Indian Antiquary Vol 46

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 457

THE FOLKLORE OF GUJARAT
109
15 One who does not serve food equally to all the men,bers at a dining table loses one of his eyes.
16 Those who break off a marriage alliance are punished with thick (negro- like ) lips.
17 Those who steal books lose their eye-sight.
18 He who kicks a Brahman becomes lame.
19 A liar becomes a stammerer.
20 Those who listen to contradictory versions of what is generally believed to be true become deaf.
21 One who poisons another becomes a lunatic.
22 One who stcals precious metals becomes indigent.
23 An incendiary is punished with a bald lead.
24 Meat-sellers meet with misfortunes.
25 One who steals gold has his nails deformed.
26 He who steals food is born a mouse.
27 One stealing corn has to be reborn as a locust.
28 One stealing opium or other poisonous drugs is born a scorpion.
29 One who steals leaves or vegetables is born a peacock.
30 One who enjoys perfumes by stealing them is born a mole.
31 One wlio steals honey becomes an eagle.
32 One who steals flour, rice, etc. is born a monkey.1.
The state of the soul after death depends upon a man's good or bad actions in life.
The souls of the righteous leave the body without any trouble. The messengers of the god of death present themselves to these souls in the form of saints and carry them to that part of the heaven which is presided over by their favourite deity, by the castern,
1 The Shastri. Pathshala, Bhayavadar,
northern, or western gates. They are received there with great respect. Here they enjoy the fruits of their merit, after which they return to this world and are born either in the family of a wealthy virtuous man or in that of a poor Brålman who has attained the knowledge of God. In this new life they accumulate further pierit, in virtue of which they are endowed with a higher spiritual life in the following birth, and so on until they attain final emancipation.
After attaining moksha or salvation the soul becomes free from the wheel of birth and rebirth
To the souls of the sinful, who leave their bodies with a great struggle, the messengers of the god of death present theinselves in a terrible form. They are carricd to hell by the southera gale, being coastantly lashed on the way. There they are relegated to one of the twenty-eight pits (of hell ) appropriate to their misdeeds, to suffer retribution for their sins.
The soul is carried to Dharmaraja after it leaves the body. Thence, with the permission of the god, it returns to this world and halts for thirteen days at the threshold of its house. On the thirteenth day an earthen jar filled with water is emptied on a pipal tree (Ficus religiosa ) after which its connection with this world ceases. Then it returns to the heavenly judge of actions (Dharmaraja ), and is again born in the species prescribed by him. The soul of a strictly spiritual being merges into the divine entity and becomes free from birth and rebirth.
Moksha or Mukti, that is final emancipation is of two kinds, sàyujja or merging into the divine form and sàmishya or entering the divine order and living in this state so long as one's merits allow.?
Dharmaràja keeps an account of the good and bad actions of all men in his book
2 The School Master of Dhank,