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262
S. B. DEO Objections to Washing Refuted :
The washing of clothes in other seasons was refuted on the grounds that the monk tended to become loose in morals, as, seeing him neatly dressed, he was likely to be approached by women.
Another objection raised was that washing involved injury to living being. But this was refuted by the argument that even unwashed clothes gave rise to living beings and hence they were in constant danger of being killed. Hence any activity that was done in consonance with the spirit of the rule was taken to be valid.266
Vindication of Washing:
Washing of clothes was justified on the grounds that, if they are left unwashed,
(1) they become heavy,
(2) dirt gets into them firmly by means of the spray of rain drops in the rainy season,
(3) they get more worn out, and new ones cannot be accepted in rainy season,
(4) dirty clothes got wet in rainy season give rise to an overgrowth (panaka) which leads to himsā,
(5) soiled clothes retain wetness for a long time leading to indigestion and illness,
and (6) people generally condemn one wearing soiled clothes, and for not knowing the rule (5) above.
Stitching of Clothes :
From the rule which laid down that 'a monk who asks for needle to stitch clothes and in reality stitches a pot with it, has to undergo a punishment for it',267 it seems that the monks stitched torn clothes. The rule in the Oghaniryukti268 which lays down that stitched clothes were to be washed the last of all, also goes to support the above view.
266. "yo hi sūtrajñyāmanusrtya yatanayā samyak pravartate sa yadyapi kathancitprányupamarddakārī tathāpi na asau pāpabhāk bhavati, näpi tiyraprāyaścittabhāgi, sūtrabahumānato yatanayā pravartamānatvāt".-Vrtti to Pind-N. p. 12b.
267. Nis. 1, 31; Ibid., 1, 47-56; stitching improperly was taken to be a fault.
268.356; The Ganividyāprakirņaka lays down the rule that stitching (sīvana) should be done on the kittikă and višakhā nakşatras.-vs. 36-37.
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