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1. There is a dispute regarding five (practices) both in the south and in the north. 1
2. We will explain those (peculiar) to the south.
3. They are, to eat in the company of an uninitiated person, to eat in the company of one's wife, to eat stale food, to marry the daughter of a maternal uncle or of a paternal aunt. 3
4. Now (the customs peculiar) to the north are, to deal in wool, to drink rum, to sell animals that have teeth in the upper and in the lower jaws, to follow the trade of arms, to go to sea. 4
5. He who follows (these practices) in any other country than where they prevail, commits sin. 5
6. For each (of these customs) the (rule of the) country should be (considered) the authority.
7. Gautama declares that that is false. 7
8. And one should not take heed of either (set of practices) because they are opposed to the tradition of the Sishtas.
9. The country of the Âryas (Âryâvarta) lies to the east of the region where (the river Sarasvatî) disappears, to the west of the Black-forest (Kâlakavana), to the north of the Pâripâtra (mountains), to the south of the Himâlaya. The rule of conduct which (prevails) there, is authoritative. 9
10. Some (declare) the country between the (rivers) Yamunâ and Ganges (to be the Âryâvarta). 10
11. Now the Bhâllavins quote also the (following) verse: 11
12. 'In the west the boundary-river, in the east the region where the sun rises,--as far as the black antelopes wander (between these two limits), so far spiritual pre-eminence (is found).' 12
13. The inhabitants of Avantî, of Aṅga, of Magadha, of Surâshtra, of the Dekhan, of Upâvrit, of Sindh, and the Sauvîrâs are of mixed origin. 13
14. He who has visited the (countries of the) Ârattas, Kâraskaras, Pundras, Sauvîras, Vaṅgas, Kaliṅgas, (or) Prânûnas shall offer a Punastoma or a Sarvaprishthâ (ishti). 14
15. Now they quote also (the following verses): 'He commits sin through his feet, who travels to the (country of the) Kaliṅgas. The sages declare the Vaisvânarî ishti to be a purification for him.' 15
16. 'Even if many offences have been committed, they recommend for the removal of the sin the Pavitreshti. For that (sacrifice) is a most excellent means of purification.'
17. Now they quote also (the following verse): 'He who performs (by turns) in each season the Vaisvânarî (ishti), the Vrâtapatî (ishti), and the Pavitreshti is freed from (all) sins.' 17
146:1 2. The boundary between the north and south of India is, as Govinda also points out, the river Narmadâ.
146:3 Some of the customs mentioned here still prevail in parts of southern India. Thus the marriages between cousins occur among the Desastha and Karhâdâ Brâhmanas of the Dekhan.
146:4 The first two customs mentioned still prevail in the north, especially in Kasmîr, where Brâhmanas commonly deal in wool and woollen cloth. Spirituous liquor is not now drunk openly, but its use is sanctioned in the Kasmîrian Nîlamata-purâna. Many Brâhmanical families in the north, especially in the North-western Provinces, subsist by enlisting as soldiers in the British and native armies.
147:5-6. A similar argument is given by the Kasmîrians for the lawfulness of the consumption of meat, which they justify by a desaguna or 'virtue of their country.'
147:7 Gautama XI, 20.
147:9 Vasishtha I, 8, 10. Many MSS., and among them the Telugu copy of the commentary, read Pâriyâtra instead of Pâripâtra, which latter I consider to be the correct form of the word.
147:10 Vasishtha I, 12.
147:11 Vasishtha I, 14. Govinda remarks that the Bhâllavins are a school studying the Sâma-veda. See also Max Müller, Hist. Anc. Sansk. Lit., pp. 193, 364.
147:12 Vasishtha I, 15. There is a great uncertainty in the MSS. about the word following sindhuh. I have adopted the reading of p. 148 M., sindhur vidharanî, 'the boundary-river,' which occurs also in the parallel passage of Vasishtha. The Dekhan and Gugarât MSS. read vikaranî or vikaranâ, and the two copies of the commentary visaranî. The sense of these various readings appears to be 'the river that vanishes or looses itself,' i.e. the Sarasvatî.
148:13 This and the following two Sûtras are intended to show that the customs prevailing in the countries named have no authority and must not be followed. Avantî corresponds to western Mâlvâ, Aṅga to western Bengal, Magadha to Bihar, and Surâshtra to southern Káthîâvâd. The Sauvîras, who are always associated with the Sindhians, probably dwelt in the south-west of the Pañgâb, near Multân. The Upâvrits probably are the same as the Upâvrittas mentioned Mahâbhârata VI, 49. But I am unable to deter-mine their seats.
148:14 The Ârattas dwelt in the Pañgâb (Lassen, Ind. Alth. I, p. 973, sec. ed.), and are greatly blamed, Mahâbhârata VIII, 44, 36 seq. The Kâraskaras are named in the same chapter of the Mahâbhârata as a degraded tribe, but seem to belong to the south of India. The Kaliṅgas are the inhabitants of the eastern coast of India, between Orissa and the mouth of the Krishnâ river. The Pundras, who are mentioned as a degraded tribe in the Aitareya-brâhmana VII, 18, and occur frequently in the Mahâbhârata, and the Vaṅgas belong to Bengal (see Lassen, Ind. Alth. I, 669, sec. ed.; Cunningham, Anc. Geog. p. 480). Regarding the Puna-stoma, see Gautama XIX, 7 note; and regarding the Sarvaprishthâ ishti, Taittirîya-samhitâ II, 3, 7, 1-2.
148:15 Âpastamba I, 11, 32, 18.
149:17 Vasishtha XXII, 10. The meaning is that in each of the three seasons of the year, Grîshma, Varsha, Hemanta, one of the three sacrifices is to be offered.