History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.t2.844

v4.c63.t2.844

12. 'Carrying a jar of water' (l. 8). The Baud. Dh. S. I. 4 devotes numerous¹⁸¹⁶ sūtras (1-27) to the subject of carrying an earthen or wooden jar full of water. Every *snātaka* was always to carry a jar of water from which he was to take water for *śauca*. He was to wash it with water and rub it with his hand. This was declared to be equal to *paryagnikaraṇa* (encircling with fire for purification, vide H. Dh. vol. II. p. 1120 n. 2501). He was not to go to another's house or to the village boundary or on a journey without the jar. Vas. 12. 14-17, Manu IV. 36, Yāj. I. 133 contain similar provisions. Viśvarūpa explains that the snātaka himself need not carry it and that it may be carried for him by another. It was an encumbrance, gave rise to unhygienic and unclean habits and so gradually it came to be dispensed with. This practice was regularised by declaring that in the Kali age a water jar was not to be carried at all. The Madanapārijāta (p. 16) explained that 'kamaṇḍaluvidhāraṇa' refers to perpetual studenthood, but this explanation cannot be accepted, because in the Nāradīyapurāṇa (note 1798 above) both are mentioned separately. The K. V. N. (folio 3 a) notes that some explained 'kamaṇḍaluvidhāraṇam' as standing for 'dīrghakālam brahmacaryam' (studenthood for long periods).