Garudapurana 1.94

The glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa — 94 / Yājñavalkya said: / The initiation of a brāhmaṇa takes place in the eighth year from conception or the eighth [year of age]; / of kṣatriyas in the eleventh; of vaiśyas in the eleventh plus one [twelfth] according to family custom.

Having initiated the disciple preceded by the great utterances, / [the preceptor] should teach him the Veda and instruct him in purification and proper conduct.

By day and at the twilights, with the sacred thread placed on the ear, facing north, / he should pass urine and feces, but facing south at night.

Having held the penis and stood up, with clays and drawn water, / he should perform purification that removes odor and smearing, observant of his great vow.

Sitting in a clean place with knees between [his hands], facing north / or east, a twice-born should daily sip water with the Brāhma-tīrtha.

The roots of the little finger, the forefinger, and the thumb, and the tip of the hand, / are the sacred parts of Prajāpati, the ancestors, Brahman, and the gods, respectively.

Having sipped water three times and wiped [the lips] twice, he should touch the apertures with water— / with waters that are in their natural state, devoid of foam and bubbles.

Twice-born men are purified by [water] reaching the heart, throat, and palate respectively; / a woman and a śūdra [are purified] by touching [it] once at the edge [of the mouth].

Bathing with mantras dedicated to the waters, sprinkling, breath control, / attendance upon the sun, and the daily recitation of the Gāyatrī [are prescribed].

He should recite the Gāyatrī together with its head, preceded by the utterances, / joined with the Praṇava at each, three times: this is breath control.

Having restrained the breaths and sprinkled [himself] with the triplet dedicated to the waters, / he should sit facing west, reciting the Sāvitrī until the stars appear.

At the morning twilight, indeed, he should stand facing east until the sight of the sun. / Then he should perform the fire-rite at both twilights.

Then he should salute the elders, saying, “I am such-and-such,” / and he should serve the guru with focused mind for the sake of Vedic study.

When summoned, he should study; and he should report everything to him. / He should always act for his welfare with mind, speech, and physical deeds.

He should wear a staff, skin, sacred thread, and girdle. / He should wander for alms among blameless brāhmaṇas for his sustenance.

Characterized by the word [bhavat] at the beginning, middle, and end / should be the begging for alms of brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas, respectively.

Having performed the fire-rite, humble, by permission of the guru he should eat, / preceded by the sipping rite, honoring the food without disparaging it.

A student intent on celibacy must not eat a single [host's] food except in distress; / a brāhmaṇa may eat at will at a ancestral rite without violating his vow.

He should avoid honey, meat, steamed [food], and the like. / He is the guru who, having performed the rites, imparts the Veda to him.

He who initiates and imparts it is called the ācārya; / he who teaches a portion is an upādhyāya; the one who performs a sacrifice is called the ṛtvij.

These are to be honored in order of precedence; higher than these is the mother. / The celibate studenthood for each Veda lasts twelve years or five,

or until its mastery, according to some; and the tonsure of hair takes place in the sixteenth year. / Up to the sixteenth, twenty-second, and twenty-fourth year,

is the utmost time for the initiation of brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas. / Beyond this, they fall, excluded from all dharmas.

Fallen from the Sāvitrī, they are outcasts (vrātyas), except through the Vrātyastoma sacrifice. / Because they are born first from the mother, and the second [birth] is the tying of the muñja grass,

therefore brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas are twice-born. / Of sacrifices, austerities, and auspicious actions,

the Veda alone is the supreme bringer of the highest good for the twice-born. / A twice-born satisfies the gods with honey and milk,

and the ancestors with honey and ghee, who recites the Ṛgveda daily. / Likewise, the twice-born who reads the Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, and the Atharvāṅgiras

daily satisfies the ancestors and the gods with ghee and nectar. / The theological dialogues, the Purāṇa, and the verses in praise of men,

and the epics and sciences, whosoever recites according to his capacity daily, / satisfies the ancestors and the gods with meat, milk, boiled rice, and the like.

Satisfied, they satisfy him with all auspicious fruits of desire. / Whatever sacrifice he recites, he obtains the fruit of that very [sacrifice].

A twice-born partakes of the fruit of Vedic study, austerity, and the gift of land. / A perpetual celibate student, however, should dwell in the presence of the ācārya;

in his absence, with his son, with his wife, or at the sacred fire. / Through this rule, having conquered his senses, he accomplishes [his goal] in this body; / he attains the world of Brahman and is not born here again.

Thus ends the ninety-fourth chapter, entitled “The Determination of the Duties of Castes Taught by Yājñavalkya,” in the section on conduct, in the first part called the first section of the glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa.