Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c11: VI. Customs and Usages

Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c11

Language: English

VI. Customs and Usages

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§ 54. *The Brahman student and the house-holder.* Of the three chief parts into which the Dharma is divided according to Y. and the later authors,—custom, law and penance, now custom (*ācāra*) only remains to be reviewed. As however important points of the laws of custom have been already described above, particularly in connection with the laws of marriage and family, and as the law of castes and classes is to be dealt with in the State Antiquities¹ and as the Śrauta and Gṛhyasūtras, particularly important for the history of customs, and the Private Antiquities², shall be separately dealt with in this encyclopaedia, I may therefore confine myself here only to a few remarks about the Āśramas and Saṃskāras, the “five great sacrifices”, and the sacrifices to the manes and the rules about funeral ceremonies, purificarion and diet.

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¹ See f.-n. 5, p. 95. *Tr.*

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² See f.-n. 1. *Tr.*

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Along with the four castes of Brahmans, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas and Śūdras the Brahmanical law ordains the four stages of life (*āśrama*): students, house-holders, forest-hermits and mendicants. After he has been taken into school with the initiation ceremony (*upa-nayana*, § 55), the Brahman student shall dwell with his teacher (*guru*) and study the Veda under his guidance.³

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³ Women too could take a similar course of study with the accompaniment of the same ceremonies in the opinion of Hārīta: द्विविधा स्त्रियो, ब्रह्मवादिन्यस्तथोद्वध्वश्च । तत्र ब्रह्मवादिनीनामुपनयनमग्नीन्धनं वेदाध्ययनं स्वगृहे च भिक्षाचर्येति । सद्योवधूनां चोपस्थिते विवाहे कथञ्चिदुप नयनमात्रं कृत्वा विवाहः कार्यः । See quotation in Smṛticandrikā, Saṃskārakāṇḍaḥ, p. 34. (I am indebted to my honoured teacher Prof. H. C. Chakladar for this reference). That this law was not a mere theory is proved by Bhavabhūti’s unique character Ātreyī in the Uttararāmacarita. It will be remembered that Hār. is the oldest Smṛti (p. 18). *Tr.*

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For each of the three or four Vedas a study of twelve years is held to be necessary, so that thus the maximum length of the period of study comes to be 48 years, while the minimum shall amount to 12 years (Āp. 1, 2, 12—16; Gaut. 2, 45—47 etc.). Yet one need not study the Vedas longer than it is necessary to master them and according to an ancient saying the sacred fire should be kindled, that is, the period of study should be completed, before gray hair appears (Baudh. 1, 3, 5). By way of an exception the student may devote himself to a spiritual life as a Naiṣṭhikabrahmacārin; in that case, if his teacher dies, he must serve the son or even the widow of the teacher or an older fellow student or eventually the sacred fire, as he formerly used to serve the teacher himself (Gaut. 3, 4—9; Vi. 28, 43—46 etc.).

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One of the principal aims of the authors of the Smṛtis is to regulate most accurately the conduct of the students towards their teachers. Even at the first dawn of day the student has to announce himself to his teacher and respectfully clasp his feet after saying his morning prayers;¹ he cannot sit beside him, cannot first speak to him, cannot seat himself in a careless posture in his presence, cannot pronounce his name without an honorific predicate, cannot dispute with him or scoff at him, must follow him at his word, etc. He must show respect even to the wife and the son of the teacher, yet he must be reserved in his conduct towards a young wife of the teacher (Vi. 28, 14—16, 23—27, 31—33; 32, 10—15; Āp. 1 3, 9—23; 7, 25—30 etc.). To observe chastity is one of the principal duties of the Brahmacārin and moreover he cannot dance, sing, gamble and cannot anoint himself and cannot eat flesh, honey or spices, he cannot injure a living being, and cannot lie, slander or quarrel, etc. (Vi. 28, 11; M. 2, 177-197 etc.). Every day he has to go out for alms and collect faggot for Daily life of the Brahmacārin. the sacred fire which is entrusted to his care; he must however hand over the food he collects by begging to his teacher and shall receive of it only what the teacher leaves for him (Vi. 28, 9 f.; M. 2, 182—187 etc.). Further he shall also regularly say the morning and the evening prayers, sacrifice to the gods, sleep on earth and rise before sunrise (Vi. 28, 2—5, 12, 53; M. 2, 176 etc.). When instructions for study are given he must listen attentively; if he is inattentive or disobedient the teacher may chastise him but not too harshly. At the end of the period of his study he shall make a present to the teacher as his resources permit and return to the house of his parents (Nār. 5, 11—15; M. 2, 245 etc.).

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¹ Cf. Delbrück, D. indog. Verwandtschaftsnamen 559 ff.

