And, O
king, those human beings that listen to it become freed from the
obligation of rebirth.'
"Yudhishthira said, 'O thou of great wisdom, what purification is there
by which a Brahmana may always keep himself pure? I desire to hear of it
from thee, O thou foremost of all virtuous men!'
"Markandeya answered, 'There are three kinds of purity, viz., purity in
speech, purity in deed, and purity achieved by use of water. He that has
recourse to these three different kinds of purity, attains, without
doubt, to heaven. That Brahmana who adoreth the goddess _Sandhya_ in the
morning and the evening, and who recites meditatively the sacred goddess
_Gayairi_ who is the mother of the _Vedas_, sanctified by the latter, is
freed from all his sins. Even if he accepts in gift the entire earth
with her oceans, he doth not, on that account, suffer the least
unhappiness. And those heavenly bodies in the sky including the sun that
may be inauspicious and hostile towards him soon become auspicious and
favourable towards him in consequence of these acts of his, while those
stars that are auspicious and favourable become more auspicious and more
favourable in consequence of such conduct of his. And terrible Rakshasas
subsisting on animal food, of gigantic and fierce mien, all become
unable to prevail over a Brahmana who practiseth these purifications.
The Brahmanas are even like blazing fires. They incur no fault in
consequence of teaching, of officiating at sacrifices, and of accepting
gifts from others.
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