1. Now at that time there was a very valuable rug, and a very valuable piece of cloth, among the bedding furniture belonging to the Sa"m"gha.
They told this matter to the Blessed One 3.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to barter either of these things in order to increase the stock of legally permissible furniture 4.'
Now at that time the Sa"m"gha had received a
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bear-skin, and a "k"akkali 1 rug, and a "k"olaka cloth 2.
They told this matter to the Blessed One.
'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to use them as mats to wipe your feet on 3'
Footnotes
217:3 Because such things were forbidden by Mahvagga V, 10, 4, though kambala is not there specially mentioned.
217:4 Phtikammatthy ti va"d"dh"ikammatthy ti. Vaddhikammatthya phtikamma"m" k' ettha samaka"m" v atireka"m" va agghanaka"m" ma"k"a-p"th"di-sensanam eva va"t"t"ati (b.).
218:1 According to Vi, 2, 2, and Vi, 3, 5, this could also be used as a screen or curtain over the space in a wall left for a window.
218:2 According to Mahvagga Viii, 18, this might be used to wipe faces with; and according to "K"ullavagga V, 9, 4, Vi, 19, to place crockery or furniture on. The word "k"ola means simply cotton cloth, but it is clear from these passages that "k"olaka has some special connotation.