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378
SÚTRAKRITÂNGA.
(so sins find no place in them); their course is unobstructed like that of Life; like the firmament they want nothing to support them; like the wind they know no obstacles; their heart is pure like the water (of rivers or tanks) in autumn; like the leaves of a lotus they cannot be soiled by anything ; their senses are well protected like the limbs of a tortoise; they are single and alone like the horn of a rhinoceros; they are free like birds; they are always waking like the fabulous bird Bhârunda; they are valorous like elephants, strong like bulls, difficult to attack like lions, steady and firm like Mount Mandara, deep like the ocean, mild like the moon, refulgent like the sun, pure like excellent gold; like the earth they patiently bear everything; like a well-kindled fire they shine in their splendouri. (70)
There are no obstacles anywhere for these reverend men. The obstacles have been declared to be of four kinds, viz, animals born from eggs, viviparous animals, things belonging to somebody, articles necessary for religious exercises ? In whichever direction they want to go, there they meet with no obstacle; but being pure and free, full of learning, control, and austerities, they purify themselves. (71)
These reverend men practise the following mode
1 The same passage occurs, mutatis mutandis, in the Kalpa Sätra, Lives of the Ginas, § 118; see part i, p. 261, and notes I and 2.
? The author of the Dîpikâ offers diverse interpretations of this division of obstacles, which are apparently guesses and not based on a solid tradition. In the parallel passage of the Kalpa Sætra, $ 119, the division is according to: matter, space, time, and affects.
