Those who have given up unlawful intercourse and have left off adorning themselves are well established in control, because they have renounced everything. (17)

As merchants go over the sea, so they will cross the flood of this world, where living beings despond and suffer pains because of their own deeds. (18)

A monk who knows this will live as a virtuous man, guarded by self-restraint; he will abstain from untrue speech, and not take what is not freely given him. (19)

He should cease to injure living beings whether they move or not, on high, below, and on earth. For this has been called salvation, which consists in peace. (20)

(21, 22: as in verses 20 and 21 of the Third Chapter of the Third Lecture.)

Thus I say.

Fourth Lecture

Called

Knowledge Of Women

First Chapter

A monk who has left his mother and father and all worldly ties determines to walk about alone and wise, to abstain from sexual pleasures, and to ask for a secluded place where to lodge. (1)

With clever pretences women make up to him, however foolish they be; they know how to contrive that some monks will become intimate with them. (2)

They will often sit down at his side; they always put on fine clothes; they will show him the lower part of their body, and the armpit, when lifting up their arms, so that he will follow them about. (3)

And occasionally a woman will tempt him to a comfortable couch or bed. But he should know these things to be as many traps under various disguises. (4)

He should not look at them, nor should he consent to anything inconsiderate, nor walk together with them; thus he will well guard himself. (5)

Inviting a monk and winning his confidence, they offer themselves to him. But he should know, and fly from these temptations in their various forms. (6)

Meekly and politely they approach him with their manifold arts to win his heart; and talking sweetly in confidential conversation they make him do what they like. (7)

As men by baiting with a piece of flesh get a fearless single lion into a trap, so women may capture an ascetic though he be careful. (8)

And then they make him do what they like, even as a wheelwright gradually turns the felly of a wheel. As an antelope caught in a snare, so he does not get out of it, however he struggles. (9)

Afterwards he will feel remorse like one who has drunk milk mixed with poison; considering the consequences, a worthy monk should have no intercourse with women. (10)

Therefore he should avoid women, knowing them to be like a poisoned thorn. He is no true ascetic who without companion goes into houses, being a slave to passion, and preaches his religion. (11)

Those who are attached to this sinful intercourse must be reckoned among the wicked. Even a monk who practises severe austerities should avoid the company of women. (12)

A monk should have no intercourse with his daughters and daughters-in-law, with nurses or female slaves, or with grown-up girls. (13)

When the relations and friends see the intimacy of a monk with a girl, they become angry, saying: "All creatures love pleasures; you are a man, protect and support her." (14)

But some become angry even when they see an innocent ascetic, and suspect the fidelity of their wives because of the dishes they serve up. (15)

Those who have intercourse with women have already ceased to practise meditation; ascetics, therefore, for the benefit of their souls, do not go to the apartments of women. (16)

Though many leave the house, some of them arrive but at a middling position between householder and monk; they merely talk of the path to perfection. The force of sinners is talking. (17)

In the assembly he pronounces holy words, yet secretly he commits sins; but the wise know him to be a deceiver and great rogue. (18)

The sinner does not confess his wrong, but rather boasts of it when reprimanded. Though he is admonished not to act as most men do, he becomes weak again and again. (19)

Some men of great intelligence who perform their duties as supporters of their families get into the power of women, though they be well acquainted with the science of women. (20)

The adulterers' hands and feet are cut off, their skin and flesh are torn off, they are roasted alive, and acid is poured into their wounds. (21)

Their ears and nose are cut off, and their throats cut; all this they will suffer, but though suffering here for their sins they will not promise not to do the same again. (22)

All this some have learned, and it has been well demonstrated in the science of women. Though people know it, they do wrong, impelled by their deeds. (23)

One man women have in their heart, another in their words, and another still in their actions. Therefore a monk should not trust women, knowing that they are full of deceit. (24)

A young woman, putting on fine ornaments and clothes, will say to an ascetic: "I shall give up my former way of life and practise the rough way, that is, control. Reverend sir, teach me the Law!" (25)

