amedhya-liptaᚁ yad yena
gandha-lepaᚁ vyapohati
bhajate prakṛtiṁ tasya
tac chaucaᚁ tāvad iᚣyate

 amedhya - by something impure; liptam - touched; yat - that thing which; yena - by which; gandha - the bad smell; lepam - and the impure covering; vyapohati - gives up; bhajate - the contaminated object again assumes; prakṛtim - its original nature; tasya - of that object; tat - that application; Ĺ›aucam - purification; tāvat - to that extent; iᚣyate - is considered.


Text

A particular purifying agent is considered appropriate when its application removes the bad odor or dirty covering of some contaminated object and makes it resume its original nature.

Purport

Furniture, kitchen utensils, clothing and other objects are purified by application of abrasion, alkali, acid, water and so on. One thereby removes the bad fragrance or impure coating of such objects, restoring them to their original clean appearance.