History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c34.130

v2.c34.130

A person who is ill may bathe with hot water or he may, if he cannot bear that, only wash his body except the head or his body may be rubbed with a wet piece of cloth. This last method is called *kāpila-snāna*.¹⁵⁸⁶ There is another method where a man is ill and something happens on which it is absolutely necessary for him to bathe; in this case one who is not ill should touch him and then bathe himself and then again touch him and bathe; when this is repeated ten times the person who is ill is deemed to have become pure as if he had bathed.¹⁵⁸⁷ In the case of a woman in her monthly course, if on the fourth day she has high fever, she is not to be bathed, but another woman is to touch her and bathe with all her clothes on and perform ācamana and touch her and bathe again; this is to be carried out ten or twelve times and in the end the clothes worn by the ailing woman are to be taken off and new ones to be given to her and she becomes clean.¹⁵⁸⁸