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sermon for them. All the four were attracted to Dharma. They sought their own initiation as monks in the order and to be admitted in the upasampada. The Buddha at once favourably responded to their request. As they heard his words, they became free from sin. At that time, there were 11 Arhats in the world. ·
Fifty friends from the households who lived in the villages heard the story of Yasa's initiation as a monk, and they felt an attraction for the Buddha's order. On hearing the sermon, they became monks, and their minds became free from sin. At that time, there were 61 Arhats in the world (30).
While staying at Varanasi, the Buddha gave the upasampadas to the aforesaid 60. To these sixty, he gave his well-known message, Carata bhikkhava car ikām, Carata bhikkhava carikām at Vārāṇasi, and at this very place, he empowered his monks to give upsampada themselves. It appears that for the future growth of the Buddhistic order, the message of carika and the power conferred on the monks to give upasampadā acted like a boon.
3.
The Bhadravargiyas- For the propagation of the message of carikā, the Buddha sent his 60 disciples in different directions. Starting from Vārāṇasi, he himself came to Uruvela. He took rest under tree in a park which was somewhat a far from the road. At that time, thirty friends from Bhadravarga were having a nice time with their wives in the same park. One of them had no wife; so he hired a woman to give him company. They indulged in revelry and merry-making to the extent that they lost all senses. The hired woman made full use of the situation. She removed their ornaments and disappeared with them. When the young people had recovered their senses, they realised what had happened to them. They searched every part of the garden. While looking for the woman, they came to the same tree under which the Buddha sat. They narrated the incident, and enquired if he had seen the woman coming thither.
The Buddha asked them back,
