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[Full title: Religious observances (2) Snana-vidhi]

The 42 nd Parisista deals with oblution which is performed everyday for the sake of purification. It recommends the place where oblution should be performed, the materials to be applied to the body, and the mantras to be recited while performing the oblution. Ablution should be performed in a river or a tank or a lake or a stream. 104 If the tank is owned by someone else, one should not have ablution there because a person gets affected by the sin of the owner of the tank. If, however, a stream or a river is not available for ablution, one may take 102. Cf. expiation nr. 10 in the section dealing with the Atharva-Prayascitta above. 103. ibid, expiation nr. 116. 104. Cf. Many Sm. 4.203.

473 bath in such a tank after removing four clods of earth therefrom. It is stated that ordinarily a person should take bath before noon unless he is sick. He should have the Kusa grass 105 in his hand and should look to the sides while taking bath. 106 He should take up earth with the mantra: yat te bhume and should apply the same to his body with the three verses beginning with yas te gandhah... He should place durva 107 grass on his head with the hymn aghadvista 108 and should apply cow-dung to his body with the verse agram agram .** which is given in full. He should, in a single breath (anavanam), pronounce thrice the pranava, the vyahrtis and the gayatri mantra. This is called pranayama. Then he should 109 recite the mantras which are prescribed and also the 110 aghamarsana mantras. He should meditate upon the holy rivers Ganga and Sarasvati, sacred places like Gaya and Naimisa forest, the Puskara tirtha and then plunge himself into the waters. The ablution should be made silently, otherwise Varuna is said to take away all energy (utsaha). 111 105. This is presumably for the sake of safety. 106. Atharvaveda, Saunakiya recension XII.1.35. 107. Atharvaveda, Saunakiya recension XII.1.23-25. 108. Atharvaveda, Saunakiya recension II.7. 109. These are Atharvaveda, Saunakiya recension I.4-6; III.13; Vedic Index 51,19,62; VII.83. 110. These include Atharvaveda, Saunakiya recension VII.89.1-3; 1.33.4; and yad ape which is quoted in full. 111. It is also said (42.2.7) that oblations should be offered silently and meals should be taken silently; otherwise Agni takes away wealth and Mrtyu takes away life, respectively.

474 Libations of water should be offered before changing the wet clothes; because it is said that the Pitrs together with the gods follow a person going for bath, with a desire of obtaining libation of water from him. If the person presses out water from clothes without giving them libations, they get displeased and go back. 112 It is said that after the ablution is over, three cloas of earth should be placed on the garment wearing which the bath has been taken. The legs should again be cleansed with earth for the sake of purity. Then various speculative hymns (adhyatmikani) should be recited whereby the sins of the whole year are destroyed and a person attains heaven. And, even after falling from there when the merit is exhausted, he has the power to remember the past life (jatismaratva).