Chapter 157 - Pollution and Purification

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Puṣkara said:

1. I shall describe purification after death and after the birth (of a child). The pollution due to the death of a sapiṇḍa^[1] is prescribed for ten days.

2-7. O Excellent among Bhṛgus (descendants of Bhṛgu)! So also purification (from pollution) is after birth in the case of brahmins, after twelve days for the warrior class, after fifteen days for the tradesmen, and after a month for śūdra (fourth class). If the dead belongs to the higher class, the pollution for the servant (of the lower class) would be as for the master. A brahmin or a person of the warrior class who had his birth through the warrior, tradesman or śūdra gets purified after six or three or one day in order. O Paraśurāma! if born of a tradesman and śūdra purification would be after six or three nights (respectively) and if born of a śūdra and tradesman purification would be) after six (nights). (If one’s child dies) before the formation of teeth, one become pure at once, (if it dies) before tonsure, (the parent) has pollution for a night, if before the vratabandha (vow relating to investiture of thread) pollution lasts for three nights, and ten nights if afterwards. If a śūdra dies at less than three years of age, the purification should be after five days. If aged more than three, purification would be after twelve days, if aged six years, the purification would be after a month.

8-9. If a female (child) (dies) before tonsure, the purification would be after a night. Similarly, the relatives of female children dying after tonsure get purified in three days. No pollution is laid down for the parental side if (a female dies after marriage. If a woman delivers a child in her parent’s house, the relatives get purified after a night.

10-14. A woman after childbirth gets purified after ten days) and not otherwise. There is no doubt that if a married girl dies in her father’s house, the relatives get purified after three nights. If two pollutions take place and the second one is equal or inferior to the first one, the pollution ends with the first one, and ends with the second one if the second is not equal. These are the words of Dharmarāja^[2]. One who lives abroad happening to hear (the news about) the death of his kinsmen would be impure only for the remaining part of the ten days (of impurity). (If it is known) after ten days, impurity would last for three days. Then if one year had elapsed, one would become pure after bathing. (One has to do as before) if either the maternal grandfather or the preceptor dies.

15-16. One gets purified after abortion after the same number of nights proportionate to the months (period) of pregnancy. O Bhargava (son of Bhṛgu)^[3] whoever of a sapiṇḍa^[4] of a brahmin caste may die the pollution ends after ten days for all without any distinction. So also for a warrior (class) (it would end) after twelve days, the tradesmen after fifteen days and the śūdras after a month.

17. A ball should be made and offered from the remnants of the ceremony and placed in front. One who does the deed should then declare the name and clan of that person (dead).

18-24. After the excellent brahmins had partaken food, were well honoured with gifts and had blessed with unbroken rice and water with the recitation of the name and clan (of the doer), one should dug up three pits of four cubits breadth and depth and of twelve cubits length. Near the pits one should kindle three fires. O Rāma (Paraśurāma) one should offer oblations to Soma, Agni (Fire god) and Yama four (handfuls) three times each. Balls of rice should be offered separately (in each one of these)as before. One should fill (pits) with cooked rice, curd, honey and flesh. If an intercalary month occurs this should be done in addition. Or (this ceremony) should be completed in twelve days. If an intercalary month occurs in the middle of the year, then there would be extra rites at (the time of doing) the twelfth ceremony. After the completion of one year the ceremony should be done as the annual ceremony.

25. If one dies balls of rice should be offered to the ancestors of the three past generations. Likewise the fourth is brought together.

26. O Bhārgava! After having worshipped and offering (ball of rice) with (the recitation of syllables) pṛthvī samānā^[5], the ball of rice (intended) for the dead should be united with those (intended) for the other (ancestors).

27. So also the vessel for the dead should be united with the vessels (for the ancestors). This rite of uniting the vessels should be done one by one.

28. This rite is laid down without (the recitation of) syllables for the śūdra. The rite of sapiṇḍīkaraṇa^[6] should be done in the same way for women.

29-30. If one dies, a potful of cooked rice should be offered for a year and the ceremony should be done every year. One may be able to count the sand particles in the Ganges or the rain drops as Indra rains. But one may not be able to count in this world the past ancestors. In the ever-moving time there is no permanence. Hence, one should do the deeds.

31-32. The dead would get the results of ceremony whether (they are) in heaven (or) in hell. No benefit would accrue to the dead if one is only mourning (the death). There is no pollution due to the death of a person by (falling from) a cliff, (burnt) by fire, in a trap, by (drowning in) the water or by suicide. (There is no pollution on account of the death) of those fallen (from their caste) and those killed by lightning and weapons.

33. Ascetics, those who have undertaken vows, student-celibates, kings, sculptors and those initiated for religious ceremonies and those under the command of the king should bathe, if they had followed the dead body.

34. Immediate bathing is laid down after copulation and (coming across) smoke from (a burning) dead body. A śūdra should never carry the dead body of a brahmin.

35. So also a brahmin should not carry (the dead body) of a śūdra. There would arise sin from these. One would reach heaven by carrying the dead body of a destitute brahmin.

36-41. One who gifts fuel for burning the (dead body of a) destitute person would get victory in battle. (One who performs the cremation of the dead) should solemnly vow that he is a relative and then circumambulate the funeral pyre in the anticlock direction. (After the completion of cremation rite) all should get out and bathe with their clothes. Then handful of water should be offered thrice for the dead. After that one should enter the house after placing the foot on a stone at the entrance (to the house). Unbroken rice should be offered to the fire and margosa leaves should be eaten. All should sleep separately on the floor. One should eat light food that has been bought. The learned one who offered the ball of rice becomes pure after shaving, bathing with white mustard and sesamum and wearing different clothes on the tenth day. Neither cremation with fire, nor the rites of offering waters should be done in the case of the death of children who had not grown teeth and in the case of abortion. The gathering of the bones (of the cremated) should be done on the fourth day. It is laid down that one may touch (the polluted person) after (the rites of) gathering of bones have been done.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

A kinsman connected by offering the funeral rice-ball to the manes of certain relatives.

[2]:

The lord of righteous living; may mean any upholder of a code.

[3]:

Denotes Paraśurāma.

[4]:

See 157. fn 1.

[5]:

cf. pṛthvī samā HG. 2.11.4.

[6]:

The rite of uniting the ball of rice for the dead with those for the ancestors.