Listen, O sage, to the sacred teaching regarding the glory of ash and the tripuṇḍra. It is said that none—be he householder, forest-dweller, king, renunciant, or one of mixed caste—should partake of food or even water without first adorning himself with sacred ash or the tripuṇḍra. To neglect this is to invite the torments of hell. Yet, for those of the prescribed castes, recitation of the Gāyatrī, and for renunciants, the chanting of the chief Praṇava, brings release from such fault. To revile the tripuṇḍra is to revile Śiva himself, for those who wear it with devotion truly wear the Lord. Shame be upon the forehead that does not bear the ash! Shame upon a village where Śiva is not honored! Shame upon worship that is insincere, and upon knowledge that is not rooted in Śiva. Those who scorn the great Lord, the support and destroyer of the three worlds, and those who mock the wearing of tripuṇḍra, become the very embodiment of sin. Merely seeing such people brings impurity; they are born again as outcastes, pigs, demons, donkeys, dogs, jackals, and worms, destined for hell. If the sun or moon, by day or night, or even in a dream, one encounters such a person, one should immediately recite the Rudra Sūkta from the Vedas—thus is purification attained. By conversing respectfully with the virtuous, one is delivered from hell. But those who deride the practice of wearing ash are certainly bound for suffering. O sage, if one who is neither a follower of the Tantras nor properly initiated wears the upward-marked tripuṇḍra or the mark of a heated disc, he is to be excluded from Śiva’s sacrifices. As taught in the Bṛhadjābāla, many are to be examined carefully, but only those devoted to the sacred ash should be accepted. If ash is mixed with sandalwood or sandal paste and applied as tripuṇḍra, nothing else should ever be placed above the ash on the forehead by the discerning. Women should wear the tripuṇḍra up to the hairline, and ash should be worn by the twice-born, by others, and by widows as well. All those in the four stages of life should always wear pure vibhūti, which grants liberation and destroys all sins. Whoever applies the tripuṇḍra with ash according to the proper rite is freed from even the greatest sins, as well as from lesser transgressions. Whether one is a celibate student, householder, forest-dweller, or renunciant; whether brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, or even the fallen and lowest—by properly performing the sprinkling and applying the tripuṇḍra with ash, one becomes pure, casting off the heap of sins. Especially, the wearer of ash is freed from the most grievous sins: killing women or cows, killing a hero or a horse—there is no doubt of this. Likewise, the sins of stealing another’s property, touching another’s wife, slandering others, taking another’s field, and harming others; stealing crops or gardens, burning houses, and stealing cows, gold, buffaloes, sesame, blankets, or garments; taking food, grain, water, and the like from the lowly, and consorting with prostitutes, elephant-women, outcast women, and dancers; sexual union with menstruating women, maidens, or widows, and the sale of flesh, skin, marrow, or salt; slander, false accusation, and bearing false witness—these countless sins and offenses are instantly destroyed by the wearing of tripuṇḍra. However, the theft of Śiva’s offerings, blasphemy against Śiva anywhere, and slander of Śiva’s devotees are not purified even by severe penances. Yet, he who wears rudrākṣa on his body and tripuṇḍra on his forehead, even if he be an outcaste, is to be honored as the best among all classes. Wherever there are holy places in this world, wherever flow sacred rivers like the Gaṅgā, one who wears tripuṇḍra on the forehead is considered to have bathed in them all. The seven crore great mantras, headed by the pañcākṣara, and countless other mantras that lead to Śaiva liberation, as well as the mantras of the gods that bestow all happiness—all these are subject to the one who bears tripuṇḍra. He who applies tripuṇḍra rescues a thousand of his ancestors and a thousand of his future descendants, as well as his own kin. In this world, he enjoys all pleasures, lives long, and is free from disease; at the end of his life, he meets death with ease. Endowed with the eight qualities of prosperity, attaining a divine body, he ascends a celestial chariot, served by the gods. Among all the Vidyādharas, the mighty Gandharvas, and the guardians of the worlds led by Indra, he moves as he wishes in their realms. Enjoying abundant pleasures in the realms of the lords of creatures, and attaining the abode of Brahmā, there he delights in a hundred maidens. He enjoys pleasures there for the lifespan of Brahmā, and in Viṣṇu’s world he experiences pleasures for a hundred Brahmā-ages. Then, attaining Śiva’s world, obtaining his desired, inexhaustible wishes, he achieves union with Śiva—there is no doubt about this. Having thoroughly examined the essence of all the Upaniṣads, it is determined that tripuṇḍra is the supreme good. A brāhmaṇa or anyone else who reviles the sacred ash is cast into a terrible hell for as long as Brahmā with four faces exists. In śrāddha, sacrifice, recitation, homa, offering to the gods, and worship, a man who bears tripuṇḍra with a pure heart conquers death. Bathing in water removes dirt, bathing in ash always purifies, bathing in mantra removes sin, and bathing in knowledge leads to the supreme state. Whatever merit is gained at all sacred waters is also obtained by one who bathes with ashes. Bathing with ashes is the supreme pilgrimage; bathing in the Gaṅgā every day is likewise so. Śiva himself is manifest as ash, and ash purifies the three worlds. No meditation, no contemplation, no charity, nor recitation performed by a Brahmin is equal, if done without the tripuṇḍra. For forest-dwellers, maidens, and those without initiation, before midday, water is used; after that, water is to be avoided. Thus, whoever applies the tripuṇḍra daily with a disciplined mind and is a devotee of Śiva is to be known as one who attains both enjoyment and liberation. If someone wears even a single rudrākṣa on their body, which bestows much merit, their life is rendered fruitless if they are without the tripuṇḍra. Such is the supreme glory and benefit of the sacred ash and the tripuṇḍra, O sage—let this be known.