Daksha:- There
are nine types of bathings
approved as good by shastras:-
Agneyam, varunam, brahmam, vayavyam,
divyam, manasam, parthivam, kapilam
and sarasvatham.
-arÖaj>-
àa'œmuoír[aE hStaE
àa]aLyacMy pUvRvt! ,
àa[anayMy s<kLPy -Sm õan<
smacret! .
Bharathvaja:- Wash
hands and feet. Facing
east do achamanam and pranayamam.
Make sankalpa and start
Bhasmasnanam.
Aaday
-ist< ñet< Ai¶haeÇ
smuÓvm! ,
$zanen
tu mÙe[ SvmUxRin ivini]pet!
.
Take the
white ash residue of agnihothram
etc. Sprinkle on the head
with eeshana manthra.
tt
AadaytÑSm muoe tTpué;e[tu
,
A"aeraOyen
hdye guýe vamaþyen c
.
s*ae
jatai-xanen -Sm padÖye i]pet!
,
svaR¼<
à[venEv mÙe[aeÏlyeÄt> .
@tda¶eyk<
õan< %idt< prmi;Ri-> .
Sprinkle the
ash on the face with
the tathpurusha manthra, on the
heart with the aghora manthra,
on the hidden part with
the vamadeva manthra, on
the feet with the satyojatha
manthra and with the pranava
manthra all over the body.
This is agneya snanam [bathing
by fire]. Ash from agnihothram
is the best for this.
Vyas>-
õan< Ab!devtEmRÙE>
jlem¾ngahnE> ,
tpR[< ipt&devna< õan<
vaé[muCyte .
Vyasa:- Plunging
into the water with jala
devatha manthra, and doing
tarpanam for pitrus and
devas is called varuna
snanam [bathing in water].
kaTyayn>-
Aapaeihóaidi-äaü<
mÙõan<ih tt!Sm&tm! ,
k…za¢EmaRjRn< k…yaRÎevtIwˆRn va
iÖj> .
Kathyayana:-
Sprinkling the divine water
with the tips of kusha
grass with the apohishta
manthra is called brahmasnanam.
This is also called manthra
snanam.
b&hSpit>-
vayVy< gaerj> àae<
ASt<gCDit gaeptaE .
Brahaspathi:- When
the sun sets in the
evening, the dust which is
raised from the feet of
the cow is blown
to the body by the
air. This is called vayavya
snanam [bathing by air].
ivÖTsrSvtIàaÝ<
õan< sarSvt< Sm&tm!
.
The
words spoken by wise experts
give sarasvatha snanam. [Bathing
in wise teaching].
%Äray[mXyetu
ydav;Rit vasv> ,
Aatpenshõan<
idVy< õan< tÊCyte
.
When
one becomes wet in the
rain during uttharayana period
[January, 15. to July,
15.], when there is both
rain and sun, it is
called divya snanam.[wonderful bath]
ctu-URj<
mhadev< z<oc³gdaxrm! ,
mnsa Xyayte iv:[U< mans<
õanmuCyte .
Meditating on
Mahavishnu who has four
arms and holds conch, wheel
and mace is called manasa
snanam.[bathing by mind].
zuicdezaNm&d<
g&ý k…yaRdœ gaÇaeplepnm!
,
mÙE> paiwRvs<yuE -aEm<
õan< tÊCyte .
Taking soil from
good earth, applying it on
the body with manthras, and taking
bath is called parthiva
snanam. [bathing by earth].
9. õanhaR[I jlain-
Waters suitable for bath
mnu>-
ndI;u devoate;u tqake;u
srSsu c ,
õan< smacreiÚTy< gtRàöv[e;u
c .
Manu:- River,
natural pond, man-made pond,
pond reverred by sages, lake,
and rivulet are waters
in which bath can be
taken.
makR{fey>-
pura[ana< nre<Ôa[a<
\]I[a< c mhaTmna< ,
õan< kªptqake;u devtana<
smacret! .
