[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Purāṇas](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana) › [Vishnupurana](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu) › 3.11.12 # Vishnupurana 3.11.12 Viṣṇupurāṇa 3.11.12 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### [3.11.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.11.12) na kṛṣṭe sasyamadhye vā govraje janasaṃsadi na vartmani na nadyāditīrtheṣu puruṣarṣabha // > Aurva replied to him thus: "Listen, prince, to an account of those perpetual observances, by adhering to which both worlds are subdued. Those who are called Sádhus (saints) are they who are free from all defects; and the term Sat means the same, or Sádhu: those practices or observances (Ácháras) which they follow are therefore called Sadácháras, the institutions or observances of the pious.' The seven Rishis, the Manus, the patriarchs, are they who have enjoined and who have practised these observances. Let the wise man awake in the Muhúrtta of Brahmá. (or in the third Muhúrtta, about two hours before sunrise), and with a composed mind meditate on two of the objects of life (virtue and wealth), and on topics not incompatible with them. Let him also think upon desire, as not conflicting with the other two; and thus contemplate with equal indifference the three ends of life, for the purpose of counter- acting the unseen consequences of good or evil acts. Let him avoid wealth and desire, if they give uneasiness to virtue; and abstain from virtuous or religious acts, if they involve misery, or are censured by the world. Having risen, he must offer adoration to the sun; and then, in the south-east quarter, at the distance of a bowshot or more, or any where remote from the village, void the impurities of nature. The water that remains after washing his feet he must throw away into the courtyard of the house. A wise man will never void urine on his own shadow, nor on the shadow of a tree, nor on a cow, nor against the sun, nor on fire, nor against the wind, nor on his Guru, nor men of the three first castes; nor will he pass either excrement in a ploughed field, or pasturage, or in the company of men, or on a high road, or in rivers and the like, which are holy, or on the bank of a stream, or in a place where bodies are burnt; or any where quickly. By day let him void them with his face to the north, and by night with his face to the south, when he is not in trouble. Let him perform these actions in silence, and without delay; covering his head with a cloth, and the ground with grass. Let him not take, for the purposes of cleanliness, earth from an ant-hill, nor a rat-hole, nor from water, nor from the residue of what has been so used, nor soil that has been employed to plaster a cottage, nor such as has been thrown up by insects, or turned over by the plough. All such kinds of earth let him avoid, as means of purification. One handful is sufficient after voiding urine; three after passing ordure: then ten handfulls are to be rubbed over the left hand, and seven over both hands. Let him then rince his mouth with water that is pure, neither fetid, nor frothy, nor full of bubbles; and again use earth to cleanse his feet, washing them well with water. He is to drink water then three times, and twice wash his face with it; and next touch with it his head, the cavities of the eyes, ears, and nostrils, the forehead, the navel, and the heart. Having finally washed his mouth, a man is to clean and dress his hair, and to decorate his person, before a glass, with unguents, garlands, and perfumes. He is then, according to the custom of his caste, to acquire wealth, for the sake of subsistence; and with a lively faith worship the gods. Sacrifices with the acid juice, those with clarified butter, and those with offerings of food, are comprehended in wealth: wherefore let men exert themselves to acquire wealth for these purposes. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition - [Previous: 3.11.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.11.11) - [Next: 3.11.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.11.13) - [Up: 3.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.11) ## Translations (2) - [The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu~en-wilson.3.11.2) — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, English - [A Prose English Translation of Vishnupuranam](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu~en-dutt.3.11.p2) — Manmatha Nath Dutt 1896, English ## Other recensions (1) - [Viṣṇupurāṇa (vulgate)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu*vulgate.3.11.12) — Sanskrit ## Linked texts (2) - [Haribhaktivilāsa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.sampradaya.vaisnava.gaudiya.acara.haribhaktivilasa.3.160) — Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmin & Sanātana Gosvāmin 1535, Sanskrit - [Kṛtyakalpataru](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.mahanibandha.krtyakalpataru.1.p528) — Lakṣmīdhara Bhaṭṭa, Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.11.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.11.12) · Pramāṇa