Chapter 7

The Purification of Things (dravyaśuddhiḥ)

Now, the purification of things, according to the word of Parāśara. The purification of wooden vessels is desired through shaving them. (II,1, p. 147) // Par_7.1 //

Bronze is purified by ash; copper is purified by an acidic substance. A woman is purified by her menstrual flow, provided she does not go astray. (II,1, p. 150) // Par_7.2 //

A river is purified by its current, if no loss of form is seen. In the case of ponds, wells, and tanks that have been defiled in some way, (II,1, p. 153) // Par_7.3 //

one becomes pure by drawing out one hundred pots of water and using pañcagavya. An eight-year-old girl is a Gaurī; a nine-year-old is a Rohiṇī. (II,1, p. 156) // Par_7.4 //

A ten-year-old girl is a Kanyā; after that, she is a rajasvalā (a menstruating woman). He who does not give his daughter in marriage when she has reached her twelfth year, (II,1, p. 157) // Par_7.5 //

her ancestors themselves drink her menstrual blood month after month. The mother, and the father, and likewise the eldest brother, (II,1, p. 158) // Par_7.6 //

all three go to hell upon seeing the daughter as a rajasvalā. The Brāhmaṇa who, deluded by passion, marries such a girl, // Par_7.7 //

that Brāhmaṇa is not to be spoken to, nor to be seated in the same row at a meal; he is a vṛṣalīpatiḥ (a husband of a vṛṣalī). The dvija who consorts with a vṛṣalī for a single night, (II,1, p. 159) // Par_7.8 //

he is purified in three years by living on alms and constantly reciting sacred texts. When the sun has set, if one touches a caṇḍāla, a fallen person, a woman, // Par_7.9 //

or a woman who has just given birth, how is purification ordained? By looking at Jātavedas (fire), gold, and the path of the moon (the sky), // Par_7.10 //

and with the approval of a Brāhmaṇa, one becomes pure by bathing. If a Brāhmaṇa woman touches another Brāhmaṇa woman when both are rajasvalā, (II,1, p. 160) // Par_7.11 //

she should remain without food for that time and becomes pure in three nights. If a Brāhmaṇa woman touches a Kṣatriya woman when both are rajasvalā, // Par_7.12 //

the former should perform half a Kṛcchra penance, the latter one quarter. If a Brāhmaṇa woman touches a Vaiśya woman when both are rajasvalā, // Par_7.13 //

the former should perform a Kṛcchra minus a quarter, the latter one quarter. If a Brāhmaṇa woman touches a Śūdra woman when both are rajasvalā, // Par_7.14 //

the former is purified by a Kṛcchra penance, the Śūdra is purified by charity. A rajasvalā who has bathed becomes pure on the fourth day. (II,1, p. 164) // Par_7.15 //

When her menstrual flow has ceased, she may perform rites for the gods and ancestors. The menstrual flow of women which continues day after day due to a disease, (II,1, p. 165) // Par_7.16 //

she is not impure because of that; it is considered to be due to a disorder of time. She is not of proper conduct as long as the menstrual flow continues. (II,1, p. 168) // Par_7.17 //

When the menstrual flow has ceased, the woman is fit for intercourse and for household duties. On the first day, she is a caṇḍālī (an outcaste woman); on the second, a slayer of a Brāhmaṇa. // Par_7.18 //

On the third, she is called a washerwoman; on the fourth day, she becomes pure. When a sick person needs to bathe, a healthy person, ten times, (II,1, p. 169) // Par_7.19 //

having bathed again and again, should touch him; then that sick person becomes pure. If a dvija is touched by a dog or a Śūdra who are both in a state of having eaten, (II,1, p. 170) // Par_7.20 //

he is purified by fasting for one night and consuming pañcagavya. If touched by a Śūdra who has not eaten, bathing is prescribed. (II,1, p. 171) // Par_7.21 //

If touched by him after he has eaten, one should perform the Prājāpatya penance. Bronze that is not smeared with liquor is purified by ash. (II,1, p. 172) // Par_7.22 //

What is touched by even a drop of liquor is purified by heating in fire and scraping. Bronze vessels sniffed by a cow or defiled by a dog or crow, (II,1, p. 172) // Par_7.23 //

and those which are the leftovers of a Śūdra, are purified by ten alkaline substances. Having rinsed the mouth or washed the feet in a bronze vessel, // Par_7.24 //

one should bury it in the earth for six months, then dig it up and take it again. For iron objects and those made of lead, purification is in fire. (II,1, p. 173) // Par_7.25 //

Ivory, bone, and horn, as well as silver and gold vessels, and vessels of gems and stone—these one should wash with water. (II,1, p. 174) // Par_7.26 //

For a stone vessel, however, re-polishing is also declared as purification. Earthenware is purified by fire, and grains by winnowing. (II,1, p. 176) // Par_7.27 //

For items of bamboo, bark, and cloth, and for linen and cotton garments, and for woolen and silk cloths, purification is desired through sprinkling. (II,1, p. 179) // Par_7.28 //

For implements of Muñja grass and winnowing baskets, for hemp, fruits, and hides, and for grass, wood, and ropes, sprinkling with water is held to be the method. (II,1, p. 181) // Par_7.29 //

Quilts and pillows, and red-colored clothes and the like, become pure by being dried in the sun and then sprinkled. (II,1, p. 184) // Par_7.30 //

Cats, flies, insects, moths, worms, and frogs, even when they touch pure and impure things, Manu has said they do not cause defilement. (II,1, p. 185) // Par_7.31 //

Water that has come after touching the earth, and also drops splashed from one to another, and leftover food and oil—Manu has said these do not cause defilement. (II,1, p. 186) // Par_7.32 //

In the case of betel leaf, sugarcane, and fruit, and in an ointment of leftover oil, and in the madhuparka offering and Soma juice, the wise know there is no defilement according to dharma. // Par_7.33 //

Mud and water from a public road, boats, paths, and grasses, and things made of baked bricks are purified by wind and sun. // Par_7.34 //

A continuous stream of water is not defiled, nor are dust particles raised by the wind. Women, the old, and children are never defiled. (II,1, p. 188) // Par_7.35 //

In the collapse of a country, while traveling, in sickness, and in calamities, one should protect one's own body first; afterwards, one should practice dharma. (II,1, p. 196) // Par_7.36 //

By whatever means, whether gentle or harsh, one should lift up one's distressed self. When one is able, one should practice dharma. (II,1, p. 197) // Par_7.37 //

When the time of distress has passed, one should think about purification and proper conduct. One should re-establish purity afterwards; when healthy, one should practice dharma. // Par_7.38 //