-UimómuϯtaTpu{y< tt> àöv[aedkm!
,
ttaeip sars< pu{y< ga<g<
pu{y< tu svRt> .
Markandeya:- Wells
and ponds dug by ancient
kings, sages and deities
are good for taking bath
every day. It is better
to plunge into water and
take bath rather than pour
water drawn from a well
in a pot. Water falling
from a mountain is superior
to that. Again in ascending
order is water from
lake, river, places
worshipped by sages, and
the best is water from
the Ganges .
n*a<
tu iv*manaya< n õayadNyvair;u
,
n
õayadLptaeyetu iv*manbødke .
Wherever there
is a river, don't take
bath in a well or
pond. When a large body
of water is available don't
take bath in a small
body of water.
10. smuÔõanm!-
Ocean Bath
setunaRpe]te
kal< inTy< õan< àzSyte
,
in;ex>
kal-edSy setaerNyÇ kihRict!
.
In Ramesvaram, ocean
bath can be taken everyday.
The exceptions are only
for other places.
Aap
@v pUta> tasa< viûivRzaexk>
,
tSmaTsvˆR;ukale;u
%:[a<b> pavn< Sm&t< .
Water is
always pure and holy. Mixing
fire element with water is
specially good. So bath
can always be taken in
warm water at all times.
11. nEimiÄkõan<-
Bathing for a Special
Reason
mnu>-
idvakIitRmudKya< c
sUitka< pitt< twa ,
zv< tt!Sp&iòn< cEv
Sp&òœvaõanen zuXyit .
Manu:- If
a man touches a menstruating
woman, a new mother, an
apostate, a corpse, or
the person who touched the
corpse, should take bath
with the dress he is
wearing, immediately.
mnu>-
ra÷dzRn s<³aiNt
ivvahaTyy v&iÏ;u ,
õandanaidk< k…yaRiÚizkaMy ìte;u
c .
Manu:- Eclipse,
transit of sun in a
planet, marriage, and birth,
any desired homa - when
these happen, bath can
be taken at any time
of day, and gifts given,
even at night.
mha-arte-
g<ga õan<
àk…vI–t ¢h[e cNÔsUyRyae>
,
mhandI;u caNyasu õan< k…yaR*waivix
.
Mahabharatha-
At the time of solar
and lunar eclipse, bath can
be taken in rivers, especially
the Ganges.
12. s<³m[m!-
Transit of the Sun in
the Rasis
s<³aNya<
yaindÄain hVykVyain manvE> ,
tain
tSy ddaTykRSsÝjNmsu iniítm!
.
The
sun transits into each
rasi every month in a
year, starting from Mesha. The
transiting time is called sankramanam
or sankranthi. At that time,
bath, gift giving, havyam and
gavyam are performed. The
Sun confers good results
for seven births.
devl>-
s<kra<it smy> sUúm>
Ê}Reey> ipizte][E> ,
t*aegadPyxíaex!Rv< ÇI<zÚaf(>
piviÇta> .
Devala:-
The exact moment of transit
cannot be fixed. So, 30
nazhigais[ 12 hrs.] before
and after sankramanam is
considered the sankramana time.
Ayn
Öe iv;uve Öe ctö:;fzIty>
,
ctöaeiv:[up*í
s<³NTyae ÖadzSm&ta> .
Two ayanas,
four shadasheethis, four vishnupathis,
and two vishus make twelve
sankranthis. The names of the
sankramanas are Makaram-Uttharayanam,
Kumbham-Vishnupathi, Meenam-Shadasheethi, Mesham-Vishu,
Rishabham-Vishnupathi, Mithunam-Shadasheethi,
Karkatakam-Dakshinayanam, Simham-Vishnupathi,
Kanya-Shadasheethi, Thula-Vishu, Vrishchikam-Vishnupathi,
and Dhanus-Shadasheethi.