He who partakes of the remnants of food left by a Brahmin acquires wisdom and is freed from sin. True friendship is that which is offered in secrecy, and a righteous act is one performed without deceit. An assembly lacking elders is not a true gathering, and those elders who do not speak of dharma are not worthy of their station. Dharma itself cannot stand where there is no truth, and truth is tainted if mixed with deceit. Among all people, the Brahmin is foremost; among all lights, the sun shines supreme. The head is chief among all limbs, and truth is the highest of all vows. That place is auspicious where the mind is serene; true life is where no one serves another as a subordinate. Wealth is that which is enjoyed with one’s own family, and glory is that which is won by overcoming one’s enemies in battle. Happiness belongs to him who is not intoxicated by women, who is free from craving. Friendship is true when there is trust, and self-control is found in one who has conquered his senses. Praise is due not to pearls and gold, nor to lost friendships, but where a person is worthy of his own self-respect. One should not seek the origins of rivers, sacrificial fires, the Bharata lineage, or the age of time, for faults are not lessened at their roots. Rivers ultimately end in salt water, sexual union ends in separation, youth fades into old age, and wealth brings threefold suffering. Royal fortune can be ended by a Brahmin’s curse, sin is destroyed by Brahminical splendor, rituals conclude with the sound of the conch, and a family line can end with a woman, O lord. All dwellings eventually decay, all heights end in a fall; all unions lead to separation, and life itself ends in death. If one wishes to return, one should not go too far; one should turn back from the edge of the water and from trees with glossy leaves. One should not dwell where there is no leader, nor where there are too many leaders; nor where a woman is the head, but rather where a child is the leader. A woman is protected by her father in childhood, by her husband in youth, and by her son in old age; she is not entitled to independence. One should abandon a barren woman in her eighth year, a woman whose children have died in her ninth, a woman who bears only daughters in her eleventh, and immediately one who speaks unpleasantly. Yet, three types of women—those who have departed from propriety due to wealth—remain with their husbands out of fear for the household and lack of benefit to others. A wise person avoids from afar a tired horse, a mad elephant, cows in their first calving, and frogs when there is no water. For those afflicted by poverty, there is neither friend nor relative; those consumed by desire lack fear and shame; the anxious find no happiness or sleep; the hungry have no strength or vigor. How can there be sleep for one who is poor, who serves another, who is attached to another’s wife, or who steals another’s wealth? A man free from debt and disease sleeps happily; but one separated from his wife eats with constraint. When water is abundant, the lotus rises high; likewise, a servant becomes proud when his master is powerful. For a lotus that remains in its place, the sun and Varuna are friends; but once the lotus is uprooted, they cause its drying and decay. Those who are friends to one who stands firm in his place become his enemies when he is displaced; the sun delights in the lotus in water, but dries it up when taken to land. Those who remain in their place are honored, as are those who keep to their position; but those who have fallen from their place—hair, teeth, nails, and people—are not honored. A person’s family is revealed by their conduct, their country by their speech, affection by attentiveness, and their food by their body. Rain over the ocean is in vain, as is food for one already satisfied, gifts to the wealthy, or good deeds for a base person. Even if far away, one who dwells in the heart is near; but one who has departed from the heart is distant, even if physically close. A fallen face, a weak voice, sweating limbs, and great fear are all signs of impending death—and also of a beggar. For a hunchback, an insect-killer, one driven out by the wind, or one living on a peak, it is better to die than to beg. Even Vishnu, the Lord of the world, when he begged, took the form of Vamana; what greater purpose could there be than his, for which humility is not required? A mother and a father become enemies to their children if they do not educate them; such children do not shine in an assembly, like a crane among swans. Knowledge is the highest form, a treasure greater than all others, a wealth that cannot be stolen. Knowledge brings virtue, wins the favor of people, is the teacher of teachers, removes the suffering of relatives, is the supreme deity, is honored among kings, and a person without knowledge is like a beast. Wealth and possessions kept in a house are visible and can be taken away, but knowledge cannot be stolen by others. Long ago, Vishnu spoke everywhere the essence of polity from the Shaunakīya tradition; Shankara listened, Vyasa heard from Shankara, and we have heard from Vyasa. Then Brahma said: “O Vyasa, I will declare the vows by which Hari becomes the giver of all, when he is worshipped on every month, star, lunar day, and weekday. By single-minded devotion, by fasting at night, and through the fruits of such observances, Hari grants wealth, grain, sons, kingdom, victory, and more. On the first lunar day, Vaiśvānara and Kubera, when worshipped, grant wealth; after fasting, Brahma is worshipped on the first day, as well as Shri and the Ashvins. On the second day, Yama and Lakshmi-Narayana grant wealth; on the third, the three gods—Gauri, Vighnesha, and Shankara—are to be worshipped. On the fourth day, the four manifestations are to be worshipped; on the fifth, Hari; on the sixth, Kartikeya and the Sun; on the seventh, Bhaskara grants wealth. On Durga’s eighth and ninth days, the Mothers and the directions grant wealth; on the tenth, Yama and the Moon; on the eleventh, the sages are to be worshipped. On the twelfth, Hari and Kama; on the thirteenth, Maheshvara; and on the fourteenth and fifteenth, Brahma and the ancestors grant wealth.” Thus, the wise are guided in conduct, knowledge, and devotion, and so the path to auspiciousness and prosperity is made clear.