Verse 11.216

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

एकैकं ह्रासयेत् पिण्डं कृष्णे शुक्ले च वर्धयेत् ।
उपस्पृशंस्त्रिषवणमेतत्चाण्ड्रायणं स्मृतम् ॥ २१६ ॥

ekaikaṃ hrāsayet piṇḍaṃ kṛṣṇe śukle ca vardhayet |
upaspṛśaṃstriṣavaṇametatcāṇḍrāyaṇaṃ smṛtam || 216 ||

If one reduces his food by one morsel daily during the dark half of the month, and increases it during the light half,—bathing at the three ‘extractions,’—it is what has been called the ‘Cāndrāyaṇa.’—(216)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

Having fasted on the fourteenth day, on the next day, or the Full moon-day, he shall take fifteen morsels; the exact measure of the ‘morsel’ in this connection should be understood to be as mentioned in another Smṛti (Gautama, 27.10), the words ‘āpyāyasra...... the measure of the morsel being the quantity that does not distort the face.’ As all the Smṛtis deal with the same subject, they should be taken as mutually complementary, so long as there is no inconsistency; and in cases of inconsistency, the two views should he taken as optional alternatives.

Beginning with the first again, be shall reduce his food by one morsel each day,—taking fourteen morsels on the first, thirteen on the second, and so on, till on the fourteenth he takes only one morsel. Then having fasted on the New-moon day (the fifteenth), he shall cat only one morsel on the first, two on the second, and so on increasing it by one morsel everyday, till it comes to fifteen on the Full-moon day.

‘Upaspṛśan’—bathing.

‘At the three extractions’—i.e., in the morning, at midday and in the evening. This precludes the general rule that ‘the man shall bathe thrice during the night,’—the present being a special rule.—(216)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Prāyaścitta, p. 240), as laying down the ‘three times bathing’ as part of the ‘Cāndrāyāṇa’ penance;—in Madanapārijāta (p. 742), where ‘triṣavaṇam’ is explained as the three ‘sandhyās’, morning, evening and mid-day;—in Aparārka (p. 1243), which adds that this penance is called ‘barley-shaped’ and ‘ant-shaped’, the latter when it is begun on the first day of the darker fortnight;—and in Prāyaścittaviveka (p. 516).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Vaśiṣṭha (23.45).—‘On the first day of the dark half of the month, let him eat fourteen mouthfuls, and diminish the number by one daily, till the end of the fortnight; in like manner, let him eat one mouthful on the first day of the light half of the month and daily increase the number by one, till the end of the fortnight.’

Do. (27.21).—‘Let him add daily one mouthful to his food during the bright half of the month, let him diminish it daily by one mouthful during the dark half, and let him fast on the moonless day; that is the rule for the Cāndrāyaṇa.’

Parāśara (10.2).—(Same as Manu.)

Gautama (27.12-13).—‘On the full-moon day, he shall eat fifteen mouthfuls, and during the dark half of the month daily diminish his portion by one mouthful; he shall fast on the moonless day, and during the bright half of the month daily increase his portion by one mouthful. According to some, it should be the other way. That is a month occupied by the Cāndrāyaṇa penance.’

Baudhāyana (3.8, 19-27; also, 4.517).—‘On the first day of the latter half of the month, he eats fourteen mouthfuls; thus he takes every day one mouthful less, up to the moonless day; on the moonless day there is not even a mouthful to be taken; on the first day of the first half of the month one mouthful may be eaten, on the second, two; thus he daily increases his meal by one mouthful up to the full-moon day. On the full-moon day, he makes an offering to Agni and to other deities... and then gives a cow to a Brāhmaṇa. This is the Ant-shaped Cāndrāyaṇa. If it is performed in the reverse order it is the Barley-shaped Cāndrāyaṇa. A sinner who has performed either of these becomes free from all mortal sins.’

Viṣṇu (47.1-6).—‘Now follows the Cāndrāyāṇa:—Let a man eat single mouthfuls of food, unchanged in size; and let him, during the moon's increase, add successively one mouthful every day; and during the wane of the moon, let him take off one mouthful every day; and on the moonless day, let him fast entirely. This is the Barley-shaped Cāndrāyaṇa. The Cāndrayaṇa is called Ant-shaped when the moonless day is placed in the middle, add it is called Barley-shaped when the full moon day is placed in the middle.’

Yājñavalkya (3.323).—‘When one is performing the Cāndrāyaṇa, during the bright half of the month, one should increase daily, by one, the number of food-morsels, each of which is of the size of the peacock’s egg; and during the dark half, he shall reduce it daily by one.’