the produce belong,
according to the law, to the owner of the soil.

146. He who takes care of his deceased brother's estate and of his widow,
shall, after raising up a son for his brother, give that property even to
that (son).

147. If a woman (duly) appointed bears a son to her brother-in-law or to
another (Sapiṇḍa), that (son, if he is) begotten through desire, they
declare (to be) incapable of inheriting and to be produced in vain.

148. The rules (given above) must be understood (to apply) to a
distribution among sons of women of the same (caste); hear (now the law)
concerning those begotten by one man on many wives of different (castes).

149. If there be four wives of a Brāhmaṇa in the direct order of the
castes, the rule for the division (of the estate) among the sons born of
them is as follows:

150. The (slave) who tills (the field), the bull kept for impregnating
cows, the vehicle, the ornaments, and the house shall be given as an
additional portion to the Brāhmaṇa (son), and one most excellent share.

151. Let the son of the Brāhmaṇa (wife) take three shares of the
(remainder of the) estate, the son of the Kṣatriya two, the son of the
Vaiśya a share and a half, and the son of the Śūdra may take one share.

152. Or let him who knows the law make ten shares of the whole estate, and
justly distribute them according to the following rule:

153. The Brāhmaṇa (son) shall take four shares, son of the Kṣatriya (wife)
three, the son of the Vaiśya shall have two parts, the son of the Śūdra
may take one share.

154. Whether (a Brāhmaṇa) have sons or have no sons (by wives of the
twice-born castes), the (heir) must, according to the law, give to the son
of a Śūdra (wife) no more than a tenth (part of his estate).

155. The son of a Brāhmaṇa, a Kṣatriya, and a Vaiśya by a Śūdra (wife)
receives no share of the inheritance; whatever his father may give to him,
that shall be his property.

156. All the sons of twice-born men, born of wives of the same caste,
shall equally divide the estate, after the others have given to the eldest
an additional share.

157. For a Śūdra is ordained a wife of his own caste only (and) no other;
those born of her shall have equal shares, even if there be a hundred sons.

158. Among the twelve sons of men whom Manu, sprung from the Self-existent
(Svayambhū), enumerates, six are kinsmen and heirs, and six not heirs,
(but) kinsmen.

159. The legitimate son of the body, the son begotten on a wife, the son
adopted, the son made, the son secretly born, and the son cast off, (are)
the six heirs and kinsmen.

160. The son of an unmarried damsel, the son received with the wife, the
son bought, the son begotten on a re-married woman, the son self-given,
and the son of a Śūdra female, (are) the six (who are) not heirs, (but)
kinsmen.

161. Whatever result a man obtains who (tries to) cross a (sheet of) water
in an unsafe boat, even that result obtains he who (tries to) pass the
gloom (of the next world) with (the help of) bad (substitutes for a real)
son.

162. If the two heirs of one man be a legitimate son of his body and a son
begotten on his wife, each (of the two sons), to the exclusion of the
other, shall take the estate of his (natural) father.

163. The legitimate son of the body alone (shall be) the owner of the
paternal estate; but, in order to avoid harshness, let him allow a
maintenance to the rest.

164. But when the legitimate son of the body divides the paternal estate,
he shall give one-sixth or one-fifth part of his father's property to the
son begotten on the wife.

165. The legitimate son and the son of the wife (thus) share the father's
estate; but the other ten become members of the family, and inherit
according to their order (each later named on failure of those named
earlier).

166. Him whom a man begets on his own wedded wife, let him know to be a
legitimate son of the body (Aurasa), the first in rank.

167. He who was begotten according to the peculiar law (of the Niyoga) on
the appointed wife of a dead man, of a eunuch, or of one diseased, is
called a son begotten on a wife (Kṣetraja).

168. That (boy) equal (by caste) whom his mother or his father
affectionately give, (confirming the gift) with (a libation of) water, in
times of distress (to a man) as his son, must be considered as an adopted
son (Dattrima).

169. But he is considered a son made (Kṛtrima) whom (a man) makes his son,
(he being) equal (by caste), acquainted with (the distinctions between)
right and wrong, (and) endowed with filial virtues.

170. If (a child) be born in a man's house and his father be not known, he
is a son born secretly in the house (Gūḍhotpanna), and shall belong to him
of whose wife he was born.