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The final bath of the Brahmacārin. Certain ceremonies, specially a bath of purification (snāna) took place at the end of the school period, after which the absolved student was called Snātaka "the bathed one." Such an absolved student has a claim to particular distinction, specially when he goes somewhere as a guest, but he has to observe special ceremonies (Gaut. 9, 1 ff.; Āp. 1, 30 etc.). Soon after his return to his paternal home the young Brahman proceeds to marry (§ 16) and therewith enters the stage of the house-holder (gṛhastha). The Gṛhastha life too is covered with a thick net of religious duties (Vi. 60—70 etc., cf. §§ 56—59). Even before the break of day he shall leave the bed and come out to perform the duty of evacuating the bowels; very detailed rules are given about the selection of a spot for this purpose and the cleansing of the body with the left hand by means of water and earth. Then follows the cleansing of the teeth with pieces of wood of the thickness of the little finger which are freshly cut from specially recommended trees. Moreover, water is sipped and the mouth and the throat are rinsed with it, which has to be performed in sitting posture with certain parts of the hand and the fingers while the head is to be turned

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Daily: duties of the householder to the east or the north. The bath should be performed at dawn, best in the Ganges or at least in some other flowing water; the clothes too have to be washed and during the bath and afterwards prayers shall be said, holding of the breath (prāṇāyāma) performed and libations and sacrifices shall be offered. The Saṃdhyā of the morning shall be followed by another similar Saṃdhyā in the evening. There are only two proper meals, in the forenoon and in the evening; the wife eats after her husband what the latter leaves of his food, but the man shall not take food before he has given food to the gods, particularly the household gods and the manes, and entertained his guests. The animal sacrifice, corn sacrifice, Soma sacrifice, sacrifice to the manes and other religious performances are included in the daily duties which should take place periodically or on particular occasions, and a crowd of general rules about customs and conduct, particularly about bad omens, journeys, about giving way to one another, about the clothing and the ornaments (gold ear-rings), places to stop at, about looking before and treading on something, about keeping fire and water pure, about the cultus of the Brahmans, images of gods, cows, self-restraint and piety, etc. (Vi. 63, 1—51; 71 f. etc.).

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Megasthenes' statement (fragment 41) about the 37 years which Indian philosophers spend in the company of fellow students and teachers in chastity and self-mortification, before they set up a family, reminds us of the 36 years of Vedic studies. The data in Alberuni 2, 130—135 about the student and the house-holder thoroughly agree with the Smṛtis, but probably they are mostly taken from that source. At the present day studying at the house of a Guru is no longer obligatory and takes place only in isolated places; the Naiṣṭhikabrahmacārin is still seen in various sects of the present day in which similar rules between the pupil and the teacher are in force as laid down in the Smṛtis. Usually "the ceremony of being admitted by the teacher" (*upanayana*) is considered only as a form followed almost immediately by "the return from the teacher," which too has become a mere ceremony, cf. §56. From economic grounds it is not improbable that these brief ceremonies date from quite an ancient period. On the other hand, the duties of the Gṛhastha are still more or less observed,¹ such as the cleansing of the body with the left hand, the use of the tooth-pick mentioned also by Hiouen Thsang, morning and evening prayers, avoiding treading on potsherd, bones etc., wearing gold ear-rings, institutions for divine service, cf. §§ 56—59.

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¹ Dubois, 147-166; Bühler ZDMG 40, 541; Hiouen Thsang, Mém. 1, 55, 71; BG 22, 60-90 etc

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§ 55. *The forest-hermit and the mendicant.* At the beginning of old age when one sees his skin becoming wrinkled and the hair turn gray and sees the son of his son, the Gṛhastha should enter the stage of the forest-dweller (*vānaprastha*) (M. 6, 2 etc.). His wife shall either accompany him to the forest or remain behind with his sons. According to the Vaikh. sū., in the former case he is called Sapatnīka and as such is either Audumbara, Vairiñca, Vālakhilya or Phenapa; without the wife he is called Apatnīka and as such belongs to one of the numerous varieties such as Kālasika, Uddaṇḍaka, Aśmakuṭṭa, Dantolukhalika, Uñchavṛttika, Bailvāśin, Pañcāgnimadhyaśāyin, etc. Their names are based on the various kinds of self-mortification which the Vānaprasthas inflict on themselves. All of them shall clothe themselves in barks of trees or skin, let their hair and nails grow, live on fruits, plants and the roots of the forest, morning and evening offer sacrifice in the Śrāmaṇaka fire kindled on special ceremonies, generally perform the five Mahāyajñas as before, observe chastity, bathe three-times a day and sleep on earth (Vi. 94; Gaut. 3, 26—36; Baudh. 2, 11, 15 etc.). As special self-mortifications they shall expose themselves in summer to the heat of the sun enhanced by four fires, in the rainy season sleep on earth, in winter wear wet clothes, roll about on earth, stand all day long on the toes or sit down and stand up alternately, stand with hands stretched upwards or with a stick raised high, shall gaze steadfastly at the sun or keep the face turned to the earth, remain under water for a long time, would not speak, fast for a whole month, etc. (M. 6, 22—32; Vi. 95; Vaikh. Dharmasū. 1, 7—11). Ṛṣi Vikhanas is said to have been the founder of the order of forest-dwellers, after whom they are also called Vaikhānasas (Baudh. 2, 11, 14); an apparently later shoot of his teachings is the Vaikhānasasūtra (§3). Perhaps this order was never universally recognised.¹ The class of the forest-dwellers belongs to the institutions obsolete in the present age (kalivarjya) and even Gaut. and Āp. mention the mendicant before the forest-dweller, and according to Baudh. 2, 17, 2—5, Y. 3, 56 etc., one may directly enter the state of the Bhikṣu from the stage of the Gṛhastha or the Brahmacārin.

