129 Let him not bathe immediately after a meal, nor when he is sick, nor in the middle of the night, nor frequently dressed in all his garments, nor in a pool which he does not perfectly know.

130 Let him not intentionally step on the shadow of a Guru, of a king, of a Snataka, of his teacher, of a reddish-brown animal, or of one who has been initiated to the performance of a Srauta sacrifice (Dikshita).

131 At midday and at midnight, after partaking of meat at a funeral dinner, and in the two twilights let him not stay long on a cross-road.

132 Let him not step intentionally on things used for cleansing the body, on water used for a bath, on urine or ordure, on blood, on mucus, and on anything spat out or vomited.

133 Let him not show particular attention to an enemy, to the friend of an enemy, to a wicked man, to a thief, or to the wife of another man.

134 For in this world there is nothing so detrimental to long life as criminal conversation with another man's wife.

135 Let him who desires prosperity, indeed, never despise a warrior, a snake, and a learned scholar, be they ever so feeble.

136 Because these three, when treated with disrespect, may utterly destroy him; hence a wise man must never despise them.

137 Let him not despise himself on account of former failures; until death let him seek fortune, nor despair of gaining it.

138 Let him say what is true, let him say what is pleasing, let him utter no disagreeable truth, and let him utter no agreeable falsehood; that is the eternal law.

139 What is well, let him call well, or let him say "well" only; let him not engage in a useless enmity or dispute with anybody.

140 Let him not journey too early in the morning, nor too late in the evening, nor just during the midday heat, nor with an unknown companion, nor alone.

141 Let him not insult those who have redundant limbs or are deficient in limbs, nor those destitute of knowledge, nor very aged men, nor those who have no beauty or wealth, nor those who are of low birth.

142 A scholar who is impure must not touch with his hand a cow, a scholar, or fire; nor, being in good health, let him look at the luminaries in the sky, while he is impure.

143 If he has touched these, while impure, let him always sprinkle with his hand water on the organs of sensation, all his limbs, and the navel.

144 Except when sick he must not touch the cavities of the body without a reason, and he must avoid touching the hair on the secret parts.

145 Let him eagerly follow the customs which are auspicious and the rule of good conduct, be careful of purity, and control all his organs, let him mutter prayers and, untired, daily offer oblations in the fire in God's name.

146 No calamity happens to those who eagerly follow auspicious customs and the rule of good conduct, to those who are always careful of purity, and to those who mutter sacred texts and offer burnt-oblations.

147 Let him, without tiring, daily mutter the Veda at the proper time; for they declare that to be one's highest duty; all other observances are called secondary duties.

148 By daily reciting the Veda, by the observance of the rules of purification, by practising austerities, and by doing no injury to created beings, one gains steadfast remembrance of God and of the Hereafter.

149 He who, mindful of the life to come, recites the Veda, gains endless bliss by the continual study of the Veda.

150 Let him always offer on the Parva-days oblations in the name of God the Light-giver and such as seek God's protection against evil omens, and on the Ashtakas and Anvashtakas let him constantly remember the departed with prayer and charity.

151 Far from his dwelling let him remove urine and ordure, far let him remove the water used for washing his feet, and far the remnants of food and the water from his bath.

152 Early in the morning only let him void faeces, decorate his body, bathe, clean his teeth, apply collyrium to his eyes, and worship God.

153 But on the Parva-days let him go to worship God, and to visit virtuous scholars, and the ruler of the country, for the sake of protection, as well as his Gurus.

154 Let him reverentially salute venerable men who visit him, give them his own seat, let him sit near them with joined hands and, when they leave, accompany them, walking behind them.

155 Let him, untired, follow the conduct of virtuous men, connected with his occupations, which has been fully declared in the revealed texts and in the sacred tradition (Smriti) and is the root of the sacred law.

156 Through virtuous conduct he obtains long life, through virtuous conduct desirable offspring, through virtuous conduct imperishable wealth; virtuous conduct destroys the effect of inauspicious marks.

157 For a man of bad conduct is blamed among people, constantly suffers misfortunes, is afflicted with diseases, and short-lived.

158 A man who follows the conduct of the virtuous, has faith and is free from envy, lives a hundred years, though he be entirely destitute of auspicious marks.

159 Let him carefully avoid all undertakings the success of which depends on others; but let him eagerly pursue that the accomplishment of which depends on himself.

160 Everything that depends on others gives pain, everything that depends on oneself gives pleasure; know that this is the short definition of pleasure and pain.

161 When the performance of an act gladdens his heart, let him perform it with diligence; but let him avoid the opposite.

162 Let him never offend the teacher who initiated him, nor him who explained the Veda, nor his father and mother, nor any other Guru, nor cows, nor scholars, nor any men performing austerities.

