house can neither eat nor
drink, nor go on with their occupations.

A Brahmin who is particular in his delicacy, must be careful what he
treads upon. He is obliged to wash his body or bathe, if he happens to
tread on a bone, or a broken pot, a bit of rag, or a leaf from which one
has been eating. He must also be careful where he sits down. Some
devotees always carry their seats with them, that is, a tiger or
antelope's skin, which are always held pure. Some are contented with a
mat. They may sit down on the ground without defilement, provided it has
been newly rubbed over with cow-dung. This last specific is used daily
to purify their houses from the defilement occasioned by comers, and
goers. When thus applied, diluted with water, it has unquestionably one
good effect. It completely destroys the fleas and other insects, with
which they are very much annoyed.

There is one thing more which I wish to mention. It is, that all the
high castes consider the use of intoxicating drinks to be defiling. I
hope that you, my dear children, will always have the same opinion, and
never touch them any sooner than you would touch arsenic or other
poisons.

A person may be restored to his caste, provided he has not committed an
unpardonable offence. This is done as follows. After he has gained the
consent of his relations to be restored he prostrates himself very
humbly before them, they being assembled for that purpose, and submits
to the blows or other punishment which they may think proper to inflict,
or pays the fine which they may have laid upon him. Then, after
shedding tears of sorrow, and making promises that, by his future
conduct, he will wipe away the stain of his expulsion from caste, he
makes the shaashtaangkum before the assembly. This being done, he is
declared fit to be restored to his tribe.

When a man has been expelled from his caste for some great offence,
those who restore him sometimes slightly burn his tongue with a piece of
gold made hot. They likewise apply to different parts of the body redhot
iron stamps, which leave marks that remain for ever. Sometimes they
compel the offender to walk on burning embers; and to complete the
purification, he must drink the punchakaryam, which literally means the
_five things_; these all come from the cow, and must be mixed together.
The first three of these I will mention, namely, the milk, butter, and
curds. The other two, for the sake of delicacy, I must not mention.