The wise text continues with guidance for the king’s conduct and the management of his realm. It is said that from all wooden vessels and objects made of stone, the king should collect a sixth part as tax, and likewise from honey, meat, and mustard. Yet, even in the direst circumstances—even on his deathbed—the king must not extract tax from Brahmins. If a learned Brahmin suffers hunger within the king’s domain, the kingdom itself is afflicted: disease, famine, and calamity arise. Understanding this, the king must provide for the Brahmin’s livelihood, protecting him everywhere as a father would his own son. When a righteous Brahmin enjoys the king’s protection and practices virtue daily, the king’s own life, wealth, and kingdom flourish. As for artisans, they are to serve the king, each performing their craft once a month. Then Puṣkara spoke, declaring he would explain the concerns of the inner palace and the duties that lead to the aims of life. Among these, the king must ensure that women within the palace are mutually protected and serve each other well. Righteousness is the root, wealth the trunk, and action the great fruit; in this tree of life’s three aims, it is through protection that one gains a share of the fruit. Puṣkara addressed Rāma, saying, “Women are subject to desire, and so the collection of jewels holds importance. The king, wishing to enjoy his realm, should serve women, but always with moderation.” He warned that a wicked woman acts wrongly, disregards wise words, allies herself with enemies, and carries her pride with arrogance. Such a woman, when kissed, wipes her face; she disdains the food given to her, sleeps early and late, and rises only when she wishes. When touched, she shrinks away, turns her body, barely heeds even loving words, and averts her face. Among women who are the object of desire, one who is indifferent can be recognized: though she knows it is time to adorn herself, she does not. Sometimes, at the mere sight of her beloved, she is delighted, yet when looked at, she turns away. If observed elsewhere, she casts a restless glance, unable to fully look away. In these ways, O Bhārgava, a woman reveals her limbs and secrets, yet carefully conceals what is grasped. When she sees her beloved, she may playfully gesture, embrace, and kiss; when spoken to, she replies truthfully. When touched, her limbs thrill and she breaks into a sweat; she readily asks for small gifts. Even a little, when given, brings her great joy, and mere praise of her name fills her with delight. She sends fruits marked with her own hand, and with affection, she places his gifts close to her heart. With embraces, she covers his body as if with nectar; she sleeps and wakes with him. She touches his thighs often and wakes him from sleep, sometimes with kapittha powder and garlands of curd. Just as ghee becomes fragrant when mixed with milk and barley, so too do the preparations of food and scent. There are eight acts prescribed for purification: cleansing, sipping water, purgation, contemplation, cooking, awakening, fumigation, and perfuming—all to be done with kapittha, bilva, mango, and karavīra leaves. Any substance purified with water is pure; in the absence of water, musk water is used. For fumigation, there are twenty-one fragrant substances: sarala, devadāru, camphor, kunda, bāla, kunduruka, guggulu, śrīnivāsaka, and sarja resin among them. Any number may be chosen as desired. Two of each are mixed with equal parts of sarja, and combined with nail, sesame cake, and honey. For bathing, māsi, surā, and kuṣṭha are prescribed. Any three of these, mixed with musk, make a bath that increases love. Bathing with water scented with blue lotus, half as much valerian and musk, and oil fragrant with saffron, produces a delightful aroma. Adding half as much tagara gives the sweet scent of jasmine; with vakula flowers, the fragrance is similarly delightful. By including madder, tagara, colā, cinnamon bark, vyāghranakha, nakha, and gandhapatra, the perfumed oil becomes auspicious. Oil pressed from sesame seeds and infused with many flowers certainly acquires a beautiful fragrance. For the mouth, cardamom, clove, kakkola, nutmeg, long pepper, and jātī leaves are each used for their scent. Camphor, saffron, musk, deer musk, hareṇuka, kakkola, cardamom, clove, and jātī fruit, as well as cinnamon leaf, cyperus root, musta, creeper, kastūrikā, clove thorns, and the leaves and fruit of jātī, all serve as mouth perfumes. Placed in the mouth, these substances destroy diseases there. Areca nut, washed with water from five kinds of leaves and perfumed with these mouth-freshening ingredients, becomes a fragrant chew. Bitter toothsticks, soaked for three days in cow’s urine and prepared as areca nut, likewise produce a pleasing fragrance for the mouth. Thus, the king is instructed in the proper collection of taxes, the care of Brahmins, the management of the inner palace, the understanding of women’s ways, and the arts of purification, fragrance, and delight within his domain.