In that sacred place, both Sri and Lakshmi dwell without question, embodying prosperity and auspiciousness. Within the body itself, the household fire is established in the belly, while the southern fire resides upon the back. The fire of oblation is found in the mouth, and upon the head rest both truth and the sacred festival. One who truly understands these five inner fires is recognized as one who has established all the sacred fires within himself. The body, in its essence, is made of water, soma, and the many forms of food. The life-breath is likened to fire and the sun, but the true enjoyer of all these is but one. Food nourishes not only the self but also the earth, water, fire, and wind; and when properly digested, it brings unbroken happiness. After a meal, having cleansed the hands, one should chew betel, and then, with full attention, listen to the noble histories. At the sixth or seventh part of the day, it is time to study the histories and the Puranas. Thereafter, having bathed, a man should perform the evening worship. Thus, O twice-born, the daily observances for the day have been described. Whoever, learned, recites or hears this, attains heaven. Indeed, O twice-born, remember that Kesava is the originator of all conduct and dharma. Brahma then spoke: “Now I shall explain the proper procedure for bathing, for all rites are rooted in purity. For this, one must use clay, cow dung, sesame seeds, darbha grass, and fragrant flowers. At the time of bathing, gather these items with care and purity, placing them in a clean and secluded spot, or else directly on the ground. The wise person divides the clay and cow dung into three portions, then washes the feet and hands with water and clay. With the sacred thread worn properly and the hair tuft bound, having performed the proper sipping of water and observing silence, one should approach the water, recite the ‘Uruṃ rājet’ verse, and circumambulate the water. While revolving the water, the ‘Ye te śatam’ verse should be recited. One should then offer salutations to Agni and Aruna, praying that the noose of Varuna be loosened, and offer further salutations to Varuna. With reverence, one prays: ‘O Varuna, your hundreds and thousands of sacrificial nooses are spread wide and great; may Savitṛ, Viṣṇu, all the Maruts, and the shining gods release us today with these. Svāhā.’ With hands joined in reverence, water is poured to the north and then to the west, praying for the waters and herbs to be friendly to us and unfriendly to those with whom we have enmity. First, the feet and waist are washed three times each with clay, then the hands are washed, water is sipped, obeisance is offered, and then the water is taken. Reciting, ‘Viṣṇu has traversed this universe; his three steps are set in the dust,’ one sips water with the great vyāhṛtis, remaining pure. Next, the limbs are cleansed with clay while reciting ‘Idaṃ Viṣṇuriti’, and, facing the sun, one immerses in water, reciting ‘Āpo asmāniti’. Prayers are offered to the divine waters: ‘May the waters, our mothers, purify us; may they cleanse us with ghee and make us pure as ghee. The divine waters carry away all defilement; I enter the pure, purified waters.’ Without touching, the vessels are gently immersed and lifted, smeared with cow-dung, and the ‘Mānastoka’ verse is recited: ‘May we not suffer loss in our children, in our lifespan, in our cows, or in our horses; may Rudra not harm our heroic men. We ever invoke you, O bearer of oblations.’ Sprinkling is then performed with mantras, especially those to Varuna, in order: ‘Imaṃ me Varuṇe dvābhyām’, and also ‘Tvannaḥ satvanna’. The mantras ‘Āpo tvantumasīti’ and ‘Muñcantvavabhṛta’ are recited, followed by: ‘O Varuṇa, hear my invocation; today, be gracious and grant me relief, as I seek your favor.’ With deepest reverence, one approaches Brahman, praying: ‘Without anger, O Varuṇa, be present here; grant us a long, unbroken life. O Agni, knowing Varuṇa’s will, remove the anger of the god from us. Most worshipful, shining one, release us from all hatred. May you, Agni, be thus for us, nearest at the dawn’s breaking. Seeking Varuṇa, may I win his favor; be gracious, well-invoked. May the waters, herbs, and the king not harm us; then, O Varuṇa, release us when the day is done. Release us, O Varuṇa, from your highest, lowest, and middlemost noose. O son of Aditi, may we be sinless in your vow. Release us, and also from Varuṇa’s bonds. May we not suffer the wrath of Yama’s wife; may we be freed from all sin.’ Having bathed, one is to partake only of pure food. May the mind, fashioned by the gods, be pure, and may the wise be adorned with flowers. After sprinkling oneself in this way, one should immerse again, sip water, and sprinkle oneself with darbha grass, reciting purifying mantras. The three verses beginning with ‘Āpo hiṣṭha’ are recited, then ‘Idam āpo haviṣmatīḥ’, twice ‘Devīr āpaḥ’, and three times ‘Āpo devāḥ’. Also are recited ‘Drupadādiva’, ‘Śaṃ no devīr apāṃ rasaḥ’, and ‘Āpo devo pāvamānyaḥ punantu’, making a total of nine verses. With a concentrated mind, one gradually immerses, reciting ‘citpatir’, ‘hiraṇyavarṇā’, and the other Pavamāna hymns. The Taratsāma, Śuddhavatī hymns, and many auspicious Vāruṇī mantras are recited with power. With the syllable ‘Om’, the Vyāhṛtis, and the Gāyatrī at the beginning and end, the ablution is performed in the proper order. For one standing in water, purification is prescribed; within the water, the mantra and the Aghamarṣaṇa are recited three times. The Drupada and other hymns are recited three times, as well as the ‘ayaṃ gaur’ verse, and, with full attention, other mantras as prescribed in the Smṛtis. The wise recite the Gāyatrī with the Vyāhṛtis and praṇava, or repeat the praṇava, or meditate upon the imperishable Viṣṇu. The waters are the very abode of Viṣṇu, who is called the lord of waters; these are his forms, and thus he is to be remembered in the waters. With the mantra ‘tad viṣṇoḥ’, one immerses repeatedly in the waters, for this Gāyatrī is indeed Vaiṣṇavī, meant for remembering Viṣṇu. One prays: ‘May these waters carry away my impurity and blood, just as the morning oblation and what is fierce are cleansed. May the waters free me from sin; may Pavamāna release me. The waters, full of oblation, are manifest. The god, the Asura, and the Sun are all endowed with oblation. The divine waters, the wives of the waters, and the wave rich in oblation, endowed with strength, up to the end of the sun—may the gods and goddesses, the shining ones, take their share of the ocean’s southernmost, foremost, and sharpest stream.’ ‘May the divine, honeyed waters accept us, along with the grains and sesame. By which the friends Mitra and Varuṇa are sprinkled, by which Indra is led, and by which the Drupada is made, may the divine waters grant us double strength and a focused mind. Of the essence of the waters, of that essence, may you take the highest. O divine waters, approach the sun, honeyed, for the sake of offspring; may the plants and the pipal trees not abandon their place. May the gentle ancestors purify me, may the fathers who have gone before purify me with the sacred filter, may the grandfathers and great-grandfathers purify me, may the sacred filter purify all my life with the rays.’ ‘O Agni, may you act for my life, for my strength, and for my skin. May the divine beings purify me, may the mind and intellect purify me, may all beings purify me, O Jātavedas, purify me! Purify me with the sacred filter, O shining god! O Agni, follow the resolve with resolve. With your shining filter, O Agni, spread within, may Brahman purify me with that. Pavamāna, the maker of good, with the sacred filter, the purifier—may he who is the purifier purify me. With both, O god Savitṛ, with the sacred filter and with the offering, we purify this Brahman. The Vaiśvadeva goddesses, the purifiers, may you accept us, O you who are to be honored. With that, may we, sitting together, be lords of wealth. May the lord of consciousness purify me with the unbroken sacred filter, with the rays of the sun. Whatever desire you have, purified by the filter, may the god Savitṛ, the lord of speech, purify me with the unbroken sacred filter, with the rays of the sun. Whatever desire you have, purified by the filter, may I attain that. This cow, speckled, has approached her mother and father a hundred times. May the god Savitṛ purify me with the unbroken sacred filter, with the rays of the sun. Whatever desire you have, purified by the filter, may I attain that. That supreme abode of Viṣṇu the wise always behold, as if the eye were extended in heaven.’ Having bathed in this manner, one puts on washed and unsoiled garments, cleanses the hands with earth and water, and proceeds. After sipping water, one again performs ācāman with a mantra before bathing and eating, reciting the Drupada three times and likewise the Aghamarṣaṇa. Having sipped and sprinkled oneself, and sipped water three times, with hands joined and adorned with flowers, one worships the Sun at the head. Finally, sprinkling water and raising it up, one recites the sacred verses ‘udutyaṃ citram’, ‘taccakṣur deva’, and ‘haṃsaḥ śuciṣad’, thus completing the ritual with reverence and purity.