4 
Rajendralala Mitra —Spirituous Drin/cs in Ancient India. [No. 1, 
and Yajnavalkya* held that the only expiation meet for a Brahman who 
has polluted himself by drinking spirit, is suicide by a draught of spirit or 
water, or cow’s urine, or milk in a boiling state, taken in a burning hot 
metal pot. Angira, Vas'istha and Paithmasi restricted the drink to boiling 
spirits alone.f Devala went a step further, and prescribed a draught of melt¬ 
ed silver, copper or lead as the most appropriate. J Even in cases of acciden¬ 
tal drinking of spirits through ignorance on the part of any of the three 
twice-born classes, nothing short of a repetition of the initial sacramentary 
rites, effecting a complete regeneration, is held sufficient to purge the sin.§ 
The Brahman woman who transgresses this law, is denied access to the 
region of her husband, and is doomed to be born a slut, or a cow, or a vulture. |j 
Manu likewise provides for judicial cognisance of such offence by Brah¬ 
mans, and ordains excommunication and branding on the forehead the figure 
of a bottle as the most appropriate punishment. “ 237. For violating the 
paternal bed, let the mark of a female part be impressed on the forehead 
with hot iron; for drinking spirits, a vintner’s flag for stealing sacred 
gold, a dog’s foot; for murdering a priest, the figure of a headless corpse. 
“ 238. With none to eat with them, with none to sacrifice with them, 
with none to read with them, with none to be allied by marriage to them, 
abject and excluded from all social duties, let them wander over the earth. 
“ 239. Branded with indelible marks, they shall be deserted by their 
paternal and maternal relations, treated by none with affection, received by 
none with respect: such is the ordinance of Manu.” (IX.) 
Even drinking of water kept in a wine bottle is held sinful, and various 
expiations are recommended for removing the sin. ## 
fcT II 
J 
^ I 
i sTT^fr ^ftTf?TT3TTrqq^ | 
§ wcr qterr twi fqqjjqwq qr i 
w qw fV^rrrR: n 
■j 
|| qfcJ%qf ^ ^TfrT fq^fT I 
•[[The words are ^TTqi *T I) “ For drinking, a liquor-flag,” but as 
there is no flag known as peculiar to arrack, or arrack-sellers, commentators take the 
term surddhvaja to mean the particular kind of jar or flagon which was formerly used 
to hold liquor. What the shape of this jar was, I cannot ascertain 
** ?rnj ^ I 
WTW fi W ^ II 
q^qn^qi qt<qi fqijvjfa i 