Or by professing herself a lay-disciple and co-religionist of the ascetics, she will try to make a friend of him. As a pot filled with lac will melt near the fire, so even a wise monk will fall through intercourse with women. (26)

A pot filled with lac thrown into the fire melts quickly and is destroyed; so monks are lost through intercourse with women. (27)

Some commit sins with a girl, but when questioned about it, they say: "I have done no sin; she only slept in my lap, like my daughter." (28)

This is a second folly of the sinner that he obstinately denies what he has done. He commits a twofold sin, since, for the sake of his reputation, he falls again. (29)

Some women will say, by way of invitation, to a good-looking, self-knowing monk: "Holy man, accept a robe, an almsbowl, food or drink at our house!" (30)

He should regard their words like wild rice, and should not desire to call at their house; for a fool who is bound in the fetters of sensuality will be subject to delusion again and again. (31)

Thus I say.

Second Chapter

A monk, living single, should not fall in love; if he loves pleasures, he should again become indifferent. Now hear the pleasures of ascetics, which some monks enjoy. (1)

When a monk breaks the law, dotes on a woman, and is absorbed by that passion, she afterwards scolds him, lifts her foot, and tramples on his head. (2)

"O monk, if you will not live with me as a woman who has still her hair, I shall tear it out; but do not live separated from me." (3)

But when they have captured him, they send him on all sorts of errands: "Look for the bodkin to carve the bottle-gourd, fetch some nice fruit. (4)

"Bring wood to cook the vegetables, or that we may light a fire at night; paint my feet, come and meanwhile rub my back! (5)

"Look after my clothes, bring food and drink, get me some perfume, a broom, a barber to shave my head! (6)

"Give me the collyrium-box, my ornaments, the lute, Lodhra-powder, a Lodhra-flower, the bamboo lute, a pill! (7)

"A fragrant root, fragrant powder, and aloe pounded together with grass-root, oil for anointing the face, baskets of bamboo wickerwork to put my things in! (8)

"Reach me the lip-salve, fetch the umbrella and slippers, the knife to cut the string, have my robe dyed bluish! (9)

"Give me the pot to cook the vegetables in, myrobalans, the jar to fetch water in, the stick to paint the mark upon the forehead, the pin to apply collyrium to the eyelids, or the fan when it is hot! (10)

"Fetch me the pincers, the comb, the ribbon to bind up the hair, reach me the looking-glass, put the tooth-brush near me! (11)

"Fetch me areca-nut and betel, needle and thread, the chamber-pot, the winnowing basket, the mortar, the pot for liquefying natron! (12)

"Give me the vessel, the water-pot. Friend, dig a privy. Fetch the bow for our son, the bullock for the little one! (13)

"The small pot, the drum, and the ball of cloth for the boy to play with. Ascetic, the rainy season is at hand, look after the house and the stores! (14)

"Fetch the chair with woven twine seat, the wooden shoes to walk on!" Pregnant women order their husbands about like slaves to fulfil their craving. (15)

When a son, the reward of their wedded life, is born, the mother bids the father to hold the baby, or to give it her. Thus some supporters of their sons have to carry burdens like camels. (16)

Getting up in the night they lull the baby asleep like nurses; and though they are ashamed of themselves, they wash the clothes like washermen. (17)

This has been done by many men who for the sake of pleasures have stooped so low; they become the equals of slaves, animals, servants, beasts of burden, mere nobodies. (18)

One should not mind the entreaties of women, but abstain from their friendship and company. These pleasures which are derived therefrom are called causes of blamable actions. (19)

Restraining himself by the thought that these dangerous pleasures will not be to his benefit, a monk should abstain from women, and commit no unnatural crime. (20)

A wise and learned monk whose soul is in a pure condition will abstain from doing work for others; in thoughts, words, and actions he will bear all troubles. (21)

The hero of faith who has vanquished sin and delusion has said all this. A monk, therefore, whose soul is pure and free from sins should wander about till he reaches final salvation. (22)

Thus I say.