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¹ See Charpentier, C.H.I. p. 151. Tr.

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The mendicant or the ascetic (bhikṣu, yati, sannyāsin, parivrājaka, pravrajita), according to the usual conception, is the fourth stage in the life of the Brahmans.² As the bhikṣu can own no property, at the time of entering this state one should perform a smaller sacrifice (iṣṭi) to Prajāpati in which the whole property is given away as the sacrificial fee (Vi. 96, 1 etc.). About other ceremonies on the occasion of this act see Baudh. 2, 17; without home or property (Vas. 10, 6) the monk shall roam about as a beggar, shall stay nowhere for a long time, sleep on earth, wear a loin-cloth as his only dress, shave his head bald, hold in his hand three staffs intertwined with each other and a beggar's bowl and a water-pot, eat only what is given to him voluntarily, yet never any meat or sweets. He shall enter a village only to beg, but only in the evening when the time of taking meal is past; he can beg for alms only in seven houses, but shall not be depressed if he gets nothing, nor exult if he gets something.

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² Cf. Kaut. I, 3 where the main features of the life of the Parivrājaka have been described in a masterly fashion. Tr.

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On the whole an unruffled temper and philosophical equanimity are the main things for the yati; he shall wish neither for death nor for a long life and shall not even trouble himself to see whether somebody is hacking off his hand with an axe or is sprinkling sandal powder on him. He should meditate over the short duration of life, the impurity of the body, transitoriness of beauty, tortures of hell, infirmities of old age and diseases, separation from the beloved, co-existence with the enemies and the endless transmigrations of the soul. Thus gradually shaking off all mundane propensities, roaming about alone, speaking to none, he is finally dissolved in the universal soul.

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It is remarkable that the bhikṣu is permitted to stop his wanderings in the rainy season and to stay in one place, corresponding to the vasso of the Buddhists and the Jains (Gaut. 3, 11—25 ; Vas. 10 ; Baudh. 2, 17 f. ; Vi. 96 etc.) ¹. It is not allowed to leave the order of the mendicants; those who faithlessly leave it shall be slaves of the king during their lifetime (Nār. 5, 35; Y. 2. 183 ; Vi. 5, 152).

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¹ Cf. Bühler on Gaut. 3, 13

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To the Vānaprasthas correspond the Ulobioi of Megasthenes (fr. 41) who remain in the forests, live on leaves and fruits of wild trees and wear clothes made of barks of trees. Alberuni describes the Vānaprastha and the Bhiksu as well as the two primary Āśramas just like the Smṛtis but the picture seems to have been taken merely from literature and not from actual life. Penances like those of the Vānaprasthas are mentioned about the "fakirs" of the present day¹. The modern "bhikṣuks" are the spiritual Brahmans as distinct from the worldly Brahmans, the Gṛhasthas². Among the Sannyāsīs there are ascetics of various sects, specially Śaivas. Worldly men now-a-days rarely enter religious orders; on the other hand, the spiritual people of many sects and castes may marry as according to the Smṛtis the Vānaprasthas could have their wives with them. That it was not compulsory to go over to the spiritual life from the Gṛhastha life, is indicated in the Smṛtis in this way that they often call the Gṛhastha class the best without which the other classes could not exist (Gaut. 3, 36; M. 5, 87—90 etc.).

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¹ Cf. M. Williams, Indian Wisdom (3rd. ed.) 104—106.

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² Cf. e. g. BG 18, 1, 108 ff; M. Williams, l. c. 252f; Wilson, Glossary 81 463.

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§ 56. *The sacraments.* Ceremonies connected with divine service in the widest sense of the term are called the sacraments, of which Gaut. 8, 14—21, quoted as the standard passage also in later works such as Nīlakaṇṭha's monograph on the Saṃskāras, the Saṃskāramayūkha, mentions 40: the ceremony of fecundation (garbhādhāna), the ceremony (at the time of the first movements of the child) the purpose of which is to secure the birth of a boy (puṃsavana), parting of the hair of the pregnant woman (sīmantonnayana, in the 6. or the 8. month), the ceremony of birth (jātakarman), the giving of the name (nāmakaraṇa, on the 10. or 12. day), the feeding with rice (annaprāśana, in the 6. month after the birth) the cutting of the hair (caula, in the 3. year of life), introduction to the teacher (upanayana), the four vows at the time of the study of the Veda, the bath (at the end of the Vedic studies, also called Samāvartana, “return”), marriage, the five great sacrifices (§ 37), the seven minor sacrifices (pākayajña), the seven offerings of the fire (haviryajña), the seven Soma-sacrifices. The fire-offerings and the Soma-sacrifices are described in the Brāhmaṇas and the Śrautasūtras, the minor sacrifices are described in the Gṛhyasūtras. According to Hār., the sacrifices are to be taken as daiva saṃskāras and the other ceremonies of divine service as brāhma saṃskāras. Only the latter are to be taken as Saṃskāras in the proper sense, but various other ceremonies are often attached to them, such as the act of Anavalobhana,¹ Garbharakṣaṇa, as protection against a miscarriage at birth, the ceremony of the first going out with a child in the 4. month after its birth in order to show it the sun (niṣkramaṇa, ādityadarśana), perforation of the ears (karṇavedha), cutting of hair as the sign of majority at the age of 16 (keśanta, godāna), etc.

