Dharma sastra-Dantadhāvanam
Everyone starts the day with brushing one’s teeth daily. The Sanskrit word for brushing tooth is ‘Dantadhāvanaṃ’. In dharma śāstra there is an elaborated description of how to perform dantadhāvanaṃ. According to sanātana dharma, performing dantadhāvanaṃ in the prescribed manner does not only maintain the peripheral hygiene of one’s self, but also lead to inner/spiritual hygiene.
Dantadhāvanaṃ as per Smṛtis[edit]
According to smṛti written by Atri, one should perform dantadhāvanaṃ everyday. Every morning after waking up, one should rinse the mouth with water and then take a succulent piece of wood/branch or a dry piece of wood/branch of the prescribed tree and perform dantadhāvanaṃ. According to Bhāradwāja,[1], after cleaning hands and legs with water and rinsing the mouth with water, one should perform ācamanaṃ facing to the east and then perform dantadhāvanaṃ.
Śloka for Dantadhāvanaṃ Stick[edit]
There is a prescribed way to collect the piece of wood/branch through which dantadhāvanaṃ is to be performed. One should utter the said śloka/mantra while collecting the ‘dantadhāvana stick’. The śloka/mantra is as follows:
Asyaāyurutyādi mantrasya | prajāpatiṛrshiḥ | anuṣṭup chandaḥ | vanaspatirdēvatā | vanaspati sangrahē viniyōgaḥ | Āyurbalaṃ yaśōvarcaḥ prajāṃ paśu vasūni ca | Brahmaprajṇāṃ ca mēdhāṃ ca tvaṃ nō dēhi vanaspatē! ||"[2]
O lord of the trees! I pray thee to bestow me with long healthy life, fame, vigor, good descendants, cattle, prosperity, brahma vidyā and knowledge.
Material for Dantadhāvanaṃ Sticks[edit]
The stick/wood which is to be used for dantadhāvanaṃ should be with its bark/outer layer. It should be straight, without any kind of curves and no foul smell. The stick/wood should belong to any famous species of tree. Here are some of the types of trees, which are prescribed for dantadhāvanaṃ:
- Khādira - Acacia Catechu
- Kadaṃba - Kaim/Stephegyme Parilora Korth
- Karanja - Jatropa/Galedupa Arborea
- Jaṃbu - Java Plum/Engenia Jambolana
- Niṃba - Neem/Azadirachta
- Bilwa - Aegle Marmelos
- Arka - Calotropis Gigentea
- Uduṃbara - Fig Tree/Ficus Glomirata
- Apāmārga - Chaff Flower/Achyranthes Aspera
The wood of the trees which should not be used for cleaning the teeth is enlisted below:
- Śalmalī - Silk Cotton/Bombax Cebia Linn
- Aśwattha - Holy Fig Tree/Ficus Religiosa/peepal tree
- Bhavya - Arerhoa Calambola
- Dhava - Anogeissns latifolia
- Kiṃśuka - Butea Monosperma
- Kōvidāra - Bauhinia variegate/a species of ebony
- Śamī - Prosopis spicigera/Mimosa suma
- Pīlu - Careya arborea/Salvadora Persia
- Ślōṣmāṣtaka - Cordia latifolia
- Vibhītaka - Terminalia bellerica
- Guggulu - Bdellion
- Pālaśa - Butea frondesa
- Kārpāsa - Cotton Plant/Gossypium hirsntum
- Kuśa - Grass/Poa cynosurodides
- Kāśa - Shinning white grass/Saccharum spontaneum
- Śiṃśupā - (Bot) dalbergia sissoo
- Aśvatthaka - Peatels of Arabian Jasmine
Size of Dantadhāvanaṃ Stick[edit]
According to Vyāsa smṛti and Viṣṇu smṛti, the size of the stick/wood which is to be used for Dantadhāvanaṃ is to be 12-4-6 or 4 inches. According to harītaṃ the size of the stick/wood is 8 inches.
Process of Cleaning Teeth[edit]
After obtaining the dantadhāvanaṃ stick, one should chew the stick/wood thoroughly till it turns into soft hair like substance. And then tooth is to be cleaned by moving the stick up and down from left to right side.
In Vyasa smṛti, a specific posture has been stated for dantadhāvanaṃ, i.e. sitting on knees and hands in between the folded legs. One should sit in this posture while brushing the teeth is also prescribed. According to Śānḍlya smṛti, kukkuṭāsanaṃ is the prescribed posture. After cleaning the tooth one should clean the tongue with the other end of the stick/wood.