History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c71.s1.504

v5.c71.s1.504

As regards the size of the morsels, different views are expressed. Gaut. 27.10 and Viṣṇu Dh. S. 47.2 prescribe that the size of a morsel shall be such as not to cause a distortion of the mouth (while swallowing it). Yāj. III. 323 allows that the morsels may be as large as the egg of a peahen, and Parāśara X. 3³¹³ prescribes the size of a hen's egg and Śaṅkha that of an undried *āmalaka* fruit (*myrobalan*). The Mit. explains that Gautama's words apply to boys and young people and that the other sizes confer an option according to the capacity (śakti) of the man undergoing penance. The procedure of cāndrāyaṇa is described in Gaut. 27.2-11, Baud. III. 8, Manu XI 221-225, Vṛddha-gautama chap. 16 and other works. The one given by Gautama, being probably the oldest among Dharmaśāstra works, is here set out.