Those
persons, O king, who make gifts unto Brahmanas after reverencing them
duly, reap excellent fruits commensurate with those gifts. That gift is
highly prized which the donor makes after seeking out the donee and
honouring him properly. That gift is middling which the donor makes upon
solicitation. That gift, however, which is made contemptuously and
without any reverence, is said to be very inferior (in point of merit).
Even this is what those utterers of the truth, viz., the sages, say.
While sinking in this ocean of life, man should always seek to cross that
ocean by various means. Indeed, he should so exert himself that he might
be freed from the bonds of this world. The Brahmana shines by self
restraint; the Kshatriya by victory; the Vaisya by wealth; while the
Sudra always shines in glory through cleverness in serving (the three
other orders).'"
SECTION CCXCV
"Parasara said, 'In the Brahmana, wealth acquired by acceptance of gifts,
in the Kshatriya that won by victory in battle, in the Vaisya that
obtained by following the duties laid down for his order, and in the
Sudra that earned by serving the three other orders, however small its
measure, is worthy of praise, and spent for the acquisition of virtue is
productive of great benefits. The Sudra is said to be the constant
servitor of the three other classes. If the Brahmana, pressed for a
living, betakes himself to the duties of either the Kshatriya or the
Vaisya, he does not fall off from righteousness.
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