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¹ Cf. Caland WZKM 8,370.

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Saṃskāras too in the strict sense fall within the jurisdiction of the Gṛhyasūtras, for every Vedic school performs them in a particular way. The Smṛtis deal somewhat fully only with the ceremony of initiation and investiture with the sacred thread of the young Brahman² as it is the most important Saṃskāra (Vi. 27, 15—29; M. 2, 36—50, 68 etc.). For the Brahmans the 8. year is considered to be the most proper age for it. The Kṣatriyas and the Vaiśyas too have a right to be invested with the sacred thread (yajñopavīta) which is the external sign of the Ārya, who attains its spiritual rebirth through the Upanayana and along with it the right of calling himself a twice-born (dvija). Yet in their case the ceremony takes place a few years later, and moreover their sacred thread as well as the garment and the girdle, skin and staff, shall be of other materials than those of the Brahmans. The spiritual significance of the initiation ceremony lies therein that the right of studying the Veda and reciting the sacred prayer Sāvitrī is earned by it and for this reason the whole ceremony is also called Sāvitrī. The teacher (ācārya) who initiates the young Brahman and teaches him the Sāvitrī will therefore be regarded as his spiritual father and the Sāvitrī his spiritual mother. The young Brahman's going out for alms is an important part of the ceremony for which he first applies to his mother and other female relations. The expenses of the Saṃskāras, which in part are not inconsiderable, have to be defrayed by the parents and if they are not living by the elder brother, and the same in the case of the girl, for whom however there is only one proper Saṃskāra which is accompanied by sacred Mantras, namely the marriage¹ (vivāha, Nār. 13, 33, 27; Y. 2, 124; 1, 13 etc.).

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² About the earlier history of upanayana see Oldenberg, D. Religion d. Veda 466—571

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¹ But see f.-n. 3, p. 320. Tr.

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The ceremonies Garbhādhāna, Jātakarman, Namakarman, cutting of the hair, perforation of the ears and the investiture with the sacred thread are also mentioned by Alberuni 156 f., 130, though, it is true, with the additional remark, that Garbhādhāna is not performed for the feeling of shame. At the present day just this ceremony often takes place and marks the advent of puberty in the female and the beginning of the conjugal life (§ 17); the chief ceremony is often this that the lap of the young wife is filled with rice, cocoanuts and other fruits probably as the symbol of fecundity. The following ceremonies are generally practised even now among the Chitpavan Brahmans of Puna²: Jātakarman, Karṇavedha on the twelfth day after birth, Sūryāvalokana in the fourth month, Annaprāśana in the 6., 8., 10. or 12. month, Caula in the 1.—5. year, investiture with the sacred thread in the 7.—10. year, the return of the student (samāvartana) after an interval of 12 days to one month, then marriage in the Brāhma form (Brahmavivāha), Garbhādhāna at the time of the puberty of the bride, Puṃsavana at the time of pregnancy, Anavalobhana in the 4. month of pregnancy and Sīmantonnayana in the 6.—8. month. Excepting marriage, investiture with the sacred thread (jenvī, janeo= yajñopavīta) is always regarded as the most important ceremony¹. For the Brahmans the initiation ceremony consists of this : the young Brahman takes in his hand a staff of palāśa-wood which reaches up to his hair (as in Vi. 27, 21 f. etc.), wears an antilope skin and the sacred thread and a loin-cloth, puts on a girdle of Munj grass (as in Vi. 27, 18 etc.) and his father whispers the Gāyatrī (sāvitrī) in his ear; in the evening follows the ceremony of begging (bhikṣāval), on which occasion his mother and other ladies give him handsome presents. At the time of the Samāvartana ceremony, which follows shortly, he finally makes the air of starting on a pilgrimage to Benares but lets himself be persuaded to return. A similar survival is to be found in Bengal on the occasion of the investiture with the sacred thread, inasmuch as the young Brhman dressed as a Brahmacārin declares his resolution to enter the spiritual order and is dissuaded from this purpose only with great difficulty². cf. § 54. The investiture with the sacred thread is not even now confined to the Brahmans.

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² BG 18, 1, 108-148.

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¹ Cf. Wilson, Glossary 230. 463f.; Dubois 92—99; Bühler. Kaśmīr Report 22; Bose, The Hindoos as they are 183—186.

