Those who truly understand righteousness have established dharma in the world, grounding it in the authority of the Vedas and the ancient traditions. This dharma is faithfully practiced by the twice-born, and its hallmarks are the sacred connection with one’s wife, the tending of the sacred fire, and the performance of ritual worship. The tradition that guides the conduct of each caste and stage of life is preserved through memory—through the customs and restraints handed down from generation to generation. The ancient sages, having mastered the Vedas, declared this Vedic tradition, ensuring its continuity. The hymns, sacrificial formulas, and sacred chants are the very limbs of Brahman, the revealed truth itself; remembering the wisdom of past ages, Manu spoke thus. Thus, tradition preserved in memory is a righteous path, shaped by caste and stage of life. Dharma, therefore, is twofold: that which is revealed and that which is remembered, and the conduct of the learned is recognized as such. The word “śiṣṭa,” meaning “the learned,” is derived from the root meaning “to instruct.” In every age, those who are learned and righteous remain in the world. Manu and the seven great sages, guardians of the world, are ever present for the sake of righteousness and are themselves called the learned. Whenever dharma declines, these learned ones restore it in every age. The threefold Veda, agriculture, and law enforcement are pursued according to the desires and needs of people in their respective castes and stages of life. Because the learned uphold these traditions, and because, after Manu, each generation reestablishes them, the conduct of the learned is eternal. Eight qualities mark their conduct: generosity, truthfulness, austerity, service, learning, worship, self-restraint, and discipline. Since Manu and the seven sages themselves embody these, the conduct of the learned is remembered in every age. There are two main streams of tradition: that based on revelation, which is known by hearing, and that based on memory, which is known by recollection. Ritual worship is the essence of the revealed tradition, while the duties of caste and stage of life are the essence of the remembered tradition. Now, let me explain the subsidiary marks of dharma. Truth is found in one who, when questioned, does not conceal what has been seen or experienced, but speaks things as they truly are. Asceticism takes the forms of celibacy, austerity, silence, and fasting—practices that are severe and difficult to attain. Sacrifice is the union of animals, materials, offerings, hymns, chants, formulas, priests, and gifts. Compassion is remembered as the highest action: acting always joyfully for the welfare of all beings, as one would for oneself. Forgiveness is seen in one who, though insulted or struck, does not retaliate, whose speech, mind, and body remain harmless, and who endures all. Non-covetousness is the refusal to take what belongs to others, whether it is guarded or abandoned. Purity is marked by abstaining from sexual intercourse, as well as from talking or thinking about it, and by the practice of celibacy. Self-restraint is found in one whose senses do not engage with objects, for their own sake or for another’s. Self-control is achieved by one who, even when obstructed in matters concerning the fivefold self or the eightfold causes, does not become angry. Generosity is giving, from what is most desired and rightfully obtained, to those who are worthy. Dharma, as prescribed by the Veda and Smṛti, consists of the duties of caste and stage of life, and is established by the conduct of the virtuous—this is approved by the good. Detachment is not harboring enmity toward the undesirable, nor delighting in the desirable, and withdrawing from pleasure, pain, and sorrow. Renunciation is the abandonment of actions, performed or unperformed, and the giving up of both good and bad deeds. Wisdom is found in one who, knowing the distinction from the unmanifest to the particular, and between the conscious and unconscious, withdraws from change. These are remembered as the characteristics of the limbs of dharma, as taught by the ancient seers who understood its essence in the age of Svāyambhuva. Now, let me describe the rule for the age of Manu, as well as for the fourfold sacrifice and the fourfold caste. In every age of Manu, a different Veda is established—the Ṛg, Yajur, and Sāma—each according to its presiding deity. The prescribed hymns and sacrificial formulas continue as before, and so do the hymns to substances, qualities, and actions. There are also hymns to lineage, making four kinds of hymns, which differ in each age of Manu according to distinction. Among these, the Brahma-hymn is repeatedly established, and thus the origin of the qualities of mantras is fourfold. In the Atharva, Ṛg, Yajur, and Sāma Vedas, the sages perform austerities, most difficult to accomplish. At the beginning of each age of Manu, mantras arise in five ways: from dissatisfaction, fear, sorrow, delusion, and grief. Now, let me describe the mark by which the stars of the sages, and the very nature of the sages themselves, are determined by chance. The fivefold ṛṣi tradition is remembered for both past and future times, and I will now explain its origin. At the time of dissolution, all beings exist in equality of qualities. Then, in the undifferentiated state among the gods, in that which is indefinable and filled with darkness, the process unfolds without prior intellect, for the sake of consciousness. Thus, the ṛṣi tradition is established with intellect and governed by consciousness. Just as fish and water move together, all beings, governed by consciousness, unfold as qualities in the relation of cause and effect, and thus the process continues. Objects and subjects arise, based on meaning and word; through time, distinctions arise from the nature of cause. Then, the natural evolutes begin to manifest, starting with the great principle. From the great principle comes ego, and from that, the elements and the senses emerge in sequence.