Parasara Smriti @

Smriti created by sage Parashar and known by his name as 'Parashar Smriti is the most benevolent for the modern Kali Yuga. Parashar has himself said:

TRANSLATED TEXT OF PARASARA SMRITI


1. Manu Smriti was most relevant in Satya Yuga. In Treta, Smriti created by Gautam had most relevance whereas in Dwapar, Shankh's Smriti was mostly recognized. But in
Kali Yuga, it is Parashar Smriti that by and large shows the way to the ignorant people. Parashar Smriti endorses all those ideologies of human life which are capable of improving the life of common people in the present fourth age. Paradoxes are the main feature of human life in Kali Yuga irrespective of region, culture and society.

SINS IN KALI YUGA

•  In Satya Yuga, a human being would be defiled just by conversing with the sinner. In Treta, a mere touch of sinner was enough to defile a man. In Dwapar, eating the cereals given a sinner defiled a man. But in Kali Yuga, man is subject to sins by his deeds alone. Thus, a curse used to realize in an instant now takes a year to show its effect.

                                                              VIPRAKARMA

VIPRAKARMA (Conduct of Brahmin)
Six routine tasks like

• Three times bath, 
• prayer at dawn and dusk, 
• recitation, Homa (offerings to sacred fire),
• worship of deity, 
• treatment of guests and
• offering sacrifices for the deceased ancestors are mandatory for a Brahmin daily.
•  Through these actions, a Brahmin gets free from the sin he commits unknowingly.

HOSPITALITY

• A guest arriving at the end of these daily routine tasks is a means to provide a place in heaven. Hence, such a guest deserves respect no matter whether he is a friend or a foe, a fool or a savant. A cordial welcome should also be extended to such a guest like the ones already present. Even the guest arriving after dining is over should be welcomed with honour. Such a pious conduct of a householder today ensures his right to a place in heaven.
•  A guest should not be asked to reveal his caste and creed for it indents the religion.
•  Smriti also tells that a guest should never be insulted nor should one let a guest go dejected because then the deceased ancestors of the host starve for fifteen years

ALMS AND DONATIONS

• Recitation of God's name and making donations and giving away alms constitute religion in Kali Yuga.
•  Donation is the only intact support of religion today. Hence, it is the moral duty of the common householders today that they should recite God's name and make donations within their powers. Character of donation has also changed completely today. Sage Parashar says :In Satya Yuga, the donor used to visit the home of the beggar to make donations. In Treta, the donor called the beggar to him, In Dwapar, the donor made donations only when demanded but
•  In Kali Yuga, donor demands service from the beggar before making donations. But one should take care that the donation must be made for good deeds and to a deserving person only
• Sowing of seeds in a good fertile field and making donation to a deserving person never go futile. 
• Making donation is an easy and divine measure to ensure success of life in this world and in another. This dictate of sage Parashar is still being followed faithfully even today
• Giving Alms: Like other religious actions, there are certain evolved norms to give away alms.         First of all, 
• pour water on the palms of the ascetic and then give him alms. According to Parashar, alms given away in such way are as inexhaustible as the Mount Sumeru and the whole waters of the ocean.
• If a beggar arrives when a Brahmin household is offering sacrifices for the solace of his deceased ancestors, -  the Brahmin must divide the cereals in two parts and should reserve one to make offerings and donate the other as alms to the beggar.
• The sin committed unknowingly while offering sacrifices to the dead ancestors is done away with by the beggar. But, a crime committed against a beggar at such a moment is never done away with by the offering of sacrifices to the dead ancestors.

Offering Sacrifices to the dead ancestors: Offering sacrifices to the dead ancestors is one of the five great Yagyas. During this ritual, 

• a Brahmin should make offerings to the sacred fire. 
• Then, he should use the remaining cereals to offer to the dead ancestors and also to the animals and birds. If a Brahmin does not perform this ritual,
•  he is bound to suffer severe torments in hell and take reincarnation as a crow
• Norms for Dining: A Brahmin should dedicate his food to God first. Then he should take it as a pious giving of God. While dining, a Brahmin should not cover his head, should not face the south and should not put his hand on the left leg. These are all deeds characteristic of demons.

                                                 Duties

• SUICIDE : It regards suicide as an abhorrent crime. Even those who carry out the cremation of the person, who had committed suicide, have to expiate for their sin. 

DUTIES OF A WOMAN

• woman, who doesn’t regard her poor, diseased or ignorant husband, becomes a serpent after her death and faces widowhood again and again.
•  After her monthly periods, a woman must crave for intercourse only in the company of her husband.

A woman, who does not dedicate herself after her periods to her husband, goes to hell after her death and faces widowhood in subsequent births.