171. He whom (a man) receives as his son, (after he has been) deserted by
his parents or by either of them, is called a son cast off (Apaviddha).

172. A son whom a damsel secretly bears in the house of her father, one
shall name the son of an unmarried damsel (Kānīna, and declare) such
offspring of an unmarried girl (to belong) to him who weds her
(afterwards).

173. If one marries, either knowingly or unknowingly, a pregnant (bride),
the child in her womb belongs to him who weds her, and is called (a son)
received with the bride (Sahoḍha).

174. If a man buys a (boy), whether equal or unequal (in good qualities),
from his father and mother for the sake of having a son, that (child) is
called a (son) bought (Krītaka).

175. If a woman abandoned by her husband, or a widow, of her own accord
contracts a second marriage and bears (a son), he is called the son of a
re-married woman (Paunarbhava).

176. If she be (still) a virgin, or one who returned (to her first
husband) after leaving him, she is worthy to again perform with her second
(or first deserted) husband the (nuptial) ceremony.

177. He who, having lost his parents or being abandoned (by them) without
(just) cause, gives himself to a (man), is called a son self-given
(Svayaṃdatta).

178. The son whom a Brāhmaṇa begets through lust on a Śūdra female is,
(though) alive (parāyaṇ), a corpse (śava), and hence called a Pāraśava (a
living corpse).

179. A son who is (begotten) by a Śūdra on a female slave, or on the
female slave of his slave, may, if permitted (by his father), take a share
(of the inheritance); thus the law is settled.

180. These eleven, the son begotten on the wife and the rest as enumerated
(above), the wise call substitutes for a son, (taken) in order (to
prevent) a failure of the (funeral) ceremonies.

181. Those sons, who have been mentioned in connection with (the legitimate
son of the body), being begotten by strangers, belong (in reality) to him
from whose seed they sprang, but not to the other (man who took them).

182. If among brothers, sprung from one (father), one have a son, Manu has
declared them all to have male offspring through that son.

183. If among all the wives of one husband one have a son, Manu declares
them all (to be) mothers of male children through that son.

184. On failure of each better (son), each next inferior (one) is worthy
of the inheritance; but if there be many (of) equal (rank), they shall all
share the estate.

185. Not brothers, nor fathers, (but) sons take the paternal estate; but
the father shall take the inheritance of (a son) who leaves no male issue,
and his brothers.

186. To three (ancestors) water must be offered, to three the funeral cake
is given, the fourth (descendant is) the giver of these (oblations), the
fifth has no connection (with them).

187. Always to that (relative within three degrees) who is nearest to the
(deceased) Sapiṇḍa the estate shall belong; afterwards a Sakulya shall be
(the heir, then) the spiritual teacher or the pupil.

188. But on failure of all (heirs) Brāhmaṇas (shall) share the estate,
(who are) versed in the three Vedas, pure and self-controlled; thus the
law is not violated.

189. The property of a Brāhmaṇa must never be taken by the king, that is a
settled rule; but (the property of men) of other castes the king may take
on failure of all (heirs).

190. (If the widow) of (a man) who died without leaving issue, raises up
to him a son by a member of the family (Sagotra), she shall deliver to
that (son) the whole property which belonged to the (deceased).

191. But if two (sons), begotten by two (different men), contend for the
property (in the hands) of their mother, each shall take, to the exclusion
of the other, what belonged to his father.

192. But when the mother has died, all the uterine brothers and the uterine
sisters shall equally divide the mother's estate.

193. Even to the daughters of those (daughters) something should be given,
as is seemly, out of the estate of their maternal grandmother, on the
score of affection.

194. What (was given) before the (nuptial) fire, what (was given) on the
bridal procession, what was given in token of love, and what was received
from her brother, mother, or father, that is called the sixfold property
of a woman.

195. (Such property), as well as a gift subsequent and what was given (to
her) by her affectionate husband, shall go to her offspring, (even) if she
dies in the lifetime of her husband.

196. It is ordained that the property (of a woman married) according to
the Brāhma, the Daiva, the Ārṣa, the Gāndharva, or the Prājāpatya rite
(shall belong) to her husband alone, if she dies without issue.

