Jain Journal 1973 04

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 21

178
JAIN JOURNAL
sence of Ksatriya Siddhartha, and hurried to the external hall of audience. Then they themselves made ready and got it done, duly broomed it, duly besprinkled it with scented water, duly had it besmeared ; decorated it with scented flowers of five (sundry) colours ; made it delightful with curling and scented fumes of burning black aloe, Kundurukka and Turuska ; filled it with the fragrance of sweet flower essence, etc., so that the hall turned into a fragrant vessel. Having finished these, they erected the throne in the hall, and then they came back to Ksatriya Siddhartha, touched their head with ten fingrs on their folded palms, and reported to him on the execution of the order. 58
Next day, the night having ended, at dawn, when blossomed the soft lotuses and nymphaeas ; when rose the sun, red like the Asoka, the Kimsuka, the bill of the parrot, the (red) half of Gunja fruit ; (like the feet and eyes of the dove, the scarlet eyes of the cuckoo, a heap of Jaba flowers, and more red than vermillion] ; the delight of lotuses, and burning in its own thousand rays ; when this sun rose at the right time, [when darkness was lashed out by its rays, and when the world of living beings was enlivened with its light), Ksatriya Siddhartha came out of his bed.59
Having got up, he descended from the fool-stool, and went to the hall of gymnastic exercises. There, he applied himself to many wholesome exercises, like jumping, mascular exercise, and wrestling, and on being tired and exhausted, he got his body massaged with pleasant, stimulating, envigorating, exhilerating, strength-giving, nourishing-the-senseorgans-and-the-limbs, and in-pouring oils boiled a hundred and a thousand times by masseurs, who were experts, trained in their profession, skilled, excellent, intelligent and untiring. The hand-palms and feet-soles of these masseurs were soft, and they had their frames with well-developed limbs. They were experts in rubbing (oil) in, in massaging, in stimulating strength, and were experienced in the outcome of these. Having seated (him) on the oily leather, they started massaging and anointing him giving his limbs pleasure in four senses, viz., pleasure to the bones, pleasure to flesh, pleasure to skin and pleasure to the pore-holes. His fatigue and exhaustion having (thus) been removed, he moved out from the gymnasium. 60.
Having come out from the gymnasium, he went in the direction of the bath-room. Then he entered into the bath-room. Having entered that room, which gave a pleasant sight, decorated as it was with an intricate net-work of pearls and its floor inlaid with sundry gems and precious stones, and exceedingly beautiful he sat comfortably on the bathing stool containing many gems and precious stones, and having