SECTION XXIV
"Yudhishthira said, 'O royal son of Bharata's race, it behoveth thee to
answer this question of mine truly and in detail. What are those
circumstances under which a person may become guilty of Brahmanicide
without actually slaying a Brahmana!'
"Bhishma said, 'Formerly, O monarch, I had one day requested Vyasa to
explain to me this very subject. I shall now narrate to thee what Vyasa
told me on that occasion. Do thou listen to it with undivided attention.
Repairing to the presence of Vyasa, I addressed him, saying,--Thou, O
great ascetic, art the fourth in descent from Vasishtha. Do thou explain
to me this. What are those circumstances under which one becomes guilty
of Brahmanicide without actually slaying a Brahmana,--Thus addressed by
me, the son of Parasara's loins, O king, well-skilled 'n the science of
morality, made me the following answer, at once excellent and fraught
with certainty, Thou shouldst know that man as guilty of Brahmanicide who
having of his own will invited a Brahmana of righteous conduct to his
house for giving him alms subsequently refuses to give anything to him on
the pretence of there being nothing in the house. Thou shouldst, O
Bharata, know that man as guilty of Brahmanicide who destroys the means
of living of a Brahmana learned in the Vedas and all their branches, and
who is freed from attachments to worldly creatures and goods. Thou
shouldst, O king, know that man to be guilty of Brahmanicide, who causes
obstructions in the way of thirsty kine while employed in quenching that
thirst. Thou shouldst take that man as guilty of Brahmanicide who,
without studying the Srutis that have flowed from preceptor to pupil for
ages and ages together, finds fault with the Srutis or with those
scriptures that have been composed by the Rishis. Thou shouldst know that
man as guilty of Brahmanicide who does not bestow upon a suitable
bride-groom his daughter possessed of beauty and other excellent
accomplishments. Thou shouldst know that foolish and sinful person to be
guilty of Brahmanicide who inflicts such grief upon Brahmanas as afflict
the very core of their hearts. Thou shouldst know that man to be guilty
of Brahmanicide who robs the blind, the lame, and idiots of their all.
Thou shouldst know that man to be guilty of Brahmanicide who sets fire to
the retreats of ascetics or to woods or to a village or a town.'"