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² Bose l. c. 185 f.

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§ 57. *The five great sacrifices and the Śrāddha.* The regular performance of the five great sacrifices (Mahāyajña, Vi. 59, 19—26 etc.) is one of the most important duties of the Gṛhastha. The sacrifice or the divine service which is connected with the Veda, consists of the recitation of the Veda, the sacrifice to the gods by the offering of butter poured into the fire (homa), the sacrifice to the manes by the libation (tarpaṇa), sacrifice to the demons or all creatures (bhūta) by scattering food as offering (bali), sacrifice to men by entertaining guests, particularly Brahman ascetics. The last four sacrifices are called the Pākayajñas; the sacrifice to the Veda stands high above them and even above the Vidhiyajñas which are performed in the three sacred sacrificial fires; particularly the recital of the Gāyatrī (sāvitrī) at the time of morning and evening prayers produces as much merit as the study of the Veda, and this religious merit can never be destroyed although the reward for good deeds is transitory (Vi. 55, 12-21 etc.). Which Vedic texts should be recited and how the other Mahāyajñas are to be performed—all this depends on the Śākhā of the Veda to which the Brahman concerned belongs; these differences are minutely described in the Gṛhyasūtras, while the Smṛtis as usual give the general norm.

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The sacrifices to the dead (śrāddha) are a special development out the sacrifices proper and there is a whole literature devoted to it which extends from the Vedic Saṃhitās down to the Dharmanibandhas; of the latter the edition of Hemādri's Śrāddhakalpa in the Bib. Ind. covers 1717 pages. Already the Smṛtis discuss the Śrāddhas very exhaustively; thus Vi. in 14 chapters (73-86) deals with the ceremonies on the occasion of a Śrāddha, as well as the predecessors to be worshipped by it, the proper time, the effects of the Śrāddhas, the choice of sacrificial offerings, conduct towards the invited Brahmans, the fitness or unfitness to be invited to it, the proper spots for the performance of sacrifices to the dead and the ceremony of liberating a bull often connected with the Śrāddha. "Connected by the sacrificial lump (at the Śrāddha determines relationship. offering to the dead)" (*sapinḍa*) is an usual designation of near relations, particularly agnates. Accordingly the Śrāddha which is performed at the latest one year after the death by kneading the Pinḍas of the dead person and the predecessors, effecting thereby the inclusion of the person who is dead among the Sapinḍas, is called Sapinḍīkaraṇa. At first the deceased gets monthly Śrāddhas, particularly however the Ekoddiṣṭa is performed shortly after his death when the period of mourning is past. Other kinds of the Śrāddha are the Nitya, i.e. the daily libations (see above), the Kāmya performed to attain some desired object, the Abhyudayika or Vr̥ddhiśrāddha performed on the occasion of some joyous ceremony such as marriage, the Pārvaṇa performed on the days of the month called Parvan, etc.

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Varieties of Śrāddha.

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Evolution of Śrāddha from older institutions. Caland seems to have found the thread of Ariadne in this labyrinth¹. Thus the Śrāddha in which three invited Brahmans, considered to be the representatives of father, grandfather and great-grandfather, are entertained, is originated from the Pinḍapitryajña appearing in older sources, in which the same ceremonies take place but are directed towards the fathers supposed to be present there in spirit. The latter sacrifice seems on its side to go back to the Pitryajña mentioned already in the Vedic Saṁhitās in which yet no Pinḍas were offered and the "fathers" collectively, without the restriction to the three male ascendants of the sacrificer, were invoked. That the motive of the sacrifice to the dead is merely the fear of the spirits of the dead (*preta*), is indicated, for instance, by the belief that they would return to the earth and annoy their relatives if no sacrifices are performed for them (Vi. 20, 32).

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¹ Altind. Ahnencult 152–165, 173–181; worship of the dead 1–47; cf. Oldenberg l. c. 548–562.

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The motive of the Śrāddha.

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Every orthodox Brahman even now says the morning and evening prayers with corresponding variations according to the school of the Veda he belongs to. The main features of the morning prayer for a follower of the Rigveda are approximately the following (cf. § 55) : the bath (snāna), sipping of water (ācamana), the holding of the breath (prāṇāyāma), the many times repeated murmuring of the Gāyatrī and the recital of many other texts, proclaiming the family tree of the devout person, repeated Ācamanas, the Veda sacrifice (brahmayajña) in the narrow sense which principally consists of the recital of the initial words of various Vedic and later works, and finally the libation (tarpaṇa) which here is directed to the gods, Ṛṣis and the fathers¹. The Homa in the morning and the evening and the other Mahāyajñas are still partly in vogue. Moreover the Śrāddha with the Piṇḍas still always plays a chief role in the cultus particularly of the Brahmans, and also among other castes². The liberation of a bull on the occasion of a Śrāddha is still practised³. A famous Śrāddha (ekoddiṣṭa) in Bengal is said to have cost over a million rupees, and in well-to-do families not less than five to six thousand rupees are spent there at the first Śrāddha⁴. Even now Śrāddhas are preferably performed at certain holy places, particularly at Gayā in Behar⁵ as prescribed in Vi. 85, 67.

