Section 5.10

5.10.1 "Those who know this, and those in the forest who devote themselves to faith and austerity, pass into the flame; from the flame into the day; from the day into the waxing fortnight; from the waxing fortnight into the six months when the sun travels north.

5.10.2 "From those months they pass into the year; from the year into the sun; from the sun into the moon; from the moon into lightning. There a person who is not human leads them to Brahman. This is the path of the gods.

5.10.3 "But those in the village who devote themselves to sacrifice, public works, and giving pass into smoke; from smoke into night; from night into the waning fortnight; from the waning fortnight into the six months when the sun travels south. They do not reach the year.

5.10.4 "From those months they pass into the world of the ancestors; from the world of the ancestors into space; from space into the moon. This is King Soma. It is the gods' food, and the gods consume it.

5.10.5 "After dwelling there until their course is complete, they return by that same road, as they came: into space, and from space into wind. Having become wind, one becomes smoke; having become smoke, one becomes mist.

5.10.6 "Having become mist, one becomes a cloud; having become a cloud, one falls as rain. Here they are born as rice and barley, herbs and trees, sesame and beans. From this state escape is indeed very hard. Whatever being eats the food and emits semen, that is what one becomes.

5.10.7 "Those whose conduct here has been pleasing may expect to enter a pleasing womb—the womb of a brahmin, a kshatriya, or a vaishya. But those whose conduct here has been foul may expect to enter a foul womb—the womb of a dog, a pig, or a chandala.

5.10.8 "Those who follow neither of these two paths become these little creatures that return again and again. 'Be born! Die!'—this is their third condition. That is why the world beyond never becomes full. Therefore one should recoil from this. On this there is a verse:

5.10.9 "The thief of gold, the drinker of liquor,the one who occupies his teacher's bed, the killer of a brahmin—these four fall,and a fifth: whoever keeps their company.

5.10.10 "But one who knows these five fires in this way is not stained by evil, even when keeping their company. He becomes clean, purified, and possessed of a blessed world—one who knows this, one who knows this."

5.10.1 "Those who know this, and those in the forest who practice devotion to faith and austerity, reach the flame. From the flame they reach the day. From the day they reach the half of the month when the moon grows. From that half-month they reach the six months when the sun moves north.

5.10.2 "From those months they reach the year. From the year they reach the sun. From the sun they reach the moon. From the moon they reach lightning. There a person who is not human leads them to Brahman. This is the path of the gods.

5.10.3 "But those in the village who devote themselves to sacrifices, public works, and gifts reach smoke. From smoke they reach night. From night they reach the other half of the month, when the moon shrinks. From that half-month they reach the six months when the sun moves south. They do not reach the year.

5.10.4 "From those months they reach the world of the ancestors. From the world of the ancestors they reach space. From space they reach the moon. This is King Soma. He is the gods' food. The gods eat him.

5.10.5 "After staying there until the result of their deeds runs out, they return by the same route they came. They return to space, and from space to wind. Having become wind, they become smoke. Having become smoke, they become mist.

5.10.6 "Having become mist, they become a cloud. Having become a cloud, they fall as rain. Here they are born as rice and barley, herbs and trees, sesame and beans. From there, escape is very hard indeed. They take the form of whoever eats that food and releases semen.

5.10.7 "Those whose conduct here has been good are likely to enter a good womb—the womb of a brahmin, a kshatriya, or a vaishya. But those whose conduct here has been foul are likely to enter a foul womb—the womb of a dog, a pig, or a Chandala.

5.10.8 "Those who go by neither of these paths become these small creatures that keep coming back again and again. 'Be born! Die!' This is the third condition. That is why that world does not fill up. So a person should guard against this. There is this verse about it:

5.10.9 "'A thief of gold, someone who drinks liquor,someone who sleeps with their teacher's wife, and a killer of a brahmin—these four fall,and so does a fifth who keeps their company.'

5.10.10 "But someone who knows these five fires in this way is not stained by evil, even if they keep such people's company. They become clean and purified, and reach a good world—someone who knows this, someone who knows this."