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The Most Auspicious Festival
12.
What pleasure can a man derive from the service of women whose bodies are defiled by impurities and who are covered only in skin? ||5|| A foolish mind, taking two earthen pots, considers the union of the two as a source of happiness. ||56|| How can one who is not satisfied by the vast array of divine pleasures born of mere desire be satisfied by the paltry pleasures of human existence? ||60|| A firewood seller does not find satisfaction in the dew drops on blades of grass in the forest, he only finds toil. ||61|| Similarly, the king, not satisfied with the wealth of his kingdom, engages in such an evil act as the consumption of human flesh. ||62|| Just as crows, greedy for flesh, enter the flowing Ganges and, while devouring the carcass of a dead elephant, do not find satisfaction and ultimately perish in the ocean, so too, beings of the world, not finding satisfaction in worldly pleasures, ultimately drown in the ocean of existence. ||63|| O Atman! Your subjects, like frogs, are trapped in the mud of delusion and are being dragged into the hole of hell by the fierce serpent of greed. ||64|| Thus, many days passed for the dispassionate Bharata, whose mind was peaceful, as he contemplated the obstacles to his initiation. ||65|| Just as a lion, though powerful, suffers in a cage, so too, Bharata, though capable of performing the initiation rites, suffers, not having attained the Jain vows, which destroy all suffering. ||66|| The peaceful-hearted Bharata was earnestly entreated by his mother, Kaikeyi, to stay. Rama and Lakshmana, filled with affection, held him back and said, "Brother, your father, desiring your welfare, had established you as the king of the entire earth. ||67-68|| Since your father had definitely crowned you to rule the world, you are our master as well. Therefore, you should rule the world." ||69|| "This Sudarshana Chakra and these Vidhyadhara kings are at your command, so enjoy this earth as your wife." ||70|| I myself will hold your white umbrella, and Lakshmana, the minister, will hold your fly whisk. ||71||