Listen, O seeker, to the sacred guidance as it unfolds. One who disregards these rules is to be known as a heretic, excluded from all religious duties. For women, the prescribed rites must be performed without mantras, at the proper time and according to the established rule. The ceremony should take place in the sixth, seventh, or even the eighth year of life. Before performing these rites, the Nandi Shraddha must be conducted, beginning with the recitation of auspicious words. If anyone performs the ceremony with mere food alone, without proper rites, they become equal to a Chandala, an outcaste. The naming ceremony should be held at the end of the impurity period, following all prescribed guidelines. O best of Brahmins, a child’s name must be chosen carefully—never harsh or inauspicious. In the seventh or eighth month, the ceremony should be performed as described in the Gṛhya texts. There is a rite for shaving the feet, and for the tonsure, half the head should be arranged accordingly. A secondary period for these ceremonies is permitted up to the completion of sixteen years; the wise extend this period up to twenty-two years, and the learned even up to twenty-four years. If this period passes, the Savitri (Gayatri) mantra is considered lost and should never be recited. After performing the two Santapana penances, one may then proceed with the rite. For a Brahmin, the sacred grass girdle is prescribed; for a Kshatriya, a bowstring. A Brahmin should wear the skin of the black antelope, while a Kshatriya should use the skin of the Ruru deer. Palāśa wood is prescribed for a Brahmin, and udumbara wood for a king. A Brahmin keeps his hair, while a king marks his forehead. Garments are to be worn across the chest, each according to their order. Once initiated, a twice-born should devote himself to serving his teacher. He should bathe in the morning, gather sacred sticks, kuśa grass, fruits, and similar items. He must possess a sacred thread, deerskin, and staff. The livelihood of those in the varṇas is said to be solely by food obtained through alms. In the presence of a Brahmin, and before a king, proper respect must be shown. Morning and evening rituals should be performed with self-control and proper conduct. One who abandons fire rituals is declared fallen by the wise. The twice-born must worship the deities and continuously serve his teacher. With self-control, he should collect alms from the homes of blameless Brahmins. He must avoid honey, wine, meat, salt, betel, and tooth-cleaning sticks; also umbrella, water pot, sandals, perfumes, garlands, and unguents; slander, distress, idle talk, and collyrium. He should be habituated to respectful salutation, especially towards elders, in proper order. The teacher who removes spiritual sufferings deserves utmost reverence. In salutation, the twice-born should announce himself, saying, "It is I." Certain individuals are to be avoided: atheists, boundary-breakers, sinners, village priests; heretics, fallen persons, outcastes, and those who live by harming stars; the mad, deceitful, rogues, those running about, and the impure; those fond of disputes, gamblers, those vomiting, and those in water; a wife who has wronged her husband, a woman adorned with flowers, an adulteress, a woman in childbirth, and one who has aborted. These rules must be observed in assemblies, sacrificial halls, and even in temples of the gods, upholding the sanctity and order of religious life.