In the teachings of the Nārada Purāṇa, guidance is offered on purity, conduct, and expiation for various actions. It is said that when a woman rises from sleep, she is considered pure, whereas a man is not. If a woman commits an offense, she is to be punished with twelve strokes, and should she abandon her household for a year, she may be expelled, even without her wealth. Within the family, the father may be declared fallen at will, but the mother, under no circumstance, is ever to be considered fallen. If the father is deceased, his body should be smeared with purified substances; if he is alive and has erred, a fine of two hundred is imposed. Thereafter, the prescribed expiation according to the scriptures must be performed. Those who perish by poison or are slain by weapons are to be purified by undertaking the Cāndrāyaṇa penance, or by performing two Prakṛcchra penances. In certain cases, two Cāndrāyaṇa penances, or the gift of a cow and a bull, bring purification. Touching a woman results in immediate purification, whether it happens by day, at twilight, or at night. If one seeks purification after consuming barley with cow’s urine, it is achieved in half a month. If a twice-born person cuts a rope, he should perform one Kṛcchra penance; if the act was done knowingly, half a Kṛcchra penance is required, but if done unknowingly, two Indra penances are prescribed. A Brāhmaṇa who approaches a forbidden woman, drinks intoxicating liquor, or eats meat, commits one of four especially great sins. Even if these acts are done in secret, penance for a month is required. The washerman, the leather-worker, the dancer, and the drum-maker are named, and those who eat with them, go to their women, or drink and accept gifts from them, are also addressed. Among women, the mother, the teacher’s wife, daughter, sister, and daughter-in-law, as well as a queen, a woman who has renounced the world, a nurse, or a woman of the highest class, whether from the paternal or maternal lineages, are to be respected. In cases of transgression, twice-born men may remove sin by approaching prostitutes. If a Brahmin has gone to his teacher’s wife, the prescribed expiation must be performed. If someone strikes a cow above the staff and causes it to fall, and if the wound is the size of a thumb or a forearm, or if, by causing the cow to fall, even a fetus is produced, then there are further consequences. In cases of binding, confining, injuring, or causing pain to cows, if a cow faints, falls, or is struck with a staff, or if it takes food or drinks water in such a state, or if cows are killed with wood, clods, stones, or weapons, specific penances are laid out: for striking with wood, the Sāntapana penance is prescribed; for clods, the Prājāpatya penance. One should give medicine, oil, or food to cows and Brahmins. When taking oil as medicine, or consuming medicinal substances, or when tying calves at the neck or performing medicinal procedures, certain practices are to be followed: on the foot, all hair should be removed, while on the two legs, only the beard is to be removed. After removing all body hair, one should cut off two fingers’ breadth. It is also stated that a woman should not be shaved, nor is the heroic posture prescribed for her. Whether it is a king, a prince, or a learned Brahmin, for the purpose of purifying the hair, a double penance should be performed. After this double penance, the offering made for penance must also be doubled. Finally, those who prescribe penance not sanctioned by Śruti or Smṛti are cautioned, for only the penances established in the sacred texts are to be followed. Thus, the Nārada Purāṇa lays out these guidelines, weaving together the principles of purity, penance, and right conduct, so that Dharma may be upheld and the soul guided toward righteousness.