In the beginning, from the mouth of the divine, the sacred Gāyatra and Ṛc verses arose, along with the Trivṛt Sāma, the Rathantara Sāma, and among sacrifices, the Agniṣṭoma. From his right side, he brought forth the Yajus verses, the Triṣṭubh meter, the Pañcadaśa Stoma, the Bṛhat Sāma, and the Uktha. From his left side emerged the Sāma verses, the Jagatī meter, the Saptadaśa Stoma, the Vairūpa, and the Atirātra. From his back, he created the Ekaviṃśa of the Atharvāṇa, the Āptoryāma, the Anuṣṭubh meter, and the Vairāja. From his very limbs were born beings of countless forms. Having thus created gods, asuras, ancestors, and humans, Prajāpati continued his work. Once more, at the dawn of creation, the grandsire of resolve manifested the Yakṣas, Piśācas, Gandharvas, and the many groups of Apsarases. He brought forth Nāgas, Kinnaras, Rākṣasas, birds, animals, cattle, serpents, and all that perishes and does not perish, all that is stationary and all that moves. At that time, the blessed Brahmā, the primordial lord, fashioned these beings; and whatever actions they had acquired before creation, those very actions they took up again as they were created anew, again and again. Shaped by violence and nonviolence, gentleness and harshness, righteousness and unrighteousness, truth and falsehood, each being attains what corresponds to its nature and finds satisfaction therein. Within the objects of the senses, among all beings and their bodies, the Lord himself assigned diversity and their respective places. He established the names and forms of all creatures and the manifestations of their actions, drawing from the words of the Vedas, in the beginning, for gods and others. The names of sages, as heard in the Vedas, he appointed, and likewise assigned the appropriate duties to others, according to their capacities. Just as the signs and forms of the seasons appear in their time, so too do the states of beings emerge at the beginning of each age. Thus, at the start of every cosmic cycle, endowed with the power of desire and impelled by the force of creation, he brings forth creation anew again and again. Much later, King Sagara, desiring to know the path of righteousness, approached the sage Aurva and said, “O sage, I wish to hear of the proper conduct for a householder—conduct that, when observed, does not diminish a person in this world or the next.” Aurva replied, “Listen, O protector of the earth, to the characteristics of proper conduct. He who possesses it conquers both worlds. The virtuous, whose faults are few, are called ‘good’; their conduct is what is termed proper conduct. The seven sages, the Manus, and the lords of creatures are the speakers and performers of proper conduct, O king. “In the Brahma-muhurta—the sacred hour before dawn—a wise person should rise and contemplate righteousness, as well as wealth that is not opposed to righteousness. Without harming either, one should also consider desire, seeing the three aims of life—dharma, artha, and kāma—as equal, so that both seen and unseen faults may be destroyed. “If wealth or desire is opposed to righteousness, O king, they should be abandoned; and even righteousness, if it leads to suffering or is hated by people, should be set aside. Then, rising in the morning, O lord of men, one should act with friendliness toward others. “When it is time to relieve oneself, one should go beyond the southwest direction, far from the house. Water used for washing the feet or rinsing the mouth should not be thrown into the courtyard of the house. A wise person should never urinate upon his own shadow, nor upon the shadow of a tree, a cow, the sun, fire, wind, or upon a teacher or a Brahmin. Nor should one do so in a ploughed field, amidst crops, in a cow-pen, among people, on a path, or at a river ford. “It is not right to void urine or feces in water, nor on the bank of water, nor in a cremation ground. By day, one should face north; by night, south—except in times of distress. Spreading grass upon the ground, with the head covered by a cloth, one should not linger there nor speak. “For cleansing, earth should not be taken from anthills, mouse-holes, under water, or from a house, as such earth may be impure. Earth containing small living beings, or that which has been dug up by a plough, should also be avoided. For purification, one lump of earth is prescribed for the organ, three for the anus, ten for the left hand, and seven for both hands, O king. The earth used must be clean, unscented, and uncoated, and the water should be free of bubbles. The earth should be applied repeatedly and with attention. “After cleansing the feet, one should wash them again, then sip water three times and wipe the mouth twice. Next, one should touch the orifices of the head, the crown, the arms, the navel, and the heart with water. After rinsing the mouth, a man should arrange his hair, look in a mirror, apply collyrium, perform auspicious acts, and take up sacred grass and the like. “Then, with faith, one should act in accordance with one’s own varṇa and dharma for the sake of livelihood and the acquisition of wealth, and should perform sacrifices, O lord of the earth. The Soma-sacrifices, offerings with clarified butter, and cooked offerings are established rites; since wealth is the means for people, one should strive for its acquisition. “For daily rites, one should bathe in rivers, lakes, ponds, water excavated by the gods, or in mountain springs. If such water is not available, one may bathe with water drawn from a well, or if that too is not possible, with water from home, or even on the ground if there is no water at all.” Thus did the sage instruct the king, revealing the sacred order set forth from the beginning by the Lord, and the proper conduct by which a householder may flourish in this world and the next.