स्पृशतां ब्राह्मणं गां च पादेनाग्निं च यां लभेत् ॥
याप्सु श्लेष्म पुरीषं वा मूत्रं वा मुञ्चतां गतिः ॥
तां गच्छेयं गतिं घोरां न चेद् धन्यां जयद्रथम् ॥
नग्नस्य स्नायमानस्य या च वन्ध्यातिथेर् गतिः ॥
उत्कोचिनां मृषोक्तीनां वञ्चकानां च या गतिः ॥
आत्मापहारिणां या च या च मिथ्याभिशंसिनाम् ॥
भृत्यैः संदृश्यमानानां पुत्रदाराश्रितैस् तथा ॥
असंविभज्य क्षुद्राणां या गतिर् मृष्टम् अश्नताम् ॥
तां गच्छेयं गतिं घोरां न चेद् धन्यां जयद्रथम् ॥
spṛśatāṃ brāhmaṇaṃ gāṃ ca pādenāgniṃ ca yāṃ labhet ||
yāpsu śleṣma purīṣaṃ vā mūtraṃ vā muñcatāṃ gatiḥ ||
tāṃ gaccheyaṃ gatiṃ ghorāṃ na ced dhanyāṃ jayadratham ||
nagnasya snāyamānasya yā ca vandhyātither gatiḥ ||
utkocināṃ mṛṣoktīnāṃ vañcakānāṃ ca yā gatiḥ ||
ātmāpahāriṇāṃ yā ca yā ca mithyābhiśaṃsinām ||
bhṛtyaiḥ saṃdṛśyamānānāṃ putradārāśritais tathā ||
asaṃvibhajya kṣudrāṇāṃ yā gatir mṛṣṭam aśnatām ||
tāṃ gaccheyaṃ gatiṃ ghorāṃ na ced dhanyāṃ jayadratham ||
"...what fate awaits one who touches a brahmin, a cow, or fire with the foot; the fate of those who release mucus, excrement, or urine into water; the fate of one who bathes naked, who has deceived a guest; the fate of bribe-takers, liars, deceivers; the fate of the miserly, who in view of their watching servants and in the presence of their own children and wives eat delicacies alone, without sharing..."
3b460eb64a03 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:36:52 PM UTC
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The list descends to what seems trivial — defiling the sacred with the foot, uncleanliness at the water's edge, stinginess at the table 'in view of one's hungry household.' Yet all this stands in the same rank as grave sins: dharma does not divide transgressions into great and small wherever reverence or mercy is trampled. It is telling that 'asaṃvibhajya... mṛṣṭam aśnatām,' 'eating delicacies without sharing,' names greed at the table as a sin leading to an evil fate. The verse teaches that the purity of a life is tested in the ordinary — in reverence for what is sacred and in readiness to share — and neglecting the small makes one kin to the gravely sinful.