197. But it is prescribed that the property which may have been given to a
(wife) on an Āsura marriage or (one of the) other (blamable marriages,
shall go) to her mother and to her father, if she dies without issue.

198. Whatever property may have been given by her father to a wife (who
has co-wives of different castes), that the daughter (of the) Brāhmaṇī
(wife) shall take, or that (daughter's) issue.

199. Women should never make a hoard from (the property of) their families
which is common to many, nor from their own (husbands' particular) property
without permission.

200. The ornaments which may have been worn by women during their husbands'
lifetime, his heirs shall not divide; those who divide them become
outcasts.

201. Eunuchs and outcasts, (persons) born blind or deaf, the insane,
idiots and the dumb, as well as those deficient in any organ (of action or
sensation), receive no share.

202. But it is just that (a man) who knows (the law) should give even to
all of them food and raiment without stint, according to his ability; he
who gives it not will become all outcast.

203. If the eunuch and the rest should somehow or other desire to (take)
wives, the offspring of such among them as have children is worthy of a
share.

204. Whatever property the eldest (son) acquires (by his own exertion)
after the father's death, a share of that (shall belong) to his younger
(brothers), provided they have made a due progress in learning.

205. But if all of them, being unlearned, acquire property by their
labour, the division of that shall be equal, (as it is) not property
acquired by the father; that is a settled rule.

206. Property (acquired) by learning belongs solely to him to whom (it was
given), likewise the gift of a friend, a present received on marriage or
with the honey-mixture.

207. But if one of the brothers, being able (to maintain himself) by his
own occupation, does not desire (a share of the family) property, he may
be made separate (by the others) receiving a trifle out of his share to
live upon.

208. What one (brother) may acquire by his labour without using the
patrimony, that acquisition, (made solely) by his own effort, he shall not
share unless by his own will (with his brothers).

209. But if a father recovers lost ancestral property, he shall not divide
it, unless by his own will, with his sons, (for it is) self-acquired
(property).

210. If brothers, (once) divided and living (again) together (as
coparceners), make a second partition, the division shall in that case be
equal; in such a case there is no right of primogeniture.

211. If the eldest or the youngest (brother) is deprived of his share, or
if either of them dies, his share is not lost (to his immediate heirs).

212. His uterine brothers, having assembled together, shall equally divide
it, and those brothers who were reunited (with him) and the uterine
sisters.

213. An eldest brother who through avarice may defraud the younger ones,
shall no (longer hold the position of) the eldest, shall not receive an
(eldest son's additional) share, and shall be punished by the king.

214. All brothers who habitually commit forbidden acts, are unworthy of (a
share of) the property, and the eldest shall not make (anything his)
separate property without giving (an equivalent) to his younger brothers.

215. If undivided brethren, (living with their father,) together make an
exertion (for gain), the father shall on no account give to them unequal
shares (on a division of the estate).

216. But a son, born after partition, shall alone take the property of his
father, or if any (of the other sons) be reunited with the (father), he
shall share with them.

217. A mother shall obtain the inheritance of a son (who dies) without
leaving issue, and, if the mother be dead, the paternal grandmother shall
take the estate.

218. And if, after all the debts and assets have been duly distributed
according to the rule, any (property) be afterwards discovered, one must
divide it equally.

219. A dress, a vehicle, ornaments, cooked food, water, and female
(slaves), property destined for pious uses or sacrifices, and a
pasture-ground, they declare to be indivisible.

220. The division (of the property) and the rules for allotting (shares)
to the (several) sons, those begotten on a wife and the rest, in (due)
order, have been thus declared to you; hear (now) the laws concerning
gambling.

221. Gambling and betting let the king exclude from his realm; those two
vices cause the destruction of the kingdoms of princes.

222. Gambling and betting amount to open theft; the king shall always exert
himself in suppressing both (of them).

223. When inanimate (things) are used (for staking money on them), that is
called among men gambling (dyūta), when animate beings are used (for the
same purpose), one must know that to be betting (samāhvaya).

224. Let the king corporally punish all those (persons) who either gamble
and bet or afford (an opportunity for it), likewise Śūdras who assume the
distinctive marks of twice-born (men).

225. Gamblers, dancers and singers, cruel men, men belonging to an
heretical sect, those following forbidden occupations, and sellers of
spirituous liquor, let him instantly banish from his town.

