Obstacles often beset those who depend on agriculture and similar occupations—drought may wither the fields, rulers may cause fear, or plagues of mice and other pests may destroy the harvest. Yet, such troubles do not afflict the one who lends at interest. In lending, the growth of wealth continues uninterrupted, whether it is day or night, during the bright or dark fortnight, in heat, rain, or cold—prosperity does not pause. The profit that traders gain by journeying to distant lands and dealing in various goods is truly secured only by those who practice lending at interest in the proper way. With the gains thus obtained, one should honor the ancestors, the gods, and the Brāhmaṇas. When these are satisfied, they dispel a person’s faults without doubt. A merchant, when giving interest, should offer cloth, grains, gold, and similar items; a farmer, on his part, should give food, drink, vehicles, beds, and seats. After giving his due—twenty to the king, and a hundred of cattle, gold, and the like—a prudent man should accumulate his wealth, increasing it a quarter at a time. Of his earnings, he should use half for his own maintenance and for fulfilling daily and occasional duties; with a quarter, he should increase his principal for future gain. There are ten means of livelihood: learning, arts, prosperity, service, cattle-rearing, trade, agriculture, mendicancy, and lending at interest. For a Brāhmaṇa, wealth is acquired through receiving gifts; for a Kṣatriya, by victory in battle; for a Vaiśya, by lawful means; and for a Śūdra, by service. Yet, the best wealth for Brāhmaṇas is not always gold or cattle, but a river with abundant water, vegetables, roots, leaves, sacred fuel, kuśa grass, fire, and the sound of sacred recitation. There is no fault in accepting what is offered unasked, for the gods regard such gifts as nectar; thus, one should not reject them. If one desires the property of the guru, or wishes to honor guests, he may accept gifts from all sides, but not out of delight for his own sake. A Brāhmaṇa should accept gifts from the virtuous, or, failing that, from those with good qualities and few faults, for one who neglects virtue surely sinks. Thus, having maintained himself by such means as lending at interest, the best of Brāhmaṇas should purify himself afterwards through expiation. In the fourth part of the day, one should collect clay for bathing; sesame, flowers, darbha grass, and similar items are to be used for bathing in natural waters. There are eight types of bathing: daily, occasional, desire-based, cleansing of impurity, washing, sipping, and immersion. A person who has not bathed is unfit for recitation, fire offerings, and similar acts; therefore, morning bathing is prescribed as the daily bath for such purposes. If one touches a candala, corpse, excrement, or a menstruating woman, he must bathe—this is called an occasional bath. Baths such as the Pushya bath and others, prescribed by astrologers, are considered desire-based, and should not be performed without a specific desire. One who wishes to recite, purify, worship deities, or honor guests should perform bathing, for this is a limb of ritual action. The purpose is always the removal of impurity, especially in lakes, good wells, sacred places, and rivers. Since bathing itself is a ritual, ritual bathing is superior; the limbs are purified by water, and one attains the fruit of bathing at a sacred place. Through washing, immersion, and mantras, sin is quickly destroyed; daily, occasional, and ritual cleansing are all for the removal of impurity. In the absence of a sacred place, one should use hot water or water poured from above; water drawn from the earth is meritorious, and water from a spring is even more so. Still more meritorious is water from a lake, which should never be refused; water from a sacred place is highly meritorious, and Ganga water is meritorious everywhere. Indeed, Ganga water quickly purifies sin, even up to the moment of death, as does the water at Gaya and Kurukshetra. Therefore, one should know Ganga water as the highest, especially at the birth of a son, during auspicious conjunctions, and at the crossing of the sun. Bathing is recommended at the sight of Rahu, but not at night; the bath at dawn, at sunrise, and at twilight as the sun rises is particularly meritorious. Bathing at these times yields the same result as the Prajapatya rite, which destroys great sins—the fruit that would otherwise be gained in twelve years by the Prajapatya rite. One who bathes in the morning attains that result in a single year, if endowed with faith, and those who desire abundant enjoyments, equal to the moon, sun, and planets, should do likewise. During the two months of Magha and Phalguna, one should always bathe in the morning; whoever, having reached Magha, bathes in the morning and eats sacrificial food, will remove even the most terrible sin within a month, whether it concerns one’s mother, father, brother, friend, or teacher. Whoever bathes with the intention of honoring Vishnu on the eleventh day, even by immersing just a twelfth of the body, receives merit; Vishnu is especially pleased by offerings of amalaki fruits on Ekadashi. A person who always bathes with amalaki fruits, desiring prosperity, will be freed from suffering, gain fame, and avoid both a short life and the loss of wealth. By anointing the body during the bath on days sacred to the Sun and other deities, one attains health and the fulfillment of all desires, especially when the fasting devotee has had his hair cut by barbers. Goddess Shri remains pleased and present as long as oil has not touched the body; after bathing in this manner, one should offer oblations to the ancestors, gods, and humans. Standing in water up to the navel, one should meditate with a focused mind, thinking, “May my ancestors come and accept this handful of water.” One should offer three handfuls of water, or three times three, into the southern direction or into the sky; after bathing, one should put on dry clothes and sit on grass or leaves placed on the ground. Those who know the proper rites should never perform the offering in a vessel; whatever is cruel, of flesh, or impure among the waters should not be used. Whatever is restless or impure should be removed entirely; taking water with the left hand, one should recite the prescribed mantra.