163 Let him avoid atheism, cavilling at the Vedas, contempt of what is sacred, hatred, want of modesty, pride, anger, and harshness.

164 Let him, when angry, not raise a stick against another man, nor strike anybody except a son or a pupil; those two he may beat in order to correct them.

165 A man who has merely threatened an innocent person with the intention of doing him a corporal injury will wander about for a hundred years in the Tamisra hell.

166 Having intentionally struck him in anger, even with a blade of grass, he will suffer a grievous punishment for his sin.

167 A man who in his folly caused blood to flow from the body of an innocent person who does not attack him will suffer after death exceedingly great pain.

168 As many particles of dust as the blood takes up from the ground, during so many years the spiller of the blood will be tormented in the next world.

169 A wise man should therefore never threaten an innocent person, nor strike him even with a blade of grass, nor cause his blood to flow.

170 Neither a man who lives unrighteously, nor he who acquires wealth by telling falsehoods, nor he who always delights in doing injury, ever attain happiness in this world.

171 Let him, though suffering in consequence of his righteousness, never turn his heart to unrighteousness; for he will see the speedy overthrow of unrighteous, wicked men.

172 Unrighteousness, practised in this world, does not at once produce its fruit, like a cow; but, advancing slowly, it cuts off the roots of him who committed it.

173 If the punishment does not fall on the offender in this world, it will overtake him in the Hereafter; for an iniquity once committed never fails to produce fruit to him who wrought it.

174 He prospers for a while through unrighteousness, then he gains great good fortune, next he conquers his enemies, but at last he perishes branch and root.

175 Let him always delight in truthfulness, obedience to the sacred law, conduct worthy of a noble man, and purity; let him chastise his pupils according to the sacred law; let him keep his speech, his arms, and his belly under control.

176 Let him avoid the acquisition of wealth and the gratification of his desires, if they are opposed to the sacred law, and even lawful acts which may cause pain in the future or are offensive to men.

177 Let him not be uselessly active with his hands and feet, or with his eyes, nor crooked in his ways, nor talk idly, nor injure others by deeds or even think of it.

178 Let him walk in that path of holy men which his righteous fathers and grandfathers followed; while he walks in that, he will not suffer harm.

179 With an officiating or a domestic priest, with a teacher, with a maternal uncle, a guest and a dependant, with infants, aged and sick men, with learned men, with his paternal relatives, connexions by marriage and maternal relatives,

180 With his father and his mother, with female relatives, with a brother, with his son and his wife, with his daughter and with his servants, let him not have quarrels.

181 If he avoids quarrels with these persons, he will be freed from all sins, and by suppressing all such quarrels a householder wins all the ranks of the Garden that follow.

184 The eldest brother must be considered as equal to one's father, one's wife and one's son as one's own body,

185 One's servants as one's shadow, one's daughter as the highest object of tenderness; hence if one is offended by any one of these, one must bear it without resentment.

186 Though by his learning and sanctity he may be entitled to accept presents, let him not attach himself too much to that habit; for through his accepting many presents the light in him is soon extinguished.

187 Without a full knowledge of the rules, prescribed by the sacred law for the acceptance of presents, a wise man should not take anything, even though he may pine with hunger.

188 But an ignorant man who accepts gold, land, a horse, a cow, food, a dress, sesamum-grains, or clarified butter, is reduced to ashes like a piece of wood.

189 Gold and food destroy his longevity, land and a cow his body, a horse his eyesight, a garment his skin, clarified butter his energy, sesamum-grains his offspring.

190 A scholar who neither performs austerities nor studies the Veda, yet delights in accepting gifts, sinks with the donor into hell, just as he who attempts to cross over in a boat made of stone is submerged in the water.

191 Hence an ignorant man should be afraid of accepting any presents; for by reason of a very small gift even a fool sinks into hell as a cow into a morass.

192 A man who knows the law should not offer even water to a scholar who acts like a cat, nor to a scholar who acts like a heron, nor to one who is unacquainted with the Veda.

193 For property, though earned in accordance with prescribed rules, which is given to these three persons, causes in the next world misery both to the giver and to the recipient.

194 As he who attempts to cross water in a boat of stone sinks to the bottom, even so an ignorant donor and an ignorant donee sink low.

195 A man who, ever covetous, displays the flag of virtue, who is a hypocrite, a deceiver of the people, intent on doing injury, and a detractor from the merits of all men, one must know to be one who acts like a cat.

196 That scholar, who with downcast look, of a cruel disposition, is solely intent on attaining his own ends, dishonest and falsely gentle, is one who acts like a heron.

