Snāna Vidhi

Snāna Vidhi, “the rite of bathing”

The snāna vidhi is the rule for sacred bathing. The bath is part of the daily ācāra (conduct) of a follower of dharma, and it comes before pūjā and the other daily rites.

The Purāṇas teach how the bath is done: what is put on the body, which mantras are said, which offerings of water follow, and what the bath gives to the one who bathes.

The Agni Purāṇa teaches the snāna in three places. Pushkara tells Paraśurāma that the bath is of six kinds and that every rite of one who has not bathed is fruitless, so one must bathe each morning (Chapter 155). Nārada teaches the bath that comes before yāga and pūjā, done with the mantras of Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha and Bhagavān Vishṇu (Chapter 22). And Bhagavān Śiva (Parameśvara) teaches Skanda the bath that removes dirt, the bath by rule in which a tīrtha is drawn into the water, and the baths of ash, rain, the dust of cows, mantras and the mind (Chapter 72).

Per Liṅga Purāṇa

The snāna vidhi here is the rule of bathing that comes before the pūjā of the Śivaliṅga. Nandikeśvara teaches three snānas one after the other: vāruṇa (with water), āgneya (with bhasma, sacred ash) and māntrika (with the Pañcabrahma mantras). It also teaches that bathing from outside, without a pure mind, does not purify. It is found in the Pūrvārdha.

How it was handed down

On the peak of Kailāsa, Parameśvara sat on a jewelled throne with Pārvatī Devī on His lap. She asked Him for the vidhi of Śivaliṅga pūjā, and He explained the whole rite. Nandikeśvara heard this talk and taught it to Sanatkumāra. Vyāsa heard it from Sanatkumāra. Sūta then told it to the Śaunaka and the other ṛshis.

Inner purity and outer bathing

The chapter on snāna begins with a warning:

Even if the mind is spoiled, bathing in great rivers, lakes or tanks, even through the whole of one’s life, or rubbing bhasma over the whole body, will not bring true purity. Only when the lotus of the mind (mānasa-kamala), folded inward, is opened by the sun of jñāna joined with bhakti and śraddhā, will the bhāva (state of heart) become pure.

So bathing and wearing bhasma are strong purifiers, but their full fruit comes only when the antaḥkaraṇa (the inner mind) turns to Śivabhakti (devotion to Bhagavān Śiva). The text gives the example of fish. Fish live in water, but they are not purified by it, because they have no inner śauca (purity) of bhakti.

The three kinds of snāna

The three snānas are given in the words of the Telugu text:

Snānamu — vāruṇamu, āgneyamu, māntrikamu anni mūḍu vidhāmula gadudagunu

Snāna is of three kinds: vāruṇa, āgneya and māntrika.

1. Vāruṇa snāna (the water bath)

The vāruṇa snāna is done three times in a row.

1. First bath. Put darbha grass in the bath water. Wash the feet. Do ācamana (the sipping of water for purity). Wash the impurities from the body. Rub the body with a mix of mṛttikā (clay), gomaya (cow dung) and tila (sesame seeds). Pour water over the body. Then put on a fresh, clean cloth.
2. Second bath. Bathe a second time and change into another fresh, dry cloth.
3. Third bath. Before the third bath, call Varuṇadeva into the water in the mind (āvāhana), worship Varuṇa in the water, and meditate on Maheśvara. Then bathe the third time.

In all three baths, the Pavamāna sūktas and the Namaka and Camaka (the Rudrādhyāya) are chanted. Streams of water are poured over the śiras (head).

After the three baths, put on a dry cloth and sit in a pure place. Sip darbhodaka (water with darbha grass) three times. Then, to remove the pāpa of any tiny creatures hurt in the water, walk three pradakshiṇas around the water. This ends the vāruṇa snāna.

2. Āgneya snāna (the bhasma bath)

After the vāruṇa snāna, one returns home and does the āgneya snāna.

1. Wash the feet on entering.
2. Take pure bhasma that comes from a sacred fire (śuddhāgni-sambhava).
3. Purify the bhasma by saying the Praṇava over it, and then wet it a little.
4. Put the bhasma on the places of the body with the Pañcabrahma mantras, as follows.