Fifth Lecture

Called

Description Of Hell

First Chapter

I once asked the great sage who knew the truth: What is the punishment in Hell? Knowing it, O sage, tell it me who do not know it! How do sinners go to Hell? (1)

When I thus questioned the illustrious Kasyapa, the quick-witted one spoke as follows: I shall describe the truly insupportable pains where there is distress and the punishment of evil deeds. (2)

Those cruel sinners who, from a desire of worldly life, commit bad deeds, will sink into the dreadful Hell which is full of dense darkness and great suffering. (3)

He who always kills movable and immovable beings for the sake of his own comfort, who injures them, who takes what is not freely given, who does not learn what is to be practised, namely control; (4)

The impudent sinner, who injures many beings without relenting, will go to Hell; at the end of his life he will sink to the place of darkness; head downwards he comes to the place of torture. (5)

They hear the cries of the punishers: Beat, cut, split, burn him! The prisoners in Hell lose their senses from fright, and do not know in what direction to run. (6)

Going to a place like a burning heap of coals on fire, and being burnt they cry horribly; they remain there long, shrieking aloud. (7)

Have you heard of the horrible river whose cutting waves are like sharp razors? They cross the horrible river, being urged on by arrows, and wounded with spears. (8)

The punishers pierce them with darts; they go in the boat, losing their memory; others pierce them with long pikes and tridents, and throw them on the ground. (9)

Some, round whose neck big stones are tied, are drowned in deep water. Others again roll about in a river of burning sand or in burning chaff, and are roasted in it. (10)

And they come to the great impassable Hell, full of agony, where the sun does not shine, where there is great darkness, where fires, placed above, below, and all around, are blazing. (11)

There, as in a cave, being roasted on the fire, he is burned, having lost the reminiscence of his sins and consciousness of everything else; always suffering he comes to that miserable hot place that is ever ready for the punishment of evildoers. (12)

There the cruel punishers have lighted four fires, and roast the sinners; they are roasted there like fishes put on the fire alive. (13)

The prisoners in Hell come to the dreadful place of cutting, where the cruel punishers tie their hands and feet, and with axes in their hands cut them like wooden planks. (14)

And they turn the writhing victims round, and stew them, like living fishes, in an iron caldron filled with their own blood, their limbs covered with ordure, their heads smashed. (15)

They are not reduced to ashes there, and they do not die of their enormous pains; undergoing this punishment, the miserable men suffer for their misdeeds. (16)

And there in the place, where there is constant shivering, they resort to a large burning fire; but they find no relief in that place of torture; the tormentors torture them still. (17)

There is heard everywhere the noise of painfully uttered cries even as in the street of a town. Those whose bad deeds take effect, namely the punishers, violently torment again and again those whose bad deeds take effect also, namely the punished. (18)

They deprive the sinner of his life; I shall truly tell you how this is done. The wicked punishers remind their victims, by similar punishment, of all sins they had committed in their life. (19)

Being killed they are thrown into a Hell which is full of boiling filth. There they stay eating filth, and they are eaten by vermin. (20)

And there is an always crowded, hot place, which men deserve for their great sins, and which is full of misery. The punishers put them in shackles, beat their bodies, and torment them by perforating their skulls with drills. (21)

They cut off the sinner's nose with a razor, they cut off both his ears and lips; they pull out his tongue a span's length and torment him by piercing it with sharp pikes. (22)

There the sinners dripping with blood whine day and night even as the dry leaves of a palm-tree agitated by the wind. Their blood, matter, and flesh are dropping off while they are roasted, their bodies being besmeared with natron. (23)

Have you heard of the large, erected caldron of more than man's size, full of blood and matter, which is extremely heated by a fresh fire, in which blood and matter are boiling? (24)

The sinners are thrown into it and boiled there, while they utter horrid cries of agony; they are made to drink molten lead and copper when they are thirsty, and they shriek still more horribly. (25)

Those evildoers who have here forfeited their souls' happiness for the sake of small pleasures, and have lived in the lowest condition for long ages, will stay in this Hell. Their punishment will be adequate to their deeds. (26)

The wicked who have committed crimes will atone for them, deprived of all pleasant and lovely objects, by dwelling in the stinking crowded Hell, a scene of pain, which is full of flesh and the like. (27)

Thus I say.

