Āpastamba Dharmasūtra | 6

30.

1. The Bath at the End of Studentship

1. ‘He should bathe after learning the Veda’––that is the view of some; 2. likewise after completing the 48- year vow. 3. ‘He should bathe after learning the Veda and completing the vow,’ contend others.

4. One should behave towards all of these as towards a bath-graduate; 5. the specific reward of honouring such a person depends on the degree of his diligence and learning.

2. Observances of a Bath-Graduate

6. Next, the observances of a bath-graduate:

7. He should cultivate the practice of leaving and entering a village from the east or the north. 8. At the time of the morning and evening twilights he should sit silently outside the village.

9. When there is a conflict between rules, what is enjoined by a Vedic text prevails.

10. With respect to clothes, he should avoid all that are dyed, 11. as well as those that are naturally black. 12. He should wear clothes that are neither shiny 13. nor, if at all possible, squalid.

14. During the day he should refrain from covering his head, except when he voids urine or excrement.

15. He should void urine and excrement, however, after covering his head and spreading something on the ground.

16. He should avoid voiding urine or excrement in the shade; 17. but he may discharge urine in his own shadow. 18. He should not void urine or excrement wearing footgear, or on ploughed land, on a road, or in water.

19. Likewise, he should refrain from spitting and having sexual intercourse in water 20. and from voiding urine or excrement in front of a fire, the sun, water, a Brahmin, a cow, or a divine image.

21. In cleaning himself after voiding urine or excrement, he should avoid using stones, clods, or green branches that he has broken off from plants or trees.

22. If at all possible, he should not stretch his feet toward a fire, water, a Brahmin, a cow, a divine image, or a door, or in the direction from which the wind is blowing.

23. Now, they also quote:

31.

2. He should, moreover, void urine and excrement moving far away from his house in the direction of the south or the south- west, 3. but after sunset he should refrain from voiding urine or excrement outside the village or far from his house.

4. Let him refrain

- from pronouncing the name of a god while he is impure;
5. - from speaking harshly about either the gods or the king;
6. - from touching Brahmins or cows with his feet 7. or even with his hand without good cause;
8. - and from speaking ill of cows, sacrificial fees, or nubile girls.

9. He should not disclose it when a cow is causing damage 10. or when she is with her calf, unless there is a reason.

11. When speaking of a cow that does not yield milk, he should not say, ‘She is not a milk-cow’, but simply say, ‘She is going to be a milk-cow.’

12. Nor should he call a lucky thing ‘lucky’, but just call it ‘holy’ or ‘auspicious’.

13. He should not step over a rope to which a calf is tied 14. or pass between the posts to which a swing is attached.

15. He should not announce, ‘That man is my adversary.’ If he announces ‘That man is my adversary’, he will create for himself a rival who hates him.

16. He should not point out a rainbow to someone by saying ‘Look, the Indra’s bow!’ 17. or count flying birds.

18. He should avoid looking at the sun as it rises or sets.

19. During the day the sun protects creatures, and during the night, the moon:

Therefore, on the night of the new moon he should try his very best to guard himself by keeping himself pure and chaste and by performing rites appropriate for the occasion, 20. for on this night the sun and the moon dwell together.

21. He should not enter a village along a hazardous path. If he does so, he should softly recite this verse: ‘Homage to Rudra, the lord of the dwelling! ...’ or another verse addressed to Rudra.

22. He should not give his leftovers to someone who is not a Brahmin. If he does so, he should pick his teeth, place what he has picked from his teeth on the leftovers, and then give it.

23. He should avoid giving in to anger and other such faults that bring suffering to creatures.

32.

1. A man who is engaged in teaching the Vedas should refrain from sex during the rainy season and autumn, 2. and if he has sexual intercourse, let him not sleep with her the entire night.

3. While he is lying down, moreover, he should refrain from teaching, 4. nor should he teach sitting on the bed in which he sleeps.

5. Let him not appear in public wearing a garland or anointed with oil.

6. At night he should always adorn himself for his wife.

7. He should refrain from

- submerging his head in water;
8. - from bathing after sunset;
9. - from using seats, footwear, and tooth cleaners made with Palāśa wood;

10. -  and from boasting in the presence of the teacher by saying, for instance, ‘I have taken a fine bath.’

11. He should keep awake until nightfall.

12. Vedic recitation is forbidden at night, with the exception of teaching the Law to pupils 13. and reciting the Veda mentally by himself. 14. Teaching the Veda is permitted after midnight.

15. If he gets up in the last watch of the night, he should not go back to sleep thinking that Vedic recitation is forbidden:

16. He may, if he so wishes, rest leaning against something 17. or recite the Veda mentally.

18. Let him never visit vile men or regions inhabited by such men, 19. as also casinos and fairs. 20. If he has to go to a fair, he should leave after walking around it clockwise. 21. He should also avoid visiting cities.

22. Neither should he elucidate a question. 23. Now, they also quote:

25. He should avoid:

- climbing on to a donkey-cart or climbing on to or descending into precarious places; 26. as also crossing a river by swimming; 27. using unsafe boats; 28. cutting grass, crushing clods of earth, and spitting, without a good reason; 29. and anything else that is forbidden.