3. Māntrika snāna (the mantra bath)

Before the āgneya snāna, water is sprinkled on the body while the Āpohishṭhādi mantras are said:

Āpo hishṭhā mayobhuvaḥ…

This sprinkling with mantras is the māntrika part. The full māntrika snāna is defined in these words of the Telugu text:

Udakamutō vāruṇamu, bhasmatō āgneyamu; sadyojātādi pañcabrahma mantralato śiva shaḍakshari mahāmantramu tōḍanu māntrikam-bgu snānam saṃghaṭincunu

Vāruṇa is with water. Āgneya is with bhasma. Māntrika snāna is with the Pañcabrahma mantras, beginning with Sadyojāta, together with the Śiva Shaḍakshari mahāmantra (Namaḥ Śivāya).

The māntrika snāna completes and seals the purification that began in the water bath and the bhasma bath.

What follows the snāna

The snāna vidhi leads straight into the next steps:

1. wearing bhasma and rudrāksha (after the snāna);
2. the sandhyā-vandana, with arghya, Gāyatrī-japa, tarpaṇa and the pañcamahāyajña;
3. liṅgārcana, which is entering the place of pūjā and worshipping the Śivaliṅga.

The whole order, snāna, then sandhyā-vandana, then liṅgārcana, makes up the full daily Śaiva sādhanā. One who does all of it with devotion receives Śivānugraha (the grace of Bhagavān Śiva). At the end of his prārabdha (the karma that gives the present life) he reaches Kailāsa and knows Śivānanda (the joy of Bhagavān Śiva).

Per Matsya Purāṇa

The snāna vidhi is the rule for sacred bathing. It is taught in Chapter 100 as part of the daily ācāra (conduct) of every follower of dharma. It has four parts: calling Gaṅgā into the bathing water, bathing with mṛttikā (earth), tarpaṇa (water offering) to Gaṅgā and to the pitṛs, and arghya (water offering) to Bhagavān Sūrya. The text teaches that the waters of Gaṅgā, whether in a clay pot, a vessel from the ocean, a well or a river, all purify equally when she is called with the right mantra.

Where it is taught

The text first tells the sixty vratas in Chapter 99. It then goes on, in Chapter 100, to teach the snāna vidhi.

Gaṅgā āvāhana

Before bathing, the devotee calls Gaṅgā into the bathing water with this invocation:

O Gaṅgā, you who arose from the lotus-foot of Bhagavān Vishṇu, who came down through the tapas of Bhagīratha, and who purify all three worlds, be present in this water. O devī of purity, whatever water I bathe in, whether from a river, a well, a tank or a vessel, let it become Gaṅgā-jala by your presence.

This shows that the tattva (essence) of Gaṅgā fills all water when she is called with śraddhā (faith) and the right mantra. The vessel, the river or the pond becomes equal to holy Gaṅgā herself.

Mṛttikā snāna

The bath begins with the rubbing on of earth (mṛttikā). The earth is taken from a clean and auspicious place, best from a riverbank or an anthill. It is never taken from a cremation ground or from soil that is unclean. The earth is put on the head, the body and the feet, with mantras that call on Bhūmī Devī:

O Earth, you who carry all beings, who were lifted from the waters by Bhagavān Varāha, who are the mother of all, take away all impurity from my body.

After this the devotee bathes with clean water, saying Gaṅgā-stotras.

Gaṅgā tarpaṇa

After the bath, tarpaṇa is offered to Gaṅgā as devatā and to the pitṛs. The devotee stands in the water, or beside it, facing east. For pitṛ-tarpaṇa he faces north. He offers water held in the cupped palms. The tarpaṇa words call on two:

1. Gaṅgā as devatā. “O Gaṅgā, accept this tarpaṇa from me. Purify my forefathers.”
2. The pitṛs. “To my father, grandfather and great-grandfather: tṛpyata (be satisfied). May this water reach you through Gaṅgā.”

For the pitṛ-tarpaṇa the sacred thread is worn in the apasavya position, over the right shoulder.

Arghya to Sūrya

After tarpaṇa, arghya is offered to Bhagavān Sūrya. The devotee stands facing east with folded hands. He holds water in a copper vessel or in the cupped palms and pours it in a thin stream, saying:

O Sūrya, the eye of the universe, the presiding deva of time, the sustainer of all life, accept this arghya. May you give health, long life and moksha to me and to all my family.

