Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 749

RULES OBSERVABLE BY WOMEN
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not anoint her head with oil, or play at dice and other games,
or use sandalwood, musk, or perfumes of any kind.
She
must not lie on a bed or sleep during the day. She must not
brush her teeth or rinse out her mouth. The mere wish to
cohabit with her husband would be a serious sin. She
must not think of the gods or of the sun, or of the sacrifices
and worship due to them. She is forbidden to salute persons
of high rank.
If several women in this unclean state should
find themselves together in one place, they must not speak
to or touch each other.
A woman in this condition must
not go near her children, touch them, or play with them.
After living thus in retirement for three days, on the fourth
she must take off the garments that she has been wearing,
and these must be immediately given to the washerman.
She must then put on a clean cloth and another over it, and
go to the river to purify herself by bathing. On her way
there she must walk with her head bent, and must take the
greatest care to glance at nobody, for her looks would defile
any person on whom they rested. When she has reached
the river she must first enter the water and fill the copper
vessel, or chembu, which she has brought with her from the
house.
Then, returning to the bank, she must thoroughly
cleanse her teeth, rinse out her mouth twelve times, and
wash her hands and feet. She must then enter the water
and plunge twelve times into it, immersing the whole of her
body. She must take the greatest care while doing this
not to look at any living soul, and to this end each time her
head rises above the water she must turn her eyes towards
the sun. On coming out of the water she must take a little
fresh cow-dung, some tulasi, and some earth.
These she
must mix together in a little water, until they make a thin
paste, and with this she must thoroughly rub her hands and
feet and then her whole body.
After this she must re-enter
the water, and completely immerse herself twenty-four
times.
When she again leaves the water she must rub
herself over with saffron, and again dip three times in the
water.
Then mixing saffron in a little water, she must
drink some and pour the rest on her head, after which she
must put on a pure cloth freshly washed and the little
bodice called ravikai. She may then paint the little round
red mark on her forehead called kunkuma and return home.