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This says that bathing without a cloth is not correct.

It says that one should not bath without clothes in sacred rivers.

Some articles say that, since there are no personal bathrooms in old times, people use to bathe in clothes.

Is bathing without cloth an insult to Varuna deva and Vayu deva?

Is there any textual evidence(in Hindu scriptures) to bathe with clothes only? Or is the rule added according to time?

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  • 5
    The blog cites various purana, which are smritis. Smritis aren't codified for eternity.
    – Vineet Menon
    May 17, 2016 at 4:40
  • textual evidence = hindu scripture?
    – Ankit Sharma
    May 17, 2016 at 6:13
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    Yup, Smritis are location and time specific, no need to project it out of that.
    – Amit Saxena
    May 17, 2016 at 6:36
  • Yes even Krishna warned about this that when he stole the clothes of gopis in that leela he at last warns them that bathing without any clothes is insult to varuna dev & when varuna dev once kidnaps vasudev the father of krishna in that leela too moral is said that we shall not bath in rivers at 12 to 3 am time...approx.:)
    – Shivam Ner
    Jun 16, 2016 at 13:42
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    Yes---If a person is taking bath without cloth he will be born as a tree in the burial ground and smells the burnt bodies. Further water squeezed from cloth should not be let on ground directly. It should be dropped in a bucket and can be thrown out. If the water is squeezed on the ground directly the person will drink that water after his death. This was mentioned in Kodayin Paadai by Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachar.
    – Parthasarathy Raghavan
    Jul 18, 2016 at 6:26

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Is there any textual evidence(in Hindu scriptures) to bath with clothes only? Or it is the rule added according to time?

There is textual evidence.

Manu Smriti,Chapter 4 Verse 45:

4.45. Let him not eat, dressed with one garment only; let him not bathe naked; let him not void urine on a road, on ashes, or in a cow-pen,(Na Nagnah Snanam Aachareth)

[![enter image description here][1]][1]

Here him refers to a Brahamana(or to a Snataka ),but in general it will be a improper conduct for other persons(householders for example) as well, because while God Varuna is making us pure,by his grace, we are not showing him due respect, in turn, if bathing naked.

Edit-I have searched the Parashara Smriti.Unable to find any prohibitions regarding bathing naked in it.

Thus we have prohibitions in Manu Smriti but nothing in Parashara & among which the later is supposedly more precisely applicable in Kali Yuga.

We can interpret these findings in two ways:

1)Since Parshara does not mention anything we need not worry about it because had it been important would have been contained in that Smriti.

OR

2)Manu Smriti condemns bathing naked and Parashara Smriti does not contradict it.So,we can assume that,in this particular case, the laws of Manu are valid in Kali as well.

Update-"Some articles says that, since there are no personal bathrooms in old times, people use to bath with clothes."-- This is not true.I have found evidence that bathing nude is improper conduct even if one is bathing in a closed place.

Maharishi Vyasa describes about "saadaacharaa"(right or proper conduct) in this chapter of the Brahma Purana .He says:

Grihastena Sadaakaarya maachaara pari-rakshanam,

Nahyaachaara viheenasya bhadramatra paratravaa,

Yagna daana tapaaseeha Purushasya na bhuyatey,

Bhavanti yah sadaachaaram samullanghya pravartatey/

Meaning-

Grihastaas or family-persons ought to observe and protect Sadaachaara Pravartana as those without it would neither have ‘Iham’ / the contentment of current life or ‘Param’of post-life; to those who neglect the principles of Sadaachaara are not eligible to the fruits of Yagna- Daana-Tapas

Then he gives a long list of such proper conducts or sadaachaaraa.And in that list we find:

Men and women of virtue should.......never bathe or sleep in nudity even in closed places......

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  • Is Manu Smriti valid in Kaliyuga?
    – hanugm
    Oct 20, 2016 at 22:06
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    In Parashara Smriti it is stated that Parashara's is valid in Kali Yuga.But it is NOT explicitly stated ANYWHERE that the other Smritis are INVALID in Kali.Also if u study both Parashara and Manu u'll find that they are NOT contradicting each other.And,from common sense,if in other yugas bathing naked is an insult to Varuna then it will be an insult only in Kali too
    – Rickross
    Oct 21, 2016 at 5:33
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    @hanugm No offense, But you gotta be kidding me, Manusmriti is valid of all times, and in every debates examples from Manusmriti are welcomed with great respect.
    – Ritesh.mlk
    Feb 28, 2017 at 12:56
  • @Rickross Please check once about the image in the answer.
    – hanugm
    Jan 11, 2022 at 0:07
  • Oh its dead now. But what was there in it? I guess a screenshot of the verse Manu Smriti 4.45? @hanugm
    – Rickross
    Jan 11, 2022 at 6:35

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