Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 2.4
॥
Devanāgarī
मार्जनं रुद्रसूक्तैः । ततश्चाहतं वासः परिधत्ते पाप्मनोपहृत्यै
Transliteration (IAST)
mārjanaṃ rudrasūktaiḥ | tataścāhataṃ vāsaḥ paridhatte pāpmanopahṛtyai
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मार्जनं रुद्र-सूक्तैःmārjanaṃ rudra-sūktaiḥcleansing with the hymns of Rudra
ततः च आहतं वासः परिधत्तेtataḥ ca āhataṃ vāsaḥ paridhattethen he puts on an unwashed garment
पाप्मना उपहृत्यैpāpmanā upahṛtyaifor the averting of evil
Translation
«Cleansing — with the hymns of Rudra; then he puts on an unwashed garment for the averting of evil».
Version
4be79c549801 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Āhata vāsas, «unwashed garment», is named, and the word deserves explaining, for it does not mean what it seems to. Āhata means «unbeaten, unfulled»: so a new cloth, not yet laundered, is called. In India cloth is washed by beating it against a stone; and so «unbeaten» is cloth not yet beaten by the washerman, that is, new.
That is, what is prescribed is to put on something new or fresh — not something dirty, as one might think. This detail shows how much material freshness matters in the rite. Everything entering it must be new or renewed: fresh water, today's flowers, clean clothing.
The Vaishnava side holds the same, and for the same reason. Garments for service are not worn in daily life; garlands are not offered stale from yesterday; water is changed daily. Behind this lies a simple thought worth stating. One does not serve a guest yesterday's leftovers. And the whole rite, as noted when reading Tripurātāpinī (61), is the order of receiving a guest; and everything offered to a guest is offered fresh — not from mysticism, but from propriety.