from cruelty for its indication.  The man of cleansed soul should do only such acts as have compassion for their soul.  That flesh which is dedicated in sacrifices performed in honour of the deities and the Pitris is called Havi (and, as such, is worthy of being eaten).  That man who is devoted to compassion and who behaves with compassion towards others, has no fear to entertain from any creature.  It is heard that all creatures abstain from causing any fear unto such a creature.  Whether he is wounded or fallen down or prostrated or weakened or bruised, in whatever state he may be, all creatures protect him.  Indeed, they do so, under all circumstances, whether he is on even or uneven ground.  Neither snakes nor wild animals, neither Pisachas nor Rakshasas, ever slay him.  When circumstances of fear arise, he becomes freed from fear who frees others from situations of fear.  There has never been, nor will there ever be, a gift that is superior to the gift of life.  It is certain that there is nothing dearer to oneself than one’s life.  Death, O Bharata, is a calamity or evil unto all creatures.  When the time comes for Death, a trembling of the whole frame is seen in all creatures.  Enduring birth in the uterus, decrepitude and afflictions of diverse kinds, in this ocean of the world, living creatures may be seen to be continually going forward and coming back.  Every creature is afflicted by death.  While dwelling in the uterus, all creatures are cooked in the fluid juices, that are alkaline and sour and bitter, of urine and phlegm and faeces,—­juices that produce painful sensations and are difficult to bear.  There in the uterus, they have to dwell in a state of helplessness and are even repeatedly torn and pierced.  They that are covetous of meat are seen to be repeatedly cooked in the uterus in such a state of helplessness.  Attaining to diverse kinds of birth, they are cooked in the hell called Kumbhipaka.  They are assailed and slain, and in this way have to travel repeatedly.  There is nothing so dear to one as one’s life when one comes to this world.  Hence, a person of cleansed soul should be compassionate to all living creatures.  That man, O king, who abstains from every kind of meat from his birth, without doubt, acquires a large space in Heaven, They who eat the flesh of animals who are desirous of life, are themselves eaten by the animals they eat, without doubt.  Even this is my opinion.  Since he hath eaten me, I shall eat him in return,—­even this, O Bharata, constitutes the character as Mansa of Mansa.[525] The slayer is always slain.  After him the eater meets with the same fate.  He who acts with hostility towards another (in this life) becomes the victim of similar acts done by that other.  Whatever acts one does in whatever bodies, one has to suffer the consequences thereof in those bodies.[526] Abstention from cruelty is the highest Religion.  Abstention from cruelty is the highest self-control.  Abstention from cruelty is the highest gift.  Abstention