DUTIES OF A HUSBAND

• A husband, who does not accept the desire of his wife of having intercourse after her periods, commits a crime equal to killing an unborn child.Sage Parashar asserts that, killing an unborn child is more severe sin than killing a Brahmin. A sweet relation between the spouses is the key to a successful social life. Hence, they should help each other with dedication at the times of emergency.
•  Husband should also respect his wife and behave accordingly even if she is a disabled person

                                                
                                                  Sin related 2 biting by animals :

If a dog bites a person during his fast, the person must observe continuous fast for three days and consume nothing except ghee and juices of the grass. When purified, he should complete his original fast. If a dog bites a woman, she may get purified instantly by sighting the moon . chapter that describes the sin involved in the killing of birds and the ways to expiate it:One must observe a day’s fast to get purified from the sin of killing a heron, crane, swan, geese, cock, hen, duck and grasshoppers.
Killing of peafowl is even severe sin. One must worship Lord Shankar to get free from the sin of killing a peafowl.


                                                             EIGHTH CHAPTER
This chapter describes the expiation for the sins committed unknowingly. It asserts that such sins should not be hidden because such a practice only adds to the sins.

• If a cow or an ox dies while tethering or yoking, expiation is necessary because those animals were under the honour and assisting him. Religious polymaths say: To expiate for the sin, a Kshatriya and a Vaishya must take a bath fully dressed silently and appear as such before the jury. If the same is suspected, sage Parashar dictates that it must be expiated for leaving the food.

                                  NINTH CHAPTER
In this chapter, sage Parashar writes about the expiation for the sin of killing a cow.
If the cow or an ox dies due to forceful enclosure, tethering, yoking and killed deliberately, a sin equal to killing a cow results. One must observe a fast for a quarter of a day if death of the cow is due to forceful enclosure. For the death due to tethering, fast for half a day is required. If yoking is the cause of death, fast for three-quarters of a day and for deliberate killing, fast for a full day.
MUNDAN (shaving of head hair) : During the fast for a quarter of a day, removal of bodily hairs is required. For the fast of half day, shaving of the bodily hair, moustache and beard is required. Donation of a bull is required for the fast of three-quarters of a day while donation of two cows is required for a full day fast.

DONATION: One must donate a pair of clothes- (dhoti and kurta) to a Brahmin to complete the fast of a quarter day and a saucer of bronze to complete the fast of half day.

                                                              TENTH CHAPTER
The tenth chapter describes the expiation required to 

• wash the sins of having illegal carnal relations with women other than the wife. Sage Parashar, it seems, had known that it would be a characterizing feature of Kali Yuga. Hence, he says :A man who has relations with other women than his wife, can get purified only by observing Chandrayan Vrata (a fast devoted to the moon). Those Brahmins, who have illegal carnal relations with the women of low caste must observe a fast for three days and three nights continuously. Then, he must get shaven of his head hair including the normal tuft of hair left otherwise. And ultimately, he should observe to Prajapatya Vrata .

A man must expiate for the sins of eating cereals of Shudra, Sutak, downtrodden, of suspicious origin, forbidden otherwise, or defiled food. There is a provision of Krichchha Vrata.


                                                     TWELFTH CHAPTER
Nightmares: According to Parashar Smriti, nightmares are akin to the sins and require proper expiation by taking a bath.

• If one has a nightmare in which he sees himself vomiting, getting shaven, having intercourse or sees smokes rising above a cremation ground, one should get purified by taking proper bath. Taking a proper bath, ill effects of a nightmare are removed.
• If someone of Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya class consumes urine or wine unknowingly, he must begin his consecrations afresh. In the purification rituals, one doesn’t have to wear buck’s skin, waistline, stick, fast etc. Prajaapatya Vrata is sufficient to get free from such sin. Bath: Five types of bath have been identified

If a Brahmin doesn’t make offering to the sacred fire regularly, doesn’t pray every evening and morning and doesn’t study the Vedas, he is more a Shudra than a Brahmin.

•  Such a Brahmin is powerless and Smriti allows certain flexibility to such a Brahmin for the study of the Vedas.If complete study of Vedas is out of power, a Brahmin must necessarily study a part of Veda.

If a person, who has resolved to dine silently, speaks or has to speak during his meal must get up at once. All the people dining together must stand up together after finishing their meal.

• NORMS OF EATING:It is not proper to dine without taking bath, reciting the name of God and making offerings to the sacred fire. One should not eat on the reverse side of plantain and without proper lighting during the night.

NORMS FOR EARNING MONEY
One should not take to just any means to earn money. Wisdom is said to be earning with due contemplation on religion and only as much as is required to raise the family
Religion is earning money by just means to preserve one’s soul and foster one’s family. One, who runs his life by unjust means stays away from the pious deeds. Unjust means add to irreligion and irreligion leads to loss of life.
The sin of snatching the land from the powerless people cannot be washed away from digging hundreds of ponds. Drinking water directly immersing mouth in the river is also forbidden.If a stupid Brahmin drinks water directly immersing his mouth in the river despite having hands, he certainly takes birth in a dog’s incarnation.

• One should observe a fast for a day for having eaten cereals of a characterless Brahmin. If a woman comes in menses within eighteen days of the previous one, she can get purified by taking a bath. 
• A Brahmin, who has stolen gold must go to the court with a mortar and confess his crime before the king. He is purified now, whether or not the king hits him with the morta
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• • Thus, Parashar Smriti shows the people of Kali Yuga, the way of religious conduct. And the people follow the dictates of this Smriti with respect.