Shikshapatri

This manuscript contains additional material, including hymns by Dinanath, Shatanand, and Muktanand Muni, making it one of the oldest and most significant copies of the text.

It was composed as a response to the observed decline in morality and social harmony, distilling Swaminarayan's years of experience in improving societal conditions.

This meeting was arranged by David Anderson Blane, the acting political agent at Rajkot, who had informed Governor Malcolm about Swaminarayan's positive influence on the people.

The Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency summarised the teachings of the Shikshapatri as: The book of precepts strictly prohibits the destruction of animal life; promiscuous intercourse with the other sex; use of animal food and intoxicant liquors and drugs on any occasion, suicide, theft and robbery; false accusation against a fellow man; blasphemy; company of atheists and heretics, and other practices which might counteract the effect of the founder's teaching.

It has since been translated into 29 languages, including Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Urdu, Vraj, Afrikaans, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Modern Hebrew, North Sotho, Portuguese, Russian, South Sotho, Spanish, Swahili, Xhosa and Zulu.