Verse 5.126

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

आपः शुद्धा भूमिगता वैतृष्ण्यं यासु गोर्भवेत् ।
अव्याप्ताश्चेदमेध्येन गन्धवर्णरसान्विताः ॥ १२६ ॥

āpaḥ śuddhā bhūmigatā vaitṛṣṇyaṃ yāsu gorbhavet |
avyāptāścedamedhyena gandhavarṇarasānvitāḥ || 126 ||

Water collected on the ground is pure, if it is sufficient to allay the thirst of the cow; but only if it is not contaminated by any unclean thing, becoming affected by with its smell, colour and taste.—(126)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The ‘ground’ is mentioned only by way of illustration; so that water in canals is also pure. Water on the ground, as also in the atmosphere, is, by its very nature, pure; but the ground, being in contact with unclean substances, is slightly impure; hence when water is collected on the ground, it imbibes impurity by contact; and the present text proceeds to point out what quantity of water thus collected is to be regarded as pure:—‘Sufficient to allay the thirst of the cow’;—‘vaitṛṣṇyam’ means freedom from thirst, This is meant to indicate a particular quantity; this explanation having been adopted by the ancients on the strength of the words of the Veda—‘so that the dawlap of the cow dapples in water &c. &c.’ Thus the quantity meant is that in which the cow’s dewlap becomes submerged, or which allays her thirst.

Water collected on pure ground is pure, even in small quantities.

“How is it to be known that water has been ‘contaminated by an unclean thing’?”

In answer to this we have the phrase—‘becoming affected by its smell, colour and taste,’ The Instrumental ending in ‘amedhyena’, ‘by an unclean thing’, has to be changed here into the genitive; the meaning being—‘when the water imbibes the smell, colour and taste of the unclean thing, then it is to be regarded as contaminated by it.’ According to this construction, if in a tank, an unclean thing be found in one part, while in another part the water be found to be free from its smell &c., then this latter is to be regarded as pure—(126).

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

(Verse 128 of others.)

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 272);—in Hemādri (Śrāddha, p. 618);—in Parāśaramādhava (Prāyaścitta, p. 119);—in Śuddhikaumudī (pp. 297 and 341), which says that ‘rūpa etc.’ means that one should shun that water which has an evil smell, bad colour and bad taste; the natural colour and taste of water are white and sweet, and though there is no natural smell, yet of transferred smell only the agreeable one is to be accepted, hence the meaning is that water should be used only when it is either odourless or has an agreeable odour;—in Nṛsiṃhaprasāda (Śrāddha, p. 14b);—and in Kṛtyasārasamuccaya (p. 81).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Baudhāyana (1.9.10).—‘Water collected on the ground with which cows slake their thirst is a means of purification, provided it is not strongly mixed with unclean substances, nor has smell, nor is discoloured, nor has taste.’

Vaśiṣṭha (3.35, 36, 47).—‘Water (for sipping) may be taken even out of a hole in the ground, if it is sufficient to slake the thirst of cows. He shall not purify himself with water that has been defiled with colours, perfumes or flavouring substances; nor with such as is collected in unclean places. Water collected on the ground that quenches the thirst of the cows, the Lord of created things has declared to be pure.’

Viṣṇu (23.43).—‘Stagnant water, if even a single cow can quench her thirst with it, is pure, unless it is quite filled with unclean objects; it is the same with water upon a rock.’

Yājñavalkya (1.192).—‘Water in its natural condition, standing on the ground, is pure, if it is sufficient to satisfy a cow.’

Devala (Aparārka, p. 272).—‘That water is declared to he purificatory which is devoid of smell and flavour, free from dirt, and such as would not disappear if a cow were to drink out of it.’

Yama (Aparārka, p. 273).—‘Water, at a drinking booth in the forest, or in a jar, or in a well, or in a water-pot, or in a stone-cup, or in a leather-bag, is unfit for drinking, except in times of distress.’

Yama (Parāśaramādhava, p. 119).—‘Rain-water collected on the ground is purified in ten nights.’