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¹ M. Williams, The place which the Rigveda occupies in the Sandhyā, 5. Or. Congr., Indog. Section 157—188.

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² Cf. BG 13,78 (Golaks) ; 85 (Sarasvats) ; 18, 1, 167 (Kanojs) : 175 (Shenvis) ; 180 (Tailangs) ; Risley, The Tribes and Castes of Bengal 1, 149 (Rahri-Brahmans) etc.

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³ Dubois 298 f.; BG 22, 85f. Cf. Pañc. 1,5 (Kielhorn).

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⁴ Bose, The Hindoos as they are 255-271.

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⁵ M. Williams, Modern India (3rd. ed.) 97—107 ; cf. Rājatar. 6, 254 7,1008.

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§ 58. Funeral ceremony and impurity. The funeral rites or the obsequies (antyeṣṭi), are not reckoned by Gaut. 8,14 ff. etc. among the sacraments but they belong to the ceremonies in which Vedic Mantras are recited (M. 2, 16), and these Mantras are mostly taken from Vedic funeral hymns, but neither these nor the data in the Gṛhyasūtras will be exhaustibly dealt with here¹. The Antyeṣṭi, in contradistinction to the Śrāddha which brings happiness (maṅgala), is considered to be evil-bringing² (amaṅgala), and this may be the reason that the Smṛtis have so little to do with it. According to Vi. 19 and Y. 3 1-18 the procedure of the funeral ceremony is as follows. The mourning train of the relations, arranged according to age (Mit.), brings the corpse to the burning place (śmaśāna). Arriving there they burn the corpse to the accompaniment of the recital of texts appropriate for the ceremony. Then they turn round the pile of woods from left to right, that is to say, by turning their left side to it. Then follow a purificatory bath (cf. Āp. 2, 15, 10; Baudh. 1, 11, 23 etc.), inasmuch as they go into water with clothes on, and an offering of water is given for the deceased, invoking him by name; a Piṇḍa too is offered to him on kuśa grass. Then they rise out of the water and sitting on a grass plot hear a sermon about the transitoriness of human life. Then the train of mourners go back home, the children this time leading; they halt at the door once more in order to chew Nimba leaves, sip water, tread on a stone etc. and step slowly into the house only after finishing this ceremony. So long as the impurity caused by the death lasts sacrifices have to be daily performed for the deceased, inasmuch as an offering of water and a Piṇḍa are given to him, vessels with milk and water are hung by a rope for him, etc. On the fourth day after the cremation the bones are collected and thrown into the Ganges. Children under two years of age are not however cremated but buried. Later works mention many other ceremonies¹, the chief aim of which is to lend arms, legs etc., and finally the head, to the spirit of the dead (preta) by means of the Piṇḍas offered to it, so that it is transformed into a "father" (pitṛ) and is then fit to be received into the Śrāddha.

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¹ Oldenberg, D. Religion d. Veda 570-591.

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² Of. M. Williams, Hinduism 65.

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¹ Colebrooke, The Religious Ceremonies of the Hindus in Ess. 2, 172—195.

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The impurity on account of death² is parallel to the impurity caused by a birth and like the latter its term is generally 10 days. It is not improbable that the birth impurity of which the term of 10 days is probably based on a natural ground was responsible for the fixation of an equal term for death impurity too. This period undergoes important fluctuations according to the age, sex and the position of the deceased and the nearness of relationship. Thus the death of a still-born child or a child which dies soon after birth or before teething, causes no impurity. The death of a married woman makes impure only her husband and his relations, but not her own blood-relations. At the death of the father of the mother there is an impurity only of three days. For people of lower status than that of the Brahmans the period of impurity may in general extend from 11 days to a month (Vi. 22, 1—4, 26 f., 33, 42 etc.). So long as the impurity exists one may eat only purchased or presented foods and no flesh, sleep only alone on earth, and one cannot beg or study or have intercourse with any one for fear of defiling him (Gaut. 14, 37—39; Vas. 4, 14 f.; Vi. 19, 14—17; 22, 6 f. etc.). After the expiration of the term of impurity the ceremony of purification takes place. Women are impure not only through a death and their low origin, but also by the menses, which even according to a Vedic legend are the result of a sin which Indra drew upon himself by killing Vṛtra. Only on the fourth day the menstruating woman is pure by a bath. A bath with the clothes on is necessary after touching a menstruating woman, a woman in child-bed, a carrier of a dead-body, a Caṇḍāla, a dog etc. (Vas. 5, 4—9; Gaut. 14, 30ff. etc.).

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² Cf. Leist, Altar. jus gentium 194—201, 262; Delbrück, D. indog. Verwandtschaftsnamen 568—572.

