The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2279 page)

(great offences) and upap
takas (lesser offences). There are five greater offences: killing a
brahman
(
br
hma
ahaty
; killing an
outcaste
is a lesser offence than killing a cow, since there is no
dharma
of religious consequence in relation to those without caste); drinking intoxicants (
sur
p
na
); stealing (
steyam
, not in general, but in specified ways); sexual relations with the wife of a
guru
(
guruva
gan
gama
; sometimes interpreted as ‘father’, i.e. against incest); associating with a known sinner (
mah
p
takasa
s
rga
). The lesser offences are far more varied and differently listed. The way to deal with offences is to undertake penance and make atonement. Penance may range from
pr
y
ma