Whether the Brahmana be cognisant of the _Vedas_ or
ignorant of them, whether they be pure or impure, they should never be
insulted, for Brahmanas are like fires. As the fire that blazeth up in
the place set apart for the cremation of the dead is never regarded
impure on that account, so the Brahmana, be he learned or ignorant, is
always pure. He is great and a very god! Cities that are adorned with
walls and gates and palaces one after another, lose their beauty if they
are bereft of Brahmanas. That, indeed, O king, is a city where Brahmanas
accomplished in the _Vedas_, duly observing the duties of their order
and possessed of learning and ascetic merit, reside. O son of Pritha,
that spot, be it a wood or pasture land, where learned Brahmanas reside,
hath been called a city. And that place, O king, becometh a _tirtha_
also. By approaching a king that offereth protection, as also a Brahmana
possessed of ascetic merit, and by offering worship unto both, a man may
purge off his sins immediately. The learned have said that ablutions in
the sacred _tirthas_, recitation of the names of holy ones, and converse
with the good and virtuous, are all acts worthy of applause. They that
are virtuous and honest always regard themselves as sanctified by the
holy companionship of persons like themselves and by the water of pure
and sacred converse. The carrying of three staffs, the vow of silence,
matted hair on head, the shaving of the crown, covering one's person
with barks and deerskins, the practice of vows, ablutions, the worship
of fire, abode in the woods, emaciating the body, all these are useless
if the heart be not pure.
Pages:
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246