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After the treatment of the defilement of the human body usually purification of things (Dravyaśuddhi) is dealt with (Vi. 23 etc.). Spirituous liquors, drinking of which is a mortal sin (§ 36), leavings and fluids out of the human body such as sweat, tears, urine, excrements, semen, blood, etc. are held to be particularly impure. If earthen or wooden vessels are defiled by them there remains nothing to do but to throw them away; on the other hand, implements of iron, horn, ivory etc. may be purified in the fire or by scrubbing, washing etc. Defilement by a fatty substance is also very bad; defilement by leavings of food etc. are less serious; they can, as a rule, be set at right by simple washing and rinsing. Other kinds of purification are rubbing with ash, cow's hair and other things, straining (in the case of liquids), repeated burning (in the case of earthenware) sprinkling with water, milk, cow's urine or earth, besmearing with cowdung, sipping by a cow (in the case of stagnant water) etc., and in this connection the quality of the cow as a sacred animal must be remembered. Yet in many cases a rational stand-point has been taken. Wares in a shop, the hand of a workman, particles of food sticking to the teeth, hair of the beard which comes into the mouth, a shadow and dust are never impure; on the other hand, the dog is pure when catching a wild animal, a suckling calf is pure when milk flows and a woman's mouth is pure at the time of kissing, a bird is pure when it pecks the fruit; dirty and defiled roads are purified by sun and wind.

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The ancient funeral ceremonies are still preserved wholly or in part among the Brahmans and other castes¹, as for example the train of mourners led by the nearest relative as the "performer" (kartā) of the obsequies, the cremation of the corpse to the accompaniment of Mantras, turning round the heap of woods keeping it to the left side or from left to right, the water libation and the purificatory bath, the return of the mourning party and the halt at the door, chewing of Nim (Nimba) leaves, the offering of water and Piṇḍa and the hanging of a water-vessel on the following days up to the 10., the collection of bones, which is even now called asthisamcayan,—mostly on the 3. day—in a pot, in order to throw them later into the Ganges when possible, non-cremation of children (below 3 years of age), the belief that the deceased successively receives back his limbs through the Piṇḍas and recital of consolatory Mantras, particularly out the Garuḍapurāṇa. During the period of impurity, which as a rule extends over 10 days, it is forbidden to cook, to take sugar, milk or meat, to use ointments, sandal power or betel-leaves, to wear the turban or the shoes, to go out, to have the hair cut or to be shaved, to study the Vedas or to perform the service of the household god; moreover, one shall take only the foods sent by the relations and shall sleep on earth alone. Already Alberuni 2, 165—170 mentions some of these usages. Defilement through touching (Sparśadoṣa) a man of low caste, a menstruating woman, a dog etc. is still always expiated for by a bath. Women in child-bed shall remain one month and a menstruating woman 3 days in the "birth chamber" giving up all intercourse with men. That earthen and wooden vessels were thrown away after being used once and that metal vessels used to be rubbed after every meal, is mentioned already by Hiouen Thsang ¹, and even now a similar distinction is made between earthen and other vessels ². Also the use of cow-dung and cow's urine is very often resorted to for cleansing purposes ³. Regarding the defilement caused by fatty substances it may be remembered what a part the cartridges besmeared with tallow had played in the insurrection of 1857.

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¹ Cf. BG 13, 1, 83. 127; 18, 1, 148, 163, 167, 175, 267, 273, 280, 309 f.; 21, 98, 107; 22, 84 f. etc. Dubois 286-293; M. Williams, Modern India (3rd. Ed.) 97-99.

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¹ Mém. 1. 70 f.

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² Dubois 108—114.

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³ l. c.; BG 21, 95; Cf. § 37.

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§ 59. *Rules of diet.* Eating pure food is considered to be more effective than all external means of purification. He who keeps himself pure in his nourishment is truly pure and not he who purifies himself only externally with earth or water (Vi. 22, 89). Of liquors spirituous ones (§§ 36, 58), and of solid foods meat, are strictly forbidden. 13 kinds of spirituous drinks, called *surā* or *madya*, are mentioned. Distillations of molasses, Madhuka flowers or rice-flour are called Surā; intoxicating drinks extracted out of sugar, grapes, cocoanuts etc. are Madya. Yet all these drinks are forbidden only for the Brahmans, while the Kṣatriya and the Vaiśya may enjoy them to some extent (Vi. 22, 82—84 ; M. 11, 91—99 ; Gaut. 2. 20). Meat-eating and alcoholism are in general placed on the same footing (M. 11, 96), yet the first sin is not considered to be a mortal one and the Smṛtis contain many relics of the Vedic animal sacrifice and a laxer conception of Ahimsā which declares certain animals to be eatable. Thus a well-known memorial verse says that an animal may be killed when entertaining an honoured guest, for a sacrifice and for the manes but never otherwise (M. 5, 41 ; Vas. 4, 6 etc.). Therefore, says Vas. 4, 7, the killing of animals in a sacrifice is no killing in the true sense of the word; in M. 5, 48, Vi. 51, 71 of course another principle is met with in its place: "therefore, one must avoid eating meat." According to M. 5, 56 it is no sin to take meat or spirituous drinks or to cohabit, i. e. if it takes place at the time fixed by law (cf. 5, 22, 27). Sheep, goats, antilopes, buffaloes and other animals shall be sacrificed specially at the sacrifices to the dead, and, as it is believed, their flesh satisfies the "fathers" for a longer period than vegetable offerings (Vi. 80 etc.). It is often expressly permitted to sacrifice even oxen and cows and then to eat their flesh (Āp. 1, 17, 30; M. 5, 18). The flesh of the rhinoceros, iguana, hare, porcupine, wild boar and the tortoise may be eaten any time (Vi. 51, 6 etc.). Birds of prey and many other birds cannot be eaten but the partridge, francolin, quail and the peacock are excepted from this prohibition (Vi. 51, 31). Fishes are likewise forbidden but here too some exceptions have been stated (Vi. 51, 21 etc.). The eating of wild animals if not fully allowed, is however less blameworthy than to eat household animals, particularly cows, house fowls, pigs and monkeys (Vi. 51 3 etc.). Generally, to avoid animal food is regarded as a special austerity of particular merit and thus it is not given as a compulsory rule (M. 5, 53 f. etc.). For this reason it has been ordained for the austerities during the period of impurity and for the ascetics that no meat can be eaten (§§ 55, 58). Of vegetable foods, garlic, leek, onion, mushroom and plants growing on excrements should be avoided. Also presents from low persons, food which is refused, leavings of a meal and food touched by impure animals or men cannot be taken (Y. 1, 160—171, 176 etc.).