Second Chapter

I shall now truly tell you another kind of perpetual suffering, how the sinners who have committed crimes suffer for the deeds they have done in their lives. (1)

Tying their hands and feet the punishers cut open their belly with razors and knives; taking hold of the mangled body of the sinner, they forcibly tear the skin off his back. (2)

They cut off his arms at the armpits; they force his mouth wide open and scald it; they yoke the sinner to a car and drive him, and growing angry they pierce his back with a goad. (3)

The sinners walk over ground burning and glowing like red-hot iron; scorched they shriek horribly, being urged on with arrows and put to a red-hot yoke. (4)

The sinners are driven over slippery ground which is like a road of red-hot iron; in this dreadful place the ministers of Hell make them go forward like slaves, beating them with sticks. (5)

Proceeding in this intolerable Hell they are crushed by rocks tumbling down. There is the caldron of torment, where evildoers suffer for a long time. (6)

They throw the sinners into caldrons and boil them; scalded they rise thence again; devilish crows feed on them and other beasts having claws devour them. (7)

There is a place of smokeless fire in the form of a pile where the sinners greatly distressed shriek horribly; head downwards they are lacerated and cut into pieces with iron knives. (8)

Tied up and skinned they are devoured by steel-nebbed birds; it is the Hell where life is long, and where men of an evil mind are tortured. (9)

The punishers pierce them with sharp pikes as people do with a captured pig. Transfixed by a pike the sinners shriek horribly; suffering both bodily and mentally they feel nothing but pains. (10)

There is a great place always on fire, where fires burn without fuel; there for a long time stay the evildoers shrieking aloud. (11)

Setting on fire large piles, they thrust into them a sinner who will cry horribly; as butter thrown in the fire melts, so does the evildoer there. (12)

And there is an always crowded, hot place which one deserves for one's great sins, and which is full of misery. There the punishers tie the sinners hands and feet, and belabour him with sticks like an enemy. (13)

They break the sinner's back with a weapon, and smash his skull with iron clubs; their bodies are split and sawn like a plank; and tortured with red-hot awls the sinners are subjected to cruelties. (14)

Cruel evildoers, urged on with arrows, and put to work by the punishers, carry burdens in the way of elephants; two or three punishers get on one victim and growing angry hurt his vital parts. (15)

The sinners are driven over the large, slippery, and thorny ground; tightly bound with straps they lose their senses; the revenging punishers cut them into pieces, and throw them about like a sacrifice. (16)

There is a dreadful mountain towering high up in the air, where the evildoers are tortured for more than a thousand hours. (17)

Tortured, the sinners shriek, suffering day and night; in this horrid, great Hell, which is full of implements of torture, they are put to a cruel death. (18)

Full of wrath, like their enemies in this life, the punishers crush them with hammers and clubs. With mangled bodies, and vomiting blood, they fall to the ground, head foremost. (19)

There are the ever hungry, savage, always wrathful, great jackals by whom the evildoers bound with shackles are devoured. (20)

There is the dreadful, slimy river, which is always flowing and full of molten iron; in this very dreadful river the sinners must descend one by one. (21)

These pains are suffered without interruption by the sinner who stays there for a long time. There is no escape from the torture; he must, himself and alone, suffer the pains. (22)

Whatever cruelty he has done in his life, the same will be inflicted on him in recompense. Having come into an extremely miserable state, the sufferer experiences infinite pain. (23)

A wise man hearing of these punishments should not kill any living being in the whole world; believing in true doctrines and renouncing all property he should know the world, but not become a slave to it. (24)

Knowing the end that awaits animals, men, and angels, and the reward they will get; knowing all this, a wise man should wait for his decease, practising meanwhile self-control. (25)

Thus I say.

Sixth Lecture

Called

Praise Of Mahavira

Ascetics and scholars, householders and heretics, have asked me: Who is he that proclaimed this unrivalled truly wholesome Law, which was put forward with true knowledge? (1)