The golden stream of water offered to the rising sun is counted among the most meritorious of all daily acts.

The phala

One who bathes in the set way, with Gaṅgā āvāhana, mṛttikā, tarpaṇa and Sūrya arghya, is freed from all the pāpa (sin) he has gathered. His body becomes pure and his mind becomes fit for meditation. His pitṛs receive tṛpti (satisfaction). The merit of such a bath is equal to bathing at holy Prayāga in the month of Māgha.

Per Agni Purāṇa

The six kinds of snāna and the daily bath

Pushkara, teaching Paraśurāma the rules of ācāra (conduct), says that snāna is of six kinds: nitya (daily), naimittika (called for by an event), kāmya (for a desired fruit), kriyāṅga (part of a rite), malakarshaṇa (to remove dirt), and a sixth. All the karmas of one who has not bathed are fruitless; therefore one must bathe daily in the morning.

Waters differ in purity, each purer than the one before: water drawn from a well, water lying on the ground, the water of a stream, of a tank, of a river, the water of a tīrtha, and, purest of all, the water of Gaṅgā.

Dipping in the water, washing away the dirt of the body and doing ācamana (sipping water), one does mārjana (sprinkling oneself) with the three ṛks beginning Hiraṇyavarṇāḥ, the mantra Śaṃ no devīr abhishṭaye, the three mantras beginning Āpo hi shṭhā, and the mantra beginning Idam āpaḥ. Then, plunging into the water and staying within it, one does japa of the Aghamarshaṇa sūkta, or the mantra Drupadād iva, or the sūkta beginning Yuñjate manaḥ, or the sūkta beginning Sahasraśīrshā; the Gāyatrī is especially fitting. Of the Aghamarshaṇa sūkta the ṛshi is Aghamarshaṇa, the chandas is anushṭubh and the devatā is Bhāvavṛtta: by it one remembers Bhagavān Hari as Bhāvavṛtta.

While wringing out the garments one offers tarpaṇa (water) to the devatās and the pitṛs, and then jalāñjali (water in the joined palms) with the Purusha sūkta. Then one performs the agnihotra, gives dāna as one is able, and takes refuge in Parameśvara for yoga-kshema, the gaining and keeping of what is needed.

Among the rules of conduct, Pushkara says: do not bathe naked; do not throw dirt into the water; when in one river, do not utter the name of another; do not cross any river without offering tarpaṇa to the devatās and the pitṛs; and do not take an oil bath on the shashṭhī, ashṭamī and caturdaśī days. One should bathe at once after union and when touched by the smoke of a burning pyre (Chapter 157).

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 155, 157

The bath before yāga and pūjā

Nārada teaches the snāna to be done before rites such as yāga and pūjā:

1. Uttering the Nṛsiṃha mantra, take earth and divide it into two parts. With one part take the mala-snāna, the bath that removes dirt.
2. Immerse, do ācamana, meditate with the Nṛsiṃha mantra, make rakshā (protection), and then take the vidhi-snāna, the bath by rule, preceded by prāṇāyāma.
3. Doing japa of the Ashṭākshara mantra and meditating on Śrī Mahāvishṇu in the heart, keep the other half of the earth in the palm, divided into three parts.
4. Doing japa of the Nṛsiṃha mantra, bind the directions (digbandha).
5. Doing japa of the Vāsudeva mantra, make the saṅkalpa (resolve) and touch the tīrtha, the water.
6. With the mantras that begin with the Veda, wipe the body.
7. Worship the deva in the mūrti, remembering him; put on the cloth; and recite the aghamarshaṇa mantras.
8. Do nyāsa with the mantras, and mārjana with the water in the hand.
9. Do prāṇāyāma with the Nārāyaṇa mantra; smell the water in the hand and cast it away.
10. Meditating on Bhagavān Hari, offer arghya, and do japa of the Dvādaśākshara, the twelve-syllable mantra.
11. Offer tarpaṇa in order: first to the Yogapīṭha and the other devatās, to the mantras, to the devatās up to the dikpālas, to the ṛshis, to the pitṛ-gaṇas, to men, and to all beings down to the unmoving.
12. Then, seated, do aṅga-nyāsa, withdraw the mantras, and enter the yāga-gṛha, the house of the rite.