197 Those scholars who act like herons, and those who display the characteristics of cats, fall in consequence of that wicked mode of acting into the hell called Andhatamisra.

198 When he has committed a sin, let him not perform a penance under the pretence that the act is intended to gain spiritual merit, thus hiding his sin under the pretext of a vow and deceiving the people.

199 Such scholars are reprehended after death and in this life by those who expound the Veda, and a vow, performed under a false pretence, serves only the evil ones.

200 He who, without being a student, gains his livelihood by wearing the dress of a student, commits the guilt of deceiving students and is punished for it.

201 Let him never bathe in tanks belonging to other men without permission; if he bathes in such a one, he does wrong.

202 He who uses without permission a carriage, a bed, a seat, a well, a garden or a house belonging to another man commits a wrong.

203 Let him always bathe in rivers, in ponds made by God, in lakes, and in water-holes or springs.

204 A wise man should constantly discharge the paramount duties (called yama), but not always the minor ones (called niyama); for he who does not discharge the former, while he obeys the latter alone, becomes an outcast.

205 A scholar must never eat a dinner given at a sacrifice that is offered by one who is not learned in the Veda, or by one who sacrifices for a multitude of men.

206 When those persons offer sacrificial viands in the fire, it is unlucky for holy men and it displeases God; let him therefore avoid it.

207 Let him never eat food given by intoxicated, angry, or sick men, nor that in which hair or insects are found, nor what has been touched intentionally with the foot,

208 Nor that at which the murderer of a learned scholar has looked, nor that which has been pecked at by birds or touched by a dog,

209 Nor food at which a cow has smelt, nor particularly that which has been offered by an invitation to all comers, nor that given by a multitude or by harlots, nor that which is declared to be bad by a learned man,

210 Nor the food given by a thief, a musician, a carpenter, a usurer, one who has been initiated for the performance of a Srauta sacrifice, a miser, one bound with fetters,

211 By one accused of a mortal sin (Abhisasta), an unchaste woman, or a hypocrite, nor any sweet thing that has turned sour, nor what has been kept a whole night, nor the leavings of another man,

212 Nor the food given by a physician, a hunter, a cruel man, one who eats the fragments of another's meal, nor the food of a doer of dreadful deeds, nor that prepared for a woman in childbed, nor that given at a dinner where a guest rises prematurely and sips water, nor that given by a woman whose ten days of impurity have not elapsed,

213 Nor food given without due respect, nor that which contains meat eaten for no sacred purpose, nor that given by a female who has no male relatives, nor the food of an enemy, nor that given by the lord of a town, nor that given by outcasts, nor that on which anybody has sneezed;

214 Nor the food given by an informer, by one who habitually tells falsehoods, or by one who sells the rewards for sacrifices, nor the food given by an actor, a tailor, or an ungrateful man,

215 By a blacksmith, a stage-player, a goldsmith, a basket-maker, or a dealer in weapons,

216 By trainers of hunting dogs, publicans, a washerman, a dyer, a pitiless man, and a man in whose house lives a paramour of his wife,

217 Nor the food given by those who knowingly bear with paramours of their wives, and by those who in all matters are ruled by women, nor food given by men whose ten days of impurity on account of a death have not passed, nor that which is unpalatable.

218 The food of an unrighteous king impairs his vigour, the food of a goldsmith his longevity, that of a leather-cutter his fame;

219 The food of an artisan destroys his offspring, that of a washerman his bodily strength; the food of a multitude and of harlots excludes him from the higher ranks.

220 The food of a physician is as vile as pus, that of an unchaste woman equal to semen, that of a usurer as vile as ordure, and that of a dealer in weapons as bad as dirt.

221 The food of those other persons who have been successively enumerated as such whose food must not be eaten, the wise declare to be as impure as skin, bones, and hair.

222 If he has unwittingly eaten the food of one of those, he must fast for three days; if he has eaten it intentionally, or has swallowed semen, ordure, or urine, he must perform a Krikkhra penance.

224 The wise, having considered the respective merits of a niggardly learned man and of a liberal usurer, declared the food of both to be equal in quality.

225 It was said to them, "Do not make that equal, which is unequal. The food of that liberal man is purified by faith; that of the other man is defiled by a want of faith."

226 Let him, without tiring, always offer sacrifices and perform works of charity with faith; for offerings and charitable works made with faith and with lawfully-earned money procure endless rewards.

227 Let him always practise, according to his ability, with a cheerful heart, the duty of liberality, both by sacrifices and by charitable works, if he finds a worthy recipient for his gifts.

228 If he is asked, let him always give something, be it ever so little, without grudging; for a worthy recipient will perhaps be found who saves him from all guilt.

