They alone who are covetous of antother’s wife and are clever at wiles and steeped in delusion, malice and worldly attachment are enlightened men swearing by the identity of the individual soul with Brahma. Such is the practice I have seen in every Kali age. Doomed themselves, such people bring ruin even to those rare souls who tread the path of virtue. They who find fault with the Vedas by dint of logic are condemned to each hell for a whole Kalpa (cycle). People of the lowest grade in society such as oil-men, potters, the outcaste (lit., those who cook and feed on the flesh of a dog), the KirŒtas and Kolas and the distillers of spirituous liquors get their heads shaved and enter the order of Sa¯nyŒsa (renunciation) when their wife is no more in this world and they have lost their household property. They allow themselves to be worshipped by the BrŒhma˜as and bring ruin to themselves here as well as hereafter. As for the BrŒhma˜as, they are unlettered, grasping, lascivious, reprobate and stupid and marry low-caste women of a lewd character. ݵudras, on the other hand, practise Japa (the muttering of prayers) and austere penance, undertake sacred vows of various kinds and expound the PurŒ˜as from an exalted seat. All men follow a course of conduct of their own imagination; the endless variety of wrongdoing cannot be described in words. (1—5)