In the pūjā of other devatās, the snāna is done with the mūla-mantra and the other mantras of that devatā.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 22

The mala-snāna, as Parameśvara taught Skanda

In Chapter 72 Parameśvara teaches Skanda the daily and occasional baths. With a knife, or with the astra-mantra phaṭ, earth is dug from a depth of eight aṅgulas (finger-breadths), brought up and worshipped with that mantra. With svāhā it is placed on the bank and purified with the astra-mantra; with vashaṭ grass and the like are removed from it; and with hum it is divided into three parts. The first part, mixed with water, is smeared from the navel to the feet and washed off. The second part, consecrated with the astra-mantra, is smeared on the rest of the body. Then, closing the ears, nose and the other openings with both hands, holding the breath, and meditating on the astra of light that is like the Kālāgni, the fire at the end of time, one dives into the water. This is the mala-snāna. Coming out, one performs the sandhyā and then the vidhi-snāna.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 72

The vidhi-snāna

With the hṛdaya-mantra (namaḥ) and the aṅkuśa-mudrā (the goad gesture), one draws one of the tīrthas such as Sarasvatī, and with the saṃhāra-mudrā establishes it in the water nearby. Standing in the water up to the navel and facing north, one divides the third part of the earth into three in the left hand. The southern part is consecrated once with the aṅga-nyāsa mantras, the eastern part with astrāya phaṭ repeated seven times, and the northern part with oṃ namaḥ śivāya repeated ten times. Scattering a little of the earth in all directions with astrāya huṃ phaṭ, and turning the arms in the water while repeating oṃ namaḥ śivāya and the Soma mantra oṃ somāya svāhā, one makes the water the very form of Śiva-tīrtha.

One smears the earth over the whole body from head to foot with the aṅga-nyāsa mantra. Reciting four of the aṅga-nyāsa mantras, one touches the heart, the head, the śikhā and the two arms, closes the openings of the senses, and with the sammukhīkaraṇa-mudrā, remembering Bhagavān Śiva, Bhagavān Vishṇu and Gaṅgā, dives into the water. Then, uttering the six aṅga mantras, oṃ hṛdayāya namaḥ, śirase svāhā, śikhāyai vashaṭ, kavacāya hum, netratrayāya vaushaṭ, astrāya phaṭ, one stands in the water and bathes with both hands joined in the kumbha-mudrā. After the bath one comes out and withdraws the tīrtha with the saṃhāriṇī-mudrā.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 72

The other baths

Parameśvara then names the other baths:

• Bhasma-snāna: one bathes with pure bhasma (sacred ash), consecrated with the saṃhitā-mantras. Uttering oṃ astrāya huṃ phaṭ, one takes the mala-snāna with bhasma from head to foot, and then the śuddha-snāna, the pure bath. With the mantras Īśāna, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vāmadeva and Sadyojāta, in order, the bhasma is placed on the head, the face, the heart, the private parts and the other limbs.
• Āgneya-snāna: it is taken at the three sandhyās, at midnight, before and after the rains, and after sleep, eating, drinking water and other necessary acts. On touching a woman, a napuṃsaka, a śūdra, a cat, a corpse or a rat, one fills the hollow of the palm with pure water and drinks it: this too is called the āgneya-snāna.
• Māhendra-snāna: when rain falls while the sun’s rays are seen, one faces east, raises both arms, utters the Īśāna mantra, walks seven steps and bathes in that rain.
• Pāvana-snāna: standing among a herd of cows, in the dust raised by their hooves, repeating the mūla-mantra of one’s ishṭa-devatā or the kavaca mantra huṃ.
• Mantra-snāna: the bath with water over which the Sadyojāta and the other mantras are uttered; it may also be done with the mantras of Varuṇa or of Agni.
• Mānasika-snāna: prāṇāyāma while uttering the mūla-mantra in the mind. This bath is enjoined in all rites. In the rites of Bhagavān Vishṇu and the other devatās it is done with their own mantras.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 72

Sources

• Liṅga Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha
• Matsya Purāṇa, Chapter 99 (the sixty vratas, which come before this teaching)
• Matsya Purāṇa, Chapter 100 (Snāna Vidhi)
• Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 22, 72, 155, 157