In the Dvāpara age, the world is marked by endless battles, and as the Kali age unfolds, heretics proliferate everywhere. Even the common village rooster and pig are now looked upon as impure and unworthy of respect. It is said that if a dog is merely seen at the time of a śrāddha, the sacred rite for ancestors, the ceremony’s efficacy is destroyed. The same ruinous effect occurs if a dog touches one, or if there is contact with a woman in childbirth or those suffering from chronic diseases. Therefore, it is essential never to let food intended for offerings be seen by those who are unclean or fallen, for their mere gaze renders the food unfit for the gods and ancestors. If such persons touch the main item of food, it becomes as impure as funeral remnants. Food prepared for sacrifice must be protected in advance, and if impurity is suspected, purification with water mixed with earth is prescribed. To restore sanctity, one should sprinkle the food with siddhārtha seeds or black sesame, or scatter these seeds in water. It is also important to bring the food into the sight of a teacher, the sun, fire, or other sacred objects. Food that has been sat upon, touched by feet, seen by impure beings, or that is dry and stale, must be rejected. Likewise, food that is blackened, spoiled, licked at the edges, or contaminated by gravel, hair, stones, or insects is to be avoided. Pressed oil-cake, food made from sesame or barley, and cooked rice that has been directly salted are all unsuitable for sacred rites. Food brushed with cloth is forbidden in śrāddha ceremonies. There are those who, out of opposition to the Veda, claim knowledge but act otherwise—such hypocrisy is condemned. People known as ‘goat-born’ are considered as insignificant as dust in the context of śrāddha, and curd, green vegetables, and fermented foods are also to be avoided. Likewise, eggplant and all substances that exude sap, as well as rock salt, common salt, and even salt said to be produced from the mind, are to be rejected. The highest purity is both visible and attainable. Food should be placed in the fire, tied up, and the hands should be carefully immersed for cleansing. One should touch the head, for this is called the sacred water of Brahman, and the purification of substances, along with their immersion, must be observed. After placing items down, they should be sprinkled with water and immersed again, using the roots of the arishta tree, the bilva, or the bark of the inguda tree. For all types of pulses, dharma prescribes purification; similarly, teeth, bones, wood, and horns should be scraped clean. Earthen vessels must be purified by re-burning, and gems, diamonds, coral, pearls, conch, and crystal should also be cleansed accordingly. Siddhārtha seeds are purified with their own paste, or with sesame paste; this is the rule for all kinds of wool and for sheep. For sheep, earth and water are used for purification, and washing with water is prescribed at both the beginning and end of the process. For those who work with cotton, ashes are recommended for purification, while those who handle fruits, flowers, and sticks should wash with water. Sweeping, sprinkling with water, and smearing the ground are all prescribed acts of purification, and when outside the village, one should use earth that has been purified by the wind. For those who use bows or birds, clay is used for purification. Thus, the excellent rule of purification is established, and further instructions are given for attentive listeners. In the morning, after leaving the house toward the southwest, one should go a distance of five arrow-lengths to relieve oneself, keeping the head covered and never touching the head with the hand at that time. The ground should be covered with dry grass, sticks, leaves, bamboo pieces, or earthen vessels. With water that has been drawn and a lump of clay, and with speech restrained, one should face north during the day and south at night for these acts. The water pot is to be held in the right hand, and with the left, clay is used for cleansing, employing three pieces of clay. Ten pieces may be used in succession, or two pieces may be used again, making a total of five. Afterward, the feet should be washed with clay and the proper sipping of water performed. Three libations of water are then to be offered: to the waters, the sun, fire, wind, and again the waters. A wise person keeps the water pot ready at the sacred place and washes the feet properly as prescribed, whether the act was proper or improper. With the second libation, the act is dedicated to the gods; if the hand is defiled, a fast of three nights is required. For severe defilement, expiation is prescribed, and after touching a dog or an outcaste, one must perform the penance known as taptakṛcchra. If one touches human bones, fasting is required for purification—three nights with ghee, or at least one night. Robbers, Pulindas, Andhas, and Shabaras, after drinking water at impure places or going to the Yugandhara mountains, or to the northern boundary of the Sindhu and the region called Divyantara—all such sinful places inhabited by wicked people—are to be avoided. By going to regions shunned by the virtuous and by Veda-knowing Brahmins, one acquires all sin. Mental purity, fire, time, and smearing are also recognized as means of purification, though ignorance of these rules is common. But if, out of delusion, someone acts contrary to these rules, they inevitably attain the fate of demons and evil spirits. One who lacks purity and faith is reborn among foreign peoples, or as a sinful being who does not perform sacrifices, or even in the womb of animals. By maintaining purity, a person attains liberation and heavenly realms, for the gods themselves declare that they are fond of purity above all. The gods always avoid what is repulsive and impure, and those who act righteously perform three kinds of purity. To one devoted to Brahman, to guests, to those endowed with purity and wisdom, to those devoted to ancestors, self-controlled, and compassionate—the twice-born offer their sacred oblations.