DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.636#0411
Teeth-cleaning. Bathing. 399
any places of worship, and if they wish to visit the temples
they must go alone. They cannot be regenerated by in-
vestiture with the sacred thread. Their only sacrament is
marriage.' Such was his explanation of an Indian wife's
inferior religious status. Had he attributed her degradation
and seclusion to Muhammadan influences he would probably
have been more correct. Alone then, and unassisted by his
wife, must the Brahman commence his diurnal course of
ceremonial observances. His first important act after rising
is to clean his teeth. A Brahman ought to do this according
to strict rule, on pain of forfeiting the whole merit of the day's
religious acts. He ought properly to use a twig of the sacred
fig-tree (Vata), but other kinds of wood are also allowed1.
Teeth-cleaning, however, is only preliminary to the next im-
portant religious act of the day—bathing (snana). This should
be performed in some sacred stream, but in default of a river,
the householder may use a pool or tank, or even, in case
of dire necessity, a bath in his own house. Before entering
the water the bather ought to say: ' I am about to perform
morning ablution in this sacred stream (the Ganges or any
other as the case may be) in the presence of the gods and
Brahmans with a view to the removal of guilt resulting from
act, speech, thought—from what has been touched and un-
touched, known and unknown, eaten and not eaten, drunk and
not drunk.' During the process of bathing, a hymn to the per-
sonified Ganges, consisting of eight verses (called Gangashtaka),
is often recited. Its opening words may be thus translated:—
Daughter of Vishnu, thou didst issue forth
From Vishnu's foot, by him thou art beloved.
Therefore remove from us the stain of sin—
From birth to death protecting us thy servants.
After bathing comes the ceremony of Bhasma-dharana, or
1 The most common wood employed in some parts of India is that
of a thorny tree called Baval (commonly Babul). Sometimes the Nimba
(Nim) is used.
any places of worship, and if they wish to visit the temples
they must go alone. They cannot be regenerated by in-
vestiture with the sacred thread. Their only sacrament is
marriage.' Such was his explanation of an Indian wife's
inferior religious status. Had he attributed her degradation
and seclusion to Muhammadan influences he would probably
have been more correct. Alone then, and unassisted by his
wife, must the Brahman commence his diurnal course of
ceremonial observances. His first important act after rising
is to clean his teeth. A Brahman ought to do this according
to strict rule, on pain of forfeiting the whole merit of the day's
religious acts. He ought properly to use a twig of the sacred
fig-tree (Vata), but other kinds of wood are also allowed1.
Teeth-cleaning, however, is only preliminary to the next im-
portant religious act of the day—bathing (snana). This should
be performed in some sacred stream, but in default of a river,
the householder may use a pool or tank, or even, in case
of dire necessity, a bath in his own house. Before entering
the water the bather ought to say: ' I am about to perform
morning ablution in this sacred stream (the Ganges or any
other as the case may be) in the presence of the gods and
Brahmans with a view to the removal of guilt resulting from
act, speech, thought—from what has been touched and un-
touched, known and unknown, eaten and not eaten, drunk and
not drunk.' During the process of bathing, a hymn to the per-
sonified Ganges, consisting of eight verses (called Gangashtaka),
is often recited. Its opening words may be thus translated:—
Daughter of Vishnu, thou didst issue forth
From Vishnu's foot, by him thou art beloved.
Therefore remove from us the stain of sin—
From birth to death protecting us thy servants.
After bathing comes the ceremony of Bhasma-dharana, or
1 The most common wood employed in some parts of India is that
of a thorny tree called Baval (commonly Babul). Sometimes the Nimba
(Nim) is used.