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INTRODUCTION
27
(described 29.11-20); and to the right, he saw a Lion, terrific in appearance but quiet in temper (described 29.21-24). These three seemed to the prince as the veritable quintessence of dharma, artha and kāma. As great saints are gifted with divine knowledge, the prince wanted to know from this great saint who the horse was and why he was carried away etc. The great monk welcomed him with dharma-lābha; the divya-purusa stretched his right hand decked with jewelled bracelet to greet him; and the lion too received him suitably. The prince responded with all modesty. The great saint assured him to enlighten him on his questions. The prince sat there before the saint in a receptive mood, when the latter started his religious sermon: In this Saṁsāra the souls wander in a chaos of relations and reactions (details given § 66). The gale of sin whirls round this leaf of soul in this mountain-thicket of worldly existence. The souls alone are responsible for all that they have done; and all others are really others. Like children playing with sand-structures on the shore, the ignoramuses are deluded by various attachments in life: it is all hollow. Whatever is experienced by us on account of i) krodha, