Sacred Concord

Mbh 13.23.6c

Mahabharata · translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli

They who destroy the means of other people's living, they who exterminate the habitations of other people, they who rob others of their spouses, they who sow dissensions among friends, and they who destroy the hopes of other people, sink into hell. They who proclaim the faults of others, they who break down bridges or causeways, they who live by following vocations laid down for other people, and they who are ungrateful to friends for services received, have to sink in hell. They who have no faith in the Vedas and show no reverence for them, they who break the vows made by themselves or oblige others to break them, and they who fall away from their status through sin, sink in hell. They who betake themselves to improper conduct, they who take exorbitant rates of interest, and they who make unduly large profits on sales, have to sink in hell. They who are given to gambling, they who indulge in wicked acts without any scruple, and they who are given to slaughter of living creatures, have to sink in hell. They who cause the dismissal by masters of servants that are hoping for rewards or are expectant of definite need or are in the enjoyment of wages or salaries or are waiting for returns in respect of valuable services already rendered, have to sink in hell. They who themselves eat without offering portions thereof unto their spouse or their sacred fires or their servants or their guests, and they who abstain from performing the rites laid down in the scriptures for honouring the Pitris and deities, have to sink in hell. They who sell the Vedas, they who find fault with the Vedas, and they who reduce the Vedas into writing, have all to sink in hell.[229] They who are out of the pale of the four well-known modes of life, they who betake themselves to practices interdicted by the Srutis and the scriptures, and they who live by betaking themselves to acts that are wicked or sinful or that do not belong to their order of birth, have to sink in hell.
Mbh 13.23.6c · Mahabharata · ANUSASANA PARVA

Themes in this passage

SinFriendshipWorshipFaithGratitudeHopeKarmaMarriage

Sin in other traditions

The same theme, as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hellenism address it.

If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.
Leviticus 4:3 · Bible · Leviticus
They said: O our father! Ask forgiveness of our sins for us, for lo! we were sinful.
Quran 12:97 · Quran · Joseph
If a man commits a sin, let him not do it again; let him not delight in sin: pain is the outcome of evil.
Dhp 9.117 · Dhammapada · Evil
“May heaven,” answered Ulysses, “requite to them the wickedness with which they deal high-handedly in another man’s house without any sense of shame.”
Odyssey 20.15 · Odyssey · 20

See what all six traditions say about sin →

Search every tradition at once

Ask a question in your own words and see how six traditions answer it.