229 A giver of water obtains the satisfaction of his hunger and thirst, a giver of food imperishable happiness, a giver of sesamum desirable offspring, a giver of a lamp a most excellent eyesight.

230 A giver of land obtains land, a giver of gold long life, a giver of a house most excellent mansions, a giver of silver (rupya) exquisite beauty (rupa),

231 A giver of a garment a place of honour in the Hereafter, a giver of a horse (asva) likewise a place of honour, a giver of a draught-ox great good fortune, a giver of a cow a place of light;

232 A giver of a carriage or of a bed a wife, a giver of protection supreme dominion, a giver of grain eternal bliss, a giver of the knowledge of the Veda nearness to God;

233 The gift of the Veda surpasses all other gifts, water, food, cows, land, clothes, sesamum, gold, and clarified butter.

234 For whatever purpose a man bestows any gift, for that same purpose he receives in the Hereafter, with due honour, its reward.

235 Both he who respectfully receives a gift, and he who respectfully bestows it, go to the Garden; in the contrary case they both fall into hell.

236 Let him not be proud of his austerities; let him not utter a falsehood after he has offered a sacrifice; let him not speak ill of scholars, though he be tormented by them; when he has bestowed a gift, let him not boast of it.

237 By falsehood a sacrifice becomes vain, by self-complacency the reward for austerities is lost, longevity by speaking evil of scholars, and the reward of a gift by boasting.

238 Giving no pain to any creature, let him slowly accumulate spiritual merit, for the sake of acquiring a companion to the next world, just as the white ant gradually raises its hill.

239 For in the next world neither father, nor mother, nor wife, nor sons, nor relations stay to be his companions; spiritual merit alone remains with him.

240 Single is each being born; single it dies; single it enjoys the reward of its virtue; single it suffers the punishment of its sin.

241 Leaving the dead body on the ground like a log of wood, or a clod of earth, the relatives depart with averted faces; but spiritual merit follows the soul.

242 Let him therefore always slowly accumulate spiritual merit, in order that it may be his companion after death; for with merit as his companion he will traverse a gloom difficult to traverse.

243 That companion speedily conducts the man who is devoted to duty and effaces his sins by austerities, to the next world, radiant and clothed with an ethereal body.

244 Let him, who desires to raise his family, ever form connexions with the most excellent men, and shun all wicked ones.

245 A scholar who always connects himself with the most excellent ones, and shuns all inferior ones, himself becomes most distinguished; by an opposite conduct he sinks low.

246 He who is persevering, gentle, and patient, shuns the company of men of cruel conduct, and does no injury to living creatures, gains, if he constantly lives in that manner, by controlling his organs and by liberality, bliss in the Garden.

247 He may accept from any man, fuel, water, roots, fruit, food offered without asking, and honey, likewise a gift which consists in a promise of protection.

248 It has been declared that alms freely offered and brought by the giver himself may be accepted even from a sinful man, provided the gift had not been asked for or promised beforehand.

249 His offerings and charity lose their blessing for fifteen years who disdains a freely-offered gift.

250 A couch, a house, Kusa grass, perfumes, water, flowers, jewels, sour milk, grain, fish, sweet milk, meat, and vegetables let him not reject, if they are voluntarily offered.

251 He who desires to relieve his Gurus and those whom he is bound to maintain, or wishes to serve God by charity and to honour guests, may accept gifts from anybody; but he must not satisfy his own hunger with such presents.

252 But if his Gurus are dead, or if he lives separate from them in another house, let him, when he seeks a subsistence, accept presents from good men alone.

253 His labourer in tillage, a friend of his family, his cow-herd, his servant, and his barber are those whose food he may eat, likewise a poor man who offers himself to be his servant.

254 As his character is, as the work is which he desires to perform, and as the manner is in which he means to serve, even so a voluntary servant must offer himself.

255 He who describes himself to virtuous men, in a manner contrary to truth, is the most sinful wretch in this world; he is a thief who makes away with his own self.

256 All things have their nature determined by speech; speech is their root, and from speech they proceed; but he who is dishonest with respect to speech, is dishonest in everything.

257 When he has paid, according to the law, his debts to the great sages, to his parents and ancestors, and to God, let him make over everything to his son and dwell in his house, not caring for any worldly concerns.

258 Alone let him constantly meditate in solitude on that which is salutary for his soul; for he who meditates in solitude attains supreme bliss.

259 Thus have been declared the means by which a scholar householder must always subsist, and the summary of the ordinances for a Snataka, which cause an increase of holiness and are praiseworthy.

260 A scholar who, being learned in the lore of the Vedas, conducts himself in this manner and daily destroys his sins, will be exalted near God in the Garden.