Hear now the ancient guidance on rites of purification and conduct, as revealed in the sacred scriptures. It is taught that for those who have forsaken the path, for heretics, the fallen, and those who have abandoned celibacy, as well as for outcastes and those who pursue only desire, water-rites should not be performed. Nor are these rites proper for women in this context. Similarly, those who have consumed liquor or who have taken their own lives are not fit for purification or water-rites. Therefore, one should not grieve excessively, for the span of life is ever uncertain and impermanent. After a death, the prescribed rites should be performed according to one’s ability, and then one should return home, placing neem leaves at the doorway as tradition dictates. Upon returning, the mourner should rinse the mouth, touch fire, water, cow dung, cow’s urine, and mustard seeds, and then, after touching a stone, enter the house slowly and with care. These acts—entering the house and related actions—even after contact with the deceased, bring immediate purification for others through bathing and self-restraint. Those who have obtained food by purchase should sleep separately on the ground. Food prepared for the departed, especially that which is intended for the rice-ball offering (piṇḍa), should be given for three days. Water must be placed outside for one day, and milk in an earthen vessel, as an offering. Vaitāna worship and other rites prescribed by the scriptures are to be performed. If a child is born with teeth, purification is immediate; after the first tonsure, impurity lasts only through the night. According to the rules, impurity lasts three nights, and then ten nights thereafter. The period of impurity due to death is either three or ten nights, depending on the circumstances. For children under two years of age, the impurity from both birth and death falls only upon the mother. Between birth and death, purification is achieved by observing the remaining days; for the different classes, impurity lasts ten, twelve, or fifteen days as prescribed. When an infant dies, impurity lasts thirty days. For girls given in marriage without the proper ceremony, and for young children, purification is also prescribed. For teachers, disciples, maternal uncles, learned Brahmins, sons not born of the wife, and wives who have departed elsewhere, the rules of impurity differ. On the day of one’s residence or kingship, purification is immediate. The same applies for those killed by kings, cows, or Brahmins, and for suicides. For those killed by poison and similar causes, there is no impurity, O lord of the earth; nor for sacrificers, those who keep vows, celibates, donors, or knowers of Brahman. At times of gifts, marriages, sacrifices, battles, or when the land is in turmoil, and even in great distress, immediate purification is prescribed. Time, fire, ritual, earth, wind, mind, knowledge, austerity, recitation, repentance, and fasting are all considered means of purification for everyone. Even a gift from one who acts improperly, or the current of a river, brings purification. In times of distress, a twice-born may earn a livelihood through the work of a kṣatriya or a vaiśya. Fruits, soma, cloth, vegetables, curd, milk, ghee, water, sesame rice, juice, salt, honey, lac, cooked food, and oblations are all considered pure. Cloth, stones, wine, flowers, vegetables, earth, leather sandals, antelope skin, silk, salt, and beans are also included among the pure. A vaiśya should not sell oil-cake, roots, or fragrant substances; sesame and grains of similar value should be sold only for righteousness or livelihood. One should not sell salt and similar items. If a twice-born, in distress, accepts gifts from the lowly, he is not tainted, just as the sun is not stained by what it shines upon. Agriculture and similar work are permitted, but horses should not be sold. If a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, or vaiśya is destitute, the king should provide him with a righteous means of livelihood. At this point, Sūta said: “Parāśara spoke to Vyāsa about dharma concerning varṇa and āśrama, asking, ‘In each cycle, with destruction and creation, do beings diminish or arise?’” The answer was given: the Veda, Smṛti, and good conduct—whatever is established by the Veda—are always remembered as dharma for brāhmaṇas and others, as taught by Manu and the rest. In the Kali age, giving is considered dharma, but the doer is often abandoned; sinful acts in this age bear fruit for years as a curse. By proper conduct, one fulfills all six daily duties: twilight worship, bathing, recitation, fire offering, and the worship of gods, guests, and others. A brāhmaṇa who is steadfast in vows is rare, as are true ascetics in these times. A kṣatriya, having conquered enemy armies, should rule the earth. A vaiśya should engage in trade and agriculture, while a śūdra should devote himself to serving the twice-born. One falls from his station by eating what is forbidden, by stealing, or by approaching that which is forbidden. A twice-born, while farming, should not overwork a tired ox. For half the day, he should engage in bathing and related duties, and feed brāhmaṇas. He should perform the five sacrifices, refrain from harsh criticism, and not sell sesame oil. A sacrifice performed in a slaughterhouse is sinful. After giving one-sixth to the king, one-twentieth to the gods, and thirty-three parts to the brāhmaṇas, the cultivator is not tainted. Farmers—kṣatriya, brāhmaṇa, and śūdra—who do not give the due share are considered thieves. A brāhmaṇa is purified from impurity due to death or birth within three days; a kṣatriya in ten days, a vaiśya in twelve, and a śūdra in a month. For a brāhmaṇa, impurity may also last ten days, and for a kṣatriya, twelve. A vaiśya is purified after fifteen days, a śūdra in a month. Heirs who live separately, with different doors and houses, each offer a single ball of rice. At birth and at misfortune, impurity arises for them; for four days and ten nights, and for six nights in the case of a male, and five for the fifth. On the sixth day, purity returns after four nights; on the seventh, after three days. If a child dies in a distant land, purity is immediate, for the deceased is a child. Children who have not yet grown teeth, and those born prematurely, do not require the fire ritual, nor the offering of rice balls, nor the water rites. If a fetus is lost or expelled from a woman, impurity lasts for as many days as the months the fetus remained in the womb. From the naming ceremony, purity is immediate; from the first haircut, it lasts a day and night; from the vow, three nights; thereafter, ten days. From the fourth day, there is discharge; on the fifth and sixth, there is loss. For students and those who maintain the sacred fire, purity comes from abstaining from contact. Thus, the ancient sages have spoken of the ways of purification and conduct, guiding all on the path of righteousness and purity as prescribed by dharma.