226. If such (persons who are) secret thieves, dwell in the realm of a
king, they constantly harass his good subjects by their forbidden
practices.

227. In a former Kalpa this (vice of) gambling has been seen to cause great
enmity; a wise man, therefore, should not practise it even for amusement.

228. On every man who addicts himself to that (vice) either secretly or
openly, the king may inflict punishment according to his discretion.

229. But a Kṣatriya, a Vaiśya, and a Śūdra who are unable to pay a fine,
shall discharge the debt by labour; a Brāhmaṇa shall pay it by
installments.

230. On women, infants, men of disordered mind, the poor and the sick, the
king shall inflict punishment with a whip, a cane, or a rope and the like.

231. But those appointed (to administer public) affairs, who, baked by the
fire of wealth, mar the business of suitors, the king shall deprive of
their property.

232. Forgers of royal edicts, those who corrupt his ministers, those who
slay women, infants, or Brāhmaṇas, and those who serve his enemies, the
king shall put to death.

233. Whenever any (legal transaction) has been completed or (a punishment)
been inflicted according to the law, he shall sanction it and not annul
it.

234. Whatever matter his ministers or the judge may settle improperly,
that the king himself shall (re-) settle and fine (them) one thousand
(paṇas).

235. The slayer of a Brāhmaṇa, (A twice-born man) who drinks (the
spirituous liquor called) Surā, he who steals (the gold of a Brāhmaṇa),
and he who violates a Guru's bed, must each and all be considered as men
who committed mortal sins (mahāpātaka).

236. On those four even, if they do not perform a penance, let him inflict
corporal punishment and fines in accordance with the law.

237. For violating a Guru's bed, (the mark of) a female part shall be
(impressed on the forehead with a hot iron); for drinking (the spirituous
liquor called) Surā, the sign of a tavern; for stealing (the gold of a
Brāhmaṇa), a dog's foot; for murdering a Brāhmaṇa, a headless corpse.

238. Excluded from all fellowship at meals, excluded from all sacrifices,
excluded from instruction and from matrimonial alliances, abject and
excluded from all religious duties, let them wander over (this) earth.

239. Such (persons) who have been branded with (indelible) marks must be
cast off by their paternal and maternal relations, and receive neither
compassion nor a salutation; that is the teaching of Manu.

240. But (men of) all castes who perform the prescribed penances, must not
be branded on the forehead by the king, but shall be made to pay the
highest amercement.

241. For (such) offences the middlemost amercement shall be inflicted on a
Brāhmaṇa, or he may be banished from the realm, keeping his money and his
chattels.

242. But (men of) other (castes), who have unintentionally committed such
crimes, ought to be deprived of their whole property; if (they committed
them) intentionally, they shall be banished.

243. A virtuous king must not take for himself the property of a man
guilty of mortal sin; but if he takes it out of greed, he is tainted by
that guilt (of the offender).

244. Having thrown such a fine into the water, let him offer it to Varuṇa,
or let him bestow it on a learned and virtuous Brāhmaṇa.

245. Varuṇa is the lord of punishment, for he holds the sceptre even over
kings; a Brāhmaṇa who has learnt the whole Veda is the lord of the whole
world.

246. In that (country), where the king avoids taking the property of
(mortal) sinners, men are born in (due) time (and are) long-lived,

247. And the crops of the husbandmen spring up, each as it was sown, and
the children die not, and no misshaped (offspring) is born.

248. But the king shall inflict on a base-born (Śūdra), who intentionally
gives pain to Brāhmaṇas, various (kinds of) corporal punishment which
cause terror.

249. When a king punishes an innocent (man), his guilt is considered as
great as when he sets free a guilty man; but (he acquires) merit when he
punishes (justly).

250. Thus the (manner of) deciding suits (falling) under the eighteen
titles, between two litigant parties, has been declared at length.

251. A king who thus duly fulfils his duties in accordance with justice,
may seek to gain countries which he has not yet gained, and shall duly
protect them when he has gained them.

252. Having duly settled his country, and having built forts in accordance
with the Institutes, he shall use his utmost exertions to remove (those
men who are nocuous like) thorns.

253. By protecting those who live as (becomes) Aryans and by removing the
thorns, kings, solely intent on guarding their subjects, reach heaven.

