THE BATH-GRADUATE
1. Such a man, after he has completed his studies, should bathe according to the rules, marry a wife, and, as he continues to observe the Laws proper to a householder described above, subject himself to the following vows.
2. He shall always keep himself clean and smelling good and cultivate the habit of bathing.
3. If he has the means, he should not wear old or dirty clothes, 4. nor ones that are dyed red or costly, or that have been worn by others – 5. not even garlands or shoes;
6. if he does not have the means, he should wash the garment before wearing it.
7. Let him not grow his beard without a good reason.
8. He should not carry fire and water at the same time; 9. drink water from his cupped hands; 10. stand while he sips water that has been drawn out; 11. or sip water given by a Śūdra or an impure person, or taken with one hand.
12. He should not discharge urine, excrement, or bodily filth facing or looking at the wind, a fire, a Brahmin, the sun, water, a divine image, or a cow; 13. nor should he stretch his feet towards any of these divinities.
14. He should not use leaves, clods, or stones to clean himself of urine or excrement; 15. stand on ashes, hair, potsherds, or filth; 16. or converse with barbarians or with sordid or unrighteous people. 17. If he happens to converse with them, he should mentally reflect on virtuous men 18. or speak with a Brahmin.
19. When speaking of a cow that does not yield milk, he should say ‘She is going to be a milk-cow’; 20. and when speaking of something unlucky, he should say ‘It’s a lucky thing’.
21. In referring to a skull, he should use the word bhagāla in place of kapāla; 22. and in referring to a rainbow, the word Maṇi-Dhanuṣ (‘jewelled bow’) in place of Indra-Dhanuṣ (‘Indra’s bow’).
23. He should neither inform anyone that a cow is suckling her calf 24. nor prevent her from doing so.
25. After engaging in sexual intercourse, he should not be tardy in purifying himself.
26. And he should not do his private Vedic recitation sitting on the same bed.
27. After reciting the Veda in the last watch of the night, moreover, he should not go back to bed.
28. He should not have intercourse with his wife when she is indisposed 29. or having her period, 30. or embrace her when she is in that state. 31. Neither should he embrace an unmarried girl.
32. He should refrain from the following:
blowing on a fire with his mouth; engaging in polemics;
wearing perfume and neck- laces outdoors;
scratching himself with disgusting things; eating with his wife;
looking at a woman applying oil on herself; entering by a back door;
washing the feet by rubbing one foot with the other;
eating food placed on a chair; crossing a river by swimming;
climbing trees; climbing on to or descending into dangerous places;
and putting his life in danger.
33. He should not get into an unsafe boat.
34. Let him take care of himself in every possible way.
35. He should go about with his head uncovered during the day 36. and covered at night.
37. He should cover his head also when he is voiding urine or excrement, 38. which he should never do without spreading something on the ground, 39. or close to his house, 40. or upon ashes or cow-dung, on a ploughed field, in a shadow, on a road, or in a beautiful spot.
41. He should void both urine and excrement facing the north during the day 42. and at dawn and dusk, 43. but facing the south at night.
44. He should avoid seats, footwear, and tooth cleaners made with Palāśa wood 45. and refrain from eating, sitting, greeting, or paying homage with his shoes on.
46. He should not spend the morning, midday, or afternoon fruitlessly,
but pursue righteousness, wealth, and pleasure to the best of his ability, 47. but among them he should attend chiefly to righteousness.
48. He should not look at someone else’s wife when she is naked,
49. or draw a seat to himself with his foot.
50. He should not
- let his penis, stomach, hands, feet, speech, or sight get out of control;
51. - engage in cutting, breaking, gashing, or crushing anything or in cracking the finger joints without a good reason;
52. - or step over a rope to which a calf is tied.
53. Let him not carry tales from one family to another.
54. He should not go to a sacrifice unless he has been chosen to officiate, 55. but he may go there freely to witness it.
56. He should not eat food placed in his lap 57. or brought at night by a servant; 58. and foods whose nutrients have been extracted, such as de-creamed milk products, whey, oil-press residue, and buttermilk.
59. Morning and evening, however, he should take his meal, revering the food and never disparaging it.
60. He should never sleep naked at night, 61. or bathe naked.
62. And whatever people who are self-possessed, elderly, properly trained, and free from hypocrisy, greed, and perplexity, and who know the Vedas instruct him to do, he should carry it out.
63. He may approach the king for the sake of a livelihood, 64. but not anyone else except gods, elders, and righteous people.
65. He should try to live in a place well supplied with firewood, water, fodder, Kuśa grass, and garland material; served by many roads; inhabited mainly by Āryas; full of energetic people; and ruled by a righteous man.
66. When he passes people or things that are distinguished or auspicious, as also temples, intersections of two roads, and the like, he should keep his right side towards them.
67. The rule for times of adversity is that he should observe all the rules of conduct mentally.
68. - He shall speak the truth; 69. behave like an Ārya; 70. teach only cultured men;
71. - be cultured by adhering to ritual purifications; 72. take delight in the Vedic texts;
73. - never hurt any creature; be gentle and steadfast;
- and be devoted to self-control and gift giving.
74. A bath-graduate who lives in this manner will liberate his parents and his relatives of past and future generations from sins, and he will never fall from the world of Brahman.