प्राचीन भारत में शिक्षा (डॉ. ए.एस. अल्तेकर - गुरुकुल एवं बौद्ध विहार शिक्षण इतिहास)

298 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
was in lieu of the upper garment¹. Devala also holds
the same view; an upper garment, he says, is not
always at hand, hence the recommendation to wear the
third Sacred Thread².
**Mysterious efficacy of Yajnopavita:-**In the
course of time Yajñopavīta came to be invested
with mysterious efficacy. The Āditya Purāṇa
declares that it has the power of destroying demons.
When such notions began to prevail in society, it is
no wonder that the view began to be advocated that
the greater the number of Sacred Threads, the better
would be our spiritual and material welfare. Kāśyapa
would recommend 2, 3, 5, or 10 Sacred Threads for
the house-holder;³ an anonymous text quoted by
Mitramiśra is in favour of as many Sacred Threads as
possible.⁴ All this vividly shows how the original
significance of the Yajñopavīta was completely forgotten
by this time. When Yajñopavīta assumed the form of
the thread, the custom gained ground of making each
of its thread a constituent product of nine smaller
threads. Oṅkāra, Agni, Bhaga, Soma, Piṭris, Prajāpati,
Vasu, Dharma, and Sarva-devas were taken to be
the presiding deities of the nine threads of the Sacred
Thread.
Can Yajnopavita be removed? :- Even when the
Yajñopavīta dwindled into the Sacred-Thread, it
could be occasionally removed in the course of the
day. The Taittirīya, Kaṭha, Kāṇva, and Vājasaneya
schools were in favour of permitting the removal

1. तृतीयमुत्तरीयार्थे वस्त्राभावे तदिष्यते । Ibid, p. 21.
2. तृतीयमुत्तरीयार्थे वस्त्रालाभे तदिष्यते । SCS., p. 801.
3. त्रीणि चत्वारि पञ्चाष्ट मुनिभिः स्युर्दशापि वा ॥ VMS., p. 421.
4. आयुष्कामैः सदा धार्यं बहुयज्ञोपवीतकम् ॥ 'अन्यत्रापि' in Ibid.