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XXVIII, 9.
SECRET PENANCES.
133
2-3. A wife, (though) tainted by sin, whether she be quarrelsome, or have left the house, or have suffered criminal force, or have fallen into the hands of thieves, must not be abandoned; to forsake her is not prescribed (by the sacred law). Let him wait for the time of her courses; by her temporary uncleanness she becomes pure.
4. Women (possess) an unequalled means of purification; they never become (entirely) foul. For month by month their temporary uncleanness removes their sins.
5. Women belong first to three gods, Soma (the moon), the Gandharva, and Fire, and come afterwards into the possession of men; according to the law they cannot be contaminated.
6. Soma gave them cleanliness, the Gandharva their melodious voice, and Fire purity of all (limbs); therefore women are free from stains.
7. Those versed in the sacred law state that there are three acts (only) which make women outcasts, (viz.) the murder of the husband, slaying a learned Brâhmana, and the destruction of the fruit of their womb.
8. A calf is pure when the milk flows, a bird when it causes fruit to fall, women during dalliance, and a dog when he catches a deer.
9. Pure is the mouth of a goat and of a horse, pure is the back of a cow, pure are the feet of a Brâhmana, but women are pure in all (limbs). performing a penance, provided her lover was a man of equal caste.-Krishnapandita.
2-3. For the last clause compare Yâgñavalkya I, 72. 4. See above, V, 3-4. 5. Pâraskara Grihya-sútra I, 4, 16. 6. Yagñavalkya I, 71.
7. Yâgñavalkya I, 72. 8. Vishnu XXIII, 49.
9. Vishnu XXIII, 40.
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| SR No. | 007674 |
| Book Title | Dhammapada |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Max Muller |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1881 |
| Total Pages | 2540 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 45 MB |