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Not only what is eaten but also how, when and where the food is eaten, is of importance in this respect. Thus one cannot eat standing, lying, naked or in wet clothes, nor out of a broken or impure vessel, nor out of the hand; one cannot eat in the open air, in a temple or in an empty house at midday or midnight or at dawn, nor at the time of the solar or the lunar eclipse or when any misfortune has occurred to the king, to a Brahman or to a cow; nor can one eat during a period of indigestion or to surfeit or more than twice a day or too late or too early. Before eating, gods and Brahmans must be fed, sacrifice must be offered in the fire, etc.; at the time of eating one must look towards the north or the south and be anointed and garlanded and after the meal the mouth and the hands must be washed (Vi. 68 etc.).

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The oldest exactly datable prohibition to eat animal food is found in the inscriptions of Aśoka who speaks in unambiguous terms against killing and sacrificing animals, but as laid down in the Smṛtis, makes an exception in favour of peacocks and antelopes¹. In general, the rules of diet among the Buddhists are in complete agreement with Brahmanical rules, especially those for Brahmanical ascetics, inspite of the Buddhists' strict commandment of Ahimsā which they share with the Jains². The Mah. preaches Ahimsā but the chief heroes go for chase and eat flesh³. Alberuni 2, 151 f., 155 says that it was allowed to kill sheep, goats, gazelles, hares, rhinoceroses, buffaloes, fishes, aquatic and land birds such as sparrows, francolins, doves, peacocks and other birds which are not harmful or disgusting; on the other hand the flesh of cows, horses, mules, asses, camels, elephants, house fowls, crows, parrots, nightingales and further eggs, wine (allowed to Śudras), onions, garlic, certain cucumbers and roots, and the nālī (lotus) reeds are mentioned by him as forbidden to eat. That the Brahmans could not eat garlic is seen also in the medical literature from the fifth century downwards ¹ and in the Rājatar. 1, 342. At the present day the Brahmans (excepting those of Kashmir) ² avoid animal food as well as eggs and all spirituous liquors and onions and garlic ³. Particular sects of the Jains and the Lingayats practise this abstinence still more strictly and in general this is the rule among most of the higher castes; repugnance to beef is particularly strong ⁴. Yet the Rajputs eat the meat of goats, stags, hares, doves, quails, ortolans and fishes⁵. The Śivaite sects too eat and offer sacrifices with certain animals and drink spirituous liquors, while the Vaiṣṇavas are perfect abstainers ⁶. It is also generally forbidden to eat together with a member of another caste, particularly that of a low caste, and to eat the food cooked by him, or to eat with women or to eat the leavings of food.

Linked texts (15)

Vaiṣṇava Dharmaśāstra — Viṣṇu, Sanskrit
Gautamadharmasūtra — Gautama (dharmasūtrakāra), Sanskrit
Mānava Dharmaśāstra — Manu & Bhṛgu, Sanskrit
Yājñavalkyasmṛti — Yājñavalkya, Sanskrit
Vasiṣṭhadharmasūtra — Vasiṣṭha, Sanskrit
Baudhāyanadharmasūtra — Baudhāyana, Sanskrit
Āpastambadharmasūtra — Āpastamba, Sanskrit
Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra — Kauṭilya, Sanskrit
Vaikhānasadharmasūtra — Vikhanas, Sanskrit
Pañcatantra — Viṣṇuśarman, Sanskrit
Nāradasmṛti — Nārada, Sanskrit
Mahābhārata — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
Ἰνδικά — Μεγασθένης, Ancient Greek
Smṛticandrikā (Āpadeva) — Āpadeva 1600, Sanskrit
Uttararāmacarita — Bhavabhūti, Sanskrit