Verse 5.121

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

प्रोक्षणात् तृणकाष्ठं च पलालं चैव शुध्यति ।
मार्जनौपाञ्जनैर्वेश्म पुनःपाकेन मृण्मयम् ॥ १२१ ॥

prokṣaṇāt tṛṇakāṣṭhaṃ ca palālaṃ caiva śudhyati |
mārjanaupāñjanairveśma punaḥpākena mṛṇmayam || 121 ||

Grass and wood and straw become pure by sprinkling; the house by sweeping and sprinkling; and an earthen pot by re-baking.—(121).

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Palāla’, ‘straw,’ is the name applied to corn-stalks used in the making of mats and such other things

‘Grass’,—i.e., kuśa, ordinary grass, and so forth.

“In connection with the mention of ‘wooden articles’ (114), it has been remarked that the mention of the product implies the cause also; under the circumstances, why should ‘wood’ be mentioned in the present verse?”

It is mentioned for the purpose of emphasising the fact that sprinkling alone is what should be done. And it is in virtue of this that until the cause contamination is very serious, people do not have recourse to scraping the wood. In the event of its being touched fay the Cāṇḍala and such unclean persons, the purification is brought about ‘by means of the rays of the sun, of the moon and. wind’; but in the case of things made of wood,—such as the ladle and the like,—if the contamination is slight, people desirous of using them in connection with food &c., should have recourse to sprinkling and scraping.

‘Sweeping’—is the dealing of the house, which consists in removing of the stains of smoke and such things.

‘Smearing’—i.e., rubbing the floor with cow-dung, lime or some such thing.

All this should be understood to be necessary in the ‘case of the whole wall of the house becoming defiled by the touch of a dead body, a cāṇḍala, a menstruating woman and such persons; while in the case of only a portion of the wall being defiled, only that part should be smeared. Bat in the case of defilement by a dead body falling on the roof, walls should be scraped, rays of the sun should be made to enter the house, and the inside should be exposed to flames of fire; and in some cases re-building also has been laid down. All this comes under the term ‘clearing’.

Of earthen articles, there should be ‘re-baking’. That is, when it has been touched by a man with unwashed mouth, it shall be heated on fire; actual rebaking is to be done only in the case of its bring defiled by such undean things as a wine-keg and the like. When however it is touched by the wine itself, it should be thrown away. This is what has been thus declared by Vaśiṣṭha (3.59)—‘An earthen article is not purified by rebaking, if it has been touched by wine, mine, ordure, spittings, pus and blood’.—(121).

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

(Verse 122 of others.)

This verse is quoted in Hemādri (Śrāddha, p. 805;—in Nityācārapradīpa (p. 100);—in Śuddhikaumudī (pp. 311 and 306);—and in Kṛtyasārasamuccaya (p. 83), which explains ‘upāñjanam’ as ‘smearing’.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Viṣṇu (23.56).—‘A house is purified by scouring it with a broom, and smearing the ground with cow-dung, and a book by sprinkling water over it. Land is cleansed by smearing it with cow-dung.’

Gautama (1.29).—‘Metals should he scoured; things made of clay should be thoroughly heated by fire; those of wood should be planed; and cloth made of yarns should be washed.’

Baudhāyana (1.8.34).—‘Earthen vessels must be heated.’

Baudhāyana (1.13.21-25).—‘Grass placed on unconsecrated ground should he washed; grass defiled out of one’s sight should he sprinkled; small pieces of fuel should be purified in the same manner; large pieces of wood should be washed and dried; but a large quantity of wood should be sprinkled with water.’

Baudhāyana (1.14.1, 2).—‘Earthen vessels touched by impure persons must he exposed to the fire of kuśa grass; those defiled by stains of food-leavings should be exposed to another burning.’

Āpastamba (1.17.9, 10).—‘If he eats out of an earthen vessel, he shall eat out of one that has not been used; if he gets a used vessel, he shall use it after having heated it thoroughly.’

Vaśiṣṭha (3.49, 58).—‘Objects of metal should be scoured with ashes; those of clay should be thoroughly heated by fire; those of wood should he planed and cloth made of yarns should be washed. They quote the following:—“A woman is purified by her courses, a river by its current, brass by ashes, and an earthen pot by another burning.”’

Viṣṇu (23, 16, 18, 33).—‘Grass, fire-wood, dry cow-dung and leaves arc cleansed by sprinkling of water; these same when defiled without stains, by washing, when there is a small quantity of them; earthen vessels are cleansed by a second burning.’

Yājñavalkya (1.187-188).—‘Earthenware is cleansed by a second burning; the ground is purified by sweeping, burning and lapse of time, by cows walking over it, by sprinkling and scraping. The house is cleansed by sweeping and smearing.’

Uśanas (Aparārka, p. 263).—‘Earthenware smeared with food-leavings should be washed; those touched by such leavings should be sprinkled.’

Devala (Do. 7, p. 265).—‘The ground is cleansed in five ways—by digging, by burning, by smearing, by washing and by rain.’

Yama (Do.).—‘The ground is purified in seven ways—by digging, by filling, by burning, by rain, by smearing, by cows passing over it and by lapse of time; ground is pure everywhere except whore it bears perceptible traces of impurity.’

Baudhāyana (Do.).—‘When a house has been defiled by the touch of a corpse, its walls should be scraped, sun’s rays should be made to enter it and it should be touched by burning fire. Solid ground should be smeared; that with holes should he ploughed over; wet ground should have all impurities removed and then covered over.’

Saṃvarta (Do.).—‘When a house has been defiled by the presence of a dead body in it, all earthen vessels and cooked food should be thrown away; then it should be smeared with cow-dung, and goats should be made to smell it, then the whole of it should be sprinkled by Brahmaṇas with kuśa and water.’

Marīci (Aparārka, p. 266).—‘If an outcast enter a house, it is purified by smearing; if he dwells in it, then it should be burnt or demolished.’