254. The realm of that king who takes his share in kind, though he does not
punish thieves, (will be) disturbed and he (will) lose heaven.

255. But if his kingdom be secure, protected by the strength of his arm,
it will constantly flourish like a (well)-watered tree.

256. Let the king who sees (everything) through his spies, discover the
two sorts of thieves who deprive others of their property, both those who
(show themselves) openly and those who (lie) concealed.

257. Among them, the open rogues (are those) who subsist by (cheating in
the sale of) various marketable commodities, but the concealed rogues are
burglars, robbers in forests, and so forth.

258. Those who take bribes, cheats and rogues, gamblers, those who live by
teaching (the performance of) auspicious ceremonies, sanctimonious
hypocrites, and fortune-tellers,

259. Officials of high rank and physicians who act improperly, men living
by showing their proficiency in arts, and clever harlots,

260. These and the like who show themselves openly, as well as others who
walk in disguise (such as) non-Aryans who wear the marks of Aryans, he
should know to be thorns (in the side of his people).

261. Having detected them by means of trustworthy persons, who, disguising
themselves, (pretend) to follow the same occupations and by means of
spies, wearing various disguises, he must cause them to be instigated (to
commit offences), and bring them into his power.

262. Then having caused the crimes, which they committed by their several
actions, to be proclaimed in accordance with the facts, the king shall
duly punish them according to their strength and their crimes.

263. For the wickedness of evil-minded thieves, who secretly prowl over
this earth, cannot be restrained except by punishment.

264. Assembly-houses, houses where water is distributed or cakes are sold,
brothels, taverns and victualler's shops, cross-roads, well-known trees,
festive assemblies, and play-houses and concert-rooms,

265. Old gardens, forests, the shops of artisans, empty dwellings, natural
and artificial groves,

266. These and the like places the king shall cause to be guarded by
companies of soldiers, both stationary and patrolling, and by spies, in
order to keep away thieves.

267. By the means of clever reformed thieves, who associate with such
(rogues), follow them and know their various machinations, he must detect
and destroy them.

268. Under the pretext of (offering them) various dainties, of introducing
them to Brāhmaṇas, and on the pretence of (showing them) feats of
strength, the (spies) must make them meet (the officers of justice).

269. Those among them who do not come, and those who suspect the old
(thieves employed by the king), the king shall attack by force and slay
together with their friends, blood relations, and connexions.

270. A just king shall not cause a thief to be put to death, (unless
taken) with the stolen goods (in his possession); him who (is taken) with
the stolen goods and the implements (of burglary), he may, without
hesitation, cause to be slain.

271. All those also who in villages give food to thieves or grant them
room for (concealing their implements), he shall cause to be put to death.

272. Those who are appointed to guard provinces and his vassals who have
been ordered (to help), he shall speedily punish like thieves, (if they
remain) inactive in attacks (by robbers).

273. Moreover if (a man), who subsists by (the fulfilment of) the law,
departs from the established rule of the law, the (king) shall severely
punish him by a fine, (because he) violated his duty.

274. Those who do not give assistance according to their ability when a
village is being plundered, a dyke is being destroyed, or a highway
robbery committed, shall be banished with their goods and chattels.

275. On those who rob the king's treasury and those who persevere in
opposing (his commands), he shall inflict various kinds of capital
punishment, likewise on those who conspire with his enemies.

276. But the king shall cut off the hands of those robbers who, breaking
into houses, commit thefts at night, and cause them to be impaled on a
pointed stake.

277. On the first conviction, let him cause two fingers of a cut-purse to
be amputated; on the second, one hand and one foot; on the third, he shall
suffer death.

278. Those who give (to thieves) fire, food, arms, or shelter, and
receivers of stolen goods, the ruler shall punish like thieves.

279. Him who breaks (the dam of) a tank he shall slay (by drowning him) in
water or by (some other) (mode of) capital punishment; or the offender may
repair the (damage), but shall be made to pay the highest amercement.

280. Those who break into a (royal) storehouse, an armoury, or a temple,
and those who steal elephants, horses, or chariots, he shall slay without
hesitation.

281. But he who shall take away the water of a tank, made in ancient
times, or shall cut off the supply of water, must be made to pay the first
(or lowest) amercement.

