keep the body clean..

पुण्यपूतशरीरः स्यात्सततं स्नाननिर्मलः।

तत्याज वृत्रहा स्नानात्पापं वृत्रवधार्जितम्॥३

क्षेमेन्द्रविरचिते चरुचर्यायाम्॥

puṇyapūtaśarīraḥ syātsatataṁ snānanirmalaḥ|

tatyāja vṛtrahā snānātpāpaṁ vṛtravadhārjitam||3

kṣemendraviracite carucaryāyām||

A forceful argument by poet Kshemendra in favour of people keeping themselves pure through virtues and clean bath..

In this couplet from his celebrated work Charucharya, he say

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One should always have his body kept purified through birth and by virtue of good deeds.

The king of Gods Indra could throw away the sins incurred by him when he killed the demon Vritra, by taking a ceremonial bath..

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The story of killing of Vritrasura by Indra and the latter therefore incurring the sins of Brahmahatya is described in many Puranas and the Itihasas too in different manners..

But the essence of the story is that

Vishvarupa, the son of Twashta, though of the clan of Gods, joined hands with the Asuras (who were his kin through mother) and performed sacrifices that would bring strength to them, and depletion of strength to the Devas led by Indra..

Enraged by this Indra beheaded Visvarupa..

This offended Tvashtaa who did a sacrifice from which the demon Vritra was born..

Vritra was given instruction to kill Indra at any cost, and Indra could not easily face the strength of Vritra in fight..

The only way to defeat and slay Vritra was to use a weapon Vajra or thunderbolt crafted out of the backbone of sage Dadichi..

Sage Dadichi offered his backbone for the sake of the Devas and in that process lost his life too..

Indra created the Vajrayudha from the bone of Dadichi, and killed Vritra..

However, as Vritra was a powerful and righteous brahmin, although a demon, the sin of slaying a brahmin, Brahmahatya, affected the king of Gods.. Indra..

To wriggle himself out of the Sin of Brahmahatya, Indra had a ceremonial bath in the River Sarayu..

This incident is described in chapter 24 of Balakandam of Valmiki Ramayanam.

Sage Visvamitra takes the boys Rama and Lakshmana through a forest inhabited by the demoness Tataka.. |

Asked by Rama, the sage Visvamitra described the story of that forest.

The area covered by the forest, sprawling over the vast area in the confluence of Ganga and Sarayu, was formerly a great janapada or settlement called Angajamala or Malada and Karusha..

The origin of the settlement is described in the following extract from Valmikiraamayanam

पुरा वृत्रवधे राम मलेन समभिप्लुतं।

क्षुधा चैव सहस्राक्षं ब्रह्महत्या यदाऽविशत्। १८

तमिन्द्रं स्नापयन् देवा ऋषयश्च तपोधनाः।

कलशैः स्नापयामासुर्म्मलं चास्य प्रमोचयन्॥१९

इह भूम्यां मलं दत्वा दत्वा कारूशमेव च।

शरीरजं महेन्द्रस्य ततो हर्षं प्रपेदिरे॥२०

निर्मलो निष्करूशश्च शुचिरिन्द्रो तदाऽभव्त्।

ददौ देशस्य सुप्रीतो वरं प्रभुरनुत्तमम्॥२१

इमौ जनपदौ स्फीतौ ख्यातिं लोके गमिष्यतः।

मदलाश्च करूशाश्च ममांगमलधारिनौ॥२२

साधु साध्विति तं देवाः पाकशासनमब्रुवन्।

देशस्य पूजां तां दृष्ट्वा कृतां शक्रेण् धीमता२३

श्रीमद्वाल्मीकिरामायणे बलकाण्दे सर्गः २४

purā vṛtravadhe rāma malena samabhiplutaṁ|

kṣudhā caiva sahasrākṣaṁ brahmahatyā yadā'aviśat| 18

tamindraṁ snāpayan devā ṛṣayaśca tapodhanāḥ|

kalaśaiḥ snāpayāmāsurmmalaṁ cāsya pramocayan||19

iha bhūmyāṁ malaṁ datvā datvā kārūśameva ca|

śarīrajaṁ mahendrasya tato harṣaṁ prapedire||20

nirmalo niṣkarūśaśca śucirindro tadā'bhavt|

dadau deśasya suprīto varaṁ prabhuranuttamam||21

imau janapadau sphītau khyātiṁ loke gamiṣyataḥ|

madalāśca karūśāśca mamāṁgamaladhārinau||22

sādhu sādhviti taṁ devāḥ pākaśāsanamabruvan|

deśasya pūjāṁ tāṁ dṛṣṭvā kṛtāṁ śakreṇ dhīmatā23

śrīmadvālmīkirāmāyaṇe balakāṇde sargaḥ 24

Visvamitra tells Rama

Rama, In ancient times Indra was afflicted by sins and great hunger as retribution incurred for slaying of the demon Vritra.. The evil brahmahatya too took possession of him.|

To save Indra, the devas and the rishis whose wealth was penance in abundance, with pitchers of water ( from the River Sarayu).. And such ablution and bath relieved Indra of all the dirt and sins that covered him.

The sins, dirt and hunger, thus washed off were left on this landscape ( in the banks of Sarayu ) and when the bodily afflictions were thus removed, Indra became happy once again.

The pleased Indra who had become relieved of dirt and hunger, granted great boons to the land which took over his sins.

He blessed that these two Janapadas, Malada and Karusha who received the dirt and hunger on behalf of me, would become fertile and famous for ever..

The gods praised and expressed their approval for the action of Indra in offering respects and praising the two Janapadas. Malada and Karusha

(The landscape in the banks of Sarayu River.. The Tataka Forest later.. is named Angamalaja in Mahabharatham)

The story of Vritra in incidental.. But the important point to note is that physical purity could be attained through regular baths..