gov ālavyajana

[Dominic Goodall]

Dear list-members,

Can anybody point us to a passage about a govālavyajana (a cow-hair-fan of one daṇḍa or more in length) 
used in some way on the occasion of bathing on the fourth day after menstruation ?

Does she (the udakyā) stand beneath (arvāk) the govālavyajana?  Or should she bathe before or after (arvāk) using it in some way?

We (Dr. Sathyanarayanan and myself) are trying to interpret the following passage in our forthcoming edition of Trilocanaśiva's Prāyaścittasamuccaya (C12th):

yatra bhūmau tṛṇaṃ nāsti jalaṃ vodakyayā saha|
govālavyajanād arvāk snānaṃ tatra vidhīyate|| 524*||
govālavyajanaṃ daṇḍo yadvā pauruṣamānataḥ|
tṛṇakāṣṭhanikhāteṣu kuḍyenāntarhitena vā|| 525*||
govālavyajane cāpi snānaṃ tatra na vidyate| (OR: tatra vidhīyate)
karmamadhye tu tāṃ dṛṣṭvā gṛhasthaḥ praṇavaṃ japet|| 526*||

We would be grateful for any help.

Dominic Goodall
École française d’Extrême-Orient