ABSTRACT

Hindu sacred law contains an implicit opposition of pollution and purity. Defilement is simply dependent upon the magnitude of the crime, which depends, in turn, upon the purity of the victim. The anticipated regularity also holds for act-pollution; the normally less polluted require more purification. The rule for act-pollution is applied not only to people of different degrees of pollution but also to different parts of the human body, for these are believed to differ in the extent of natural pollution. Paradigms pertaining to variation from normal pollution occur not only when the subject but also when the object of action is involved, that is, in regard to internal and external pollution. While there are relatively few rulings on external pollution incurred through contact with persons whose normal condition of pollution is permanently altered, there are numerous cases involving pollution through contact with the temporarily defiled.