In the sacred morning hours, one begins the day by invoking the presence of the divine throughout the body. The sky is touched at the mouth, the air at the nose, the sun at the eyes, and the directions at the ears, symbolizing the interconnectedness of the body with the cosmos. The life-knot at the navel is touched, followed by the heart, the seat of Brahman, the Supreme Reality. At the crown of the head, Rudra is invoked, and at the topknot, the sages are remembered. The arms are touched, each associated with powerful deities—Yama, Indra, Varuṇa, Kubera, Earth, and Fire—honoring their presence and protection. After these gestures, water is sprinkled, and the feet are touched, invoking Viṣṇu, while both hands are sanctified by the touch of Indra and Viṣṇu. The finger joints are touched, each connected with Agni, Vāyu, Sūrya, Candra, and the great mountains, signifying the elemental forces at play. The lines at the center of the hands are believed to hold the Gaṅgā and other sacred rivers, and at dawn, purification is to be performed with due reverence. Bathing begins with the cleansing of the teeth, for if the mouth remains impure, so too does the person. Therefore, one should diligently clean the teeth, using twigs from trees such as kadamba, bilva, khadira, karavīra, vaṭa, and arjuna. Other suitable woods include yūthī, bṛhatī, jātī, karañja, arka, atimuktaka, jambū, madhūka, pāmargha, śirīṣa, udumbara, and asana. Milky and thorny trees are also praised for this purpose, and those that are pungent, bitter, or astringent are said to bestow wealth, health, and comfort. After eating, one should wash thoroughly and, in a clean place, discard the tooth-stick and rinse the mouth. On certain lunar days—new moon, sixth, ninth, and first—as well as on Sundays, the use of a tooth-stick should be avoided, and if a stick is not available or is forbidden, it should not be used. With twelve mouthfuls of water, the mouth is cleansed, and morning bathing is highly praised, bringing visible and invisible benefits. Those who are pure in self, who bathe in the morning, and who engage in recitation and other sacred acts, are considered worthy, for the body is naturally impure, filled with nine openings through which impurities flow day and night. Morning bathing purifies, clears the mind, and increases beauty and good fortune, removing sorrow and suffering. One should bathe as if in the sacred Gaṅgā, especially on auspicious days—when the moon is in the hand, on the tenth day, under the Jyeṣṭha star, and when the moon is bright. On the day that removes ten sins, one should avoid improper conduct, violence, and association with another’s spouse, and should not give away impure gifts. One must refrain from harshness, falsehood, slander, irrelevant speech, coveting another’s wealth, and harboring evil thoughts. To destroy these ten sins, bathing in the Gaṅgā is performed, and, in brief, morning bathing is prescribed for both forest-dwellers and householders. Ascetics are to bathe three times daily, while celibates bathe once. After sipping water and invoking the sacred place, one should bathe, remembering the imperishable Hari. It is taught that three crore demons called Mandehas, evil-minded, wish to devour the rising Sun. One who fails to perform worship at sunrise harms the Sun, but these demons are burned by water purified by mantra, which takes the form of fire. The junction of night and day is called sandhyā, lasting for two nāḍīs, until the Sun becomes visible. At the end of the sandhyā ritual, one should perform the homa oneself, for the fruit of a self-performed homa is unique. Even when a priest, son, teacher, brother, sister’s son, or the head of the family performs the offering, it is as if one has done it oneself. The Garhapatya fire is Brahma, the southern fire is the three-eyed one, the Ahavaniya fire is Viṣṇu, and Kumāra is said to be Truth. Having performed the homa at the proper time, one should recite the solar mantras with a concentrated mind, including the Savitri and the Pranava as prescribed. For one who is always engaged in the Pranava, the seven Vyāhṛtis, and the three-footed Savitri, there is never any fear anywhere. A person who recites the Gāyatrī every day, rising at an auspicious hour, remains untouched by sin, just as a lotus leaf is not wetted by water. The Gāyatrī is described as white in color, clothed in silk, holding a rosary, the auspicious goddess seated upon a lotus. Having invoked her radiance with a libation of Yajus, as prescribed, one remembers that this Yajus was once seen by the gods who desired to behold the vision. Whatever abides within the solar orb or is established in the world of Brahma, having invoked it and recited, one should then dismiss it with reverence. The worship of the deities should be performed in the forenoon, and there is no god superior to Viṣṇu; therefore, one should always worship him. A wise person does not regard Brahma, Viṣṇu, and Shiva as separate gods. In this world, eight auspicious entities are recognized: a Brahmin, a cow, fire, gold, clarified butter, the sun, water, and the king as the eighth. One should always behold and worship these—gold, ghee, the sun, water, and the king—circumambulating them to the right. The study of the Veda is fivefold: learning, reflection, repeated practice, recitation, and teaching it to disciples. Whoever writes down the meaning of the Veda, the treatises on sacrifice, and the texts on dharma, and gives them for a price, attains the status of a Vedic scholar. Whoever writes the Itihāsas and Purāṇas and gives them attains merit equal to the gift of knowledge, doubled. In the third part of life, one’s duty is to support dependents: mother, father, teacher, brother, offspring, the poor, and those who have taken refuge. A guest who has arrived and fire are also called dependents, and supporting them is praised as a means to heaven. Therefore, one should strive to provide for dependents, for one person lives, and many are supported by him. Those who only feed themselves, though alive, are as good as dead; even a dog fills its own belly.