282. But he who, except in a case of extreme necessity, drops filth on the
king's high-road, shall pay two kārṣāpaṇas and immediately remove (that)
filth.

283. But a person in urgent necessity, an aged man, a pregnant woman, or a
child, shall be reprimanded and clean the (place); that is a settled rule.

284. All physicians who treat (their patients) wrongly (shall pay) a fine;
in the case of animals, the first (or lowest); in the case of human
beings, the middlemost (amercement).

285. He who destroys a bridge, the flag (of a temple or royal palace), a
pole, or images, shall repair the whole (damage) and pay five hundred
(paṇas).

286. For adulterating unadulterated commodities, and for breaking gems or
for improperly boring (them), the fine is the first (or lowest)
amercement.

287. But that man who behaves dishonestly to honest (customers) or cheats
in his prices, shall be fined in the first or in the middlemost
amercement.

288. Let him place all prisons near a high-road, where the suffering and
disfigured offenders can be seen.

289. Him who destroys the wall (of a town), or fills up the ditch (round a
town), or breaks a (town)-gate, he shall instantly banish.

290. For all incantations intended to destroy life, for magic rites with
roots (practised by persons) not related (to him against whom they are
directed), and for various kinds of sorcery, a fine of two hundred (paṇas)
shall be inflicted.

291. He who sells (for seed-corn that which is) not seed-corn, he who
takes up seed (already sown), and he who destroys a boundary (-mark),
shall be punished by mutilation.

292. But the king shall cause a goldsmith who behaves dishonestly, the
most nocuous of all the thorns, to be cut to pieces with razors.

293. For the theft of agricultural implements, of arms and of medicines,
let the king award punishment, taking into account the time (of the
offence) and the use (of the object).

294. The king and his minister, his capital, his realm, his treasury, his
army, and his ally are the seven constituent parts (of a kingdom); (hence)
a kingdom is said to have seven limbs (aṅga).

295. But let him know (that) among these seven constituent parts of a
kingdom (which have been enumerated) in due order, each earlier (named) is
more important and (its destruction) the greater calamity.

296. Yet in a kingdom containing seven constituent parts, which is upheld
like the triple staff (of an ascetic), there is no (single part) more
important (than the others), by reason of the importance of the qualities
of each for the others.

297. For each part is particularly qualified for (the accomplishment of)
certain objects, (and thus) each is declared to be the most important for
that particular purpose which is effected by its means.

298. By spies, by a (pretended) display of energy, and by carrying out
(various) undertakings, let the king constantly ascertain his own and his
enemy's strength;

299. Moreover, all calamities and vices; afterwards, when he has fully
considered their relative importance, let him begin his operations.

300. (Though he be) ever so much tired (by repeated failures), let him
begin his operations again and again; for fortune greatly favours the man
who (strenuously) exerts himself in his undertakings.

301. The various ways in which a king behaves (resemble) the Kṛta, Tretā,
Dvāpara, and Kali ages; hence the king is identified with the ages (of
the world).

302. Sleeping he represents the Kali (or iron age), waking the Dvāpara
(or brazen) age, ready to act the Tretā (or silver age), but moving
(actively) the Kṛta (or golden) age.

303. Let the king emulate the energetic action of Indra, of the Sun, of
the Wind, of Yama, of Varuṇa, of the Moon, of the Fire, and of the Earth.

304. As Indra sends copious rain during the four months of the rainy
season, even so let the king, taking upon himself the office of Indra,
shower benefits on his kingdom.

305. As the Sun during eight months (imperceptibly) draws up the water
with his rays, even so let him gradually draw his taxes from his kingdom;
for that is the office in which he resembles the Sun.

306. As the Wind moves (everywhere), entering (in the shape of the vital
air) all created beings, even so let him penetrate (everywhere) through
his spies; that is the office in which he resembles the Wind.

307. As Yama at the appointed time subjects to his rule both friends and
foes, even so all subjects must be controlled by the king; that is the
office in which he resembles Yama.

308. As (a sinner) is seen bound with ropes by Varuṇa, even so let him
punish the wicked; that is his office in which he resembles Varuṇa.

309. He is a king, taking upon himself the office of the Moon, whose
(appearance) his subjects (greet with as great joy) as men feel on seeing
the full moon.

310. (If) he is ardent in wrath against criminals and endowed with
brilliant energy, and destroys wicked vassals, then his character is said
(to resemble) that of Fire.

311. As the Earth supports all created beings equally, thus (a king) who
supports all his subjects, (takes upon himself) the office of the Earth.

312. Employing these and other means, the king shall, ever untired,
restrain thieves both in his own dominions and in (those of) others.

313. Let him not, though fallen into the deepest distress, provoke
Brāhmaṇas to anger; for they, when angered, could instantly destroy him
together with his army and his vehicles.

314. Who could escape destruction, when he provokes to anger those (men),
by whom the fire was made to consume all things, by whom the (water of
the) ocean was made undrinkable, and by whom the moon was made to wane
and to increase again?

315. Who could prosper, while he injures those (men) who provoked to
anger, could create other worlds and other guardians of the world, and
deprive the gods of their divine station?

316. What man, desirous of life, would injure them to whose support the
(three) worlds and the gods ever owe their existence, and whose wealth is
the Veda?

317. A Brāhmaṇa, be he ignorant or learned, is a great divinity, just as
the fire, whether carried forth (for the performance of a burnt-oblation)
or not carried forth, is a great divinity.

318. The brilliant fire is not contaminated even in burial-places, and,
when presented with oblations (of butter) at sacrifices, it again
increases mightily.

319. Thus, though Brāhmaṇas employ themselves in all (sorts of) mean
occupations, they must be honoured in every way; for (each of) them is a
very great deity.

320. When the Kṣatriyas become in any way overbearing towards the
Brāhmaṇas, the Brāhmaṇas themselves shall duly restrain them; for the
Kṣatriyas sprang from the Brāhmaṇas.

321. Fire sprang from water, Kṣatriyas from Brāhmaṇas, iron from stone;
the all-penetrating force of those (three) has no effect on that whence
they were produced.

322. Kṣatriyas prosper not without Brāhmaṇas, Brāhmaṇas prosper not
without Kṣatriyas; Brāhmaṇas and Kṣatriyas, being closely united, prosper
in this (world) and in the next.

323. But (a king who feels his end drawing nigh) shall bestow all his
wealth, accumulated from fines, on Brāhmaṇas, make over his kingdom to
his son, and then seek death in battle.

324. Thus conducting himself (and) ever intent on (discharging) his royal
duties, a king shall order all his servants (to work) for the good of his
people.

325. Thus the eternal law concerning the duties of a king has been fully
declared; know that the following rules apply in (due) order to the duties
of Vaiśyas and Śūdras.

326. After a Vaiśya has received the sacraments and has taken a wife, he
shall be always attentive to the business whereby he may subsist and to
(that of) tending cattle.

327. For when the Lord of creatures (Prajāpati) created cattle, he made
them over to the Vaiśya; to the Brāhmaṇa, and to the king he entrusted
all created beings.

328. A Vaiśya must never (conceive this) wish, 'I will not keep cattle;'
and if a Vaiśya is willing (to keep them), they must never be kept by
(men of) other (castes).

329. (A Vaiśya) must know the respective value of gems, of pearls, of
coral, of metals, of (cloth) made of thread, of perfumes, and of
condiments.

330. He must be acquainted with the (manner of) sowing of seeds, and of
the good and bad qualities of fields, and he must perfectly know all
measures and weights.

331. Moreover, the excellence and defects of commodities, the advantages
and disadvantages of (different) countries, the (probable) profit and loss
on merchandise, and the means of properly rearing cattle.

332. He must be acquainted with the (proper) wages of servants, with the
various languages of men, with the manner of keeping goods, and (the
rules of) purchase and sale.

333. Let him exert himself to the utmost in order to increase his property
in a righteous manner, and let him zealously give food to all created
beings.

334. But to serve Brāhmaṇas (who are) learned in the Vedas, householders,
and famous (for virtue) is the highest duty of a Śūdra, which leads to
beatitude.

335. (A Śūdra who is) pure, the servant of his betters, gentle in his
speech, and free from pride, and always seeks a refuge with Brāhmaṇas,
attains (in his next life) a higher caste.

336. The excellent law for the conduct of the (four) castes (varṇa), (when
they are) not in distress, has been thus promulgated; now hear in order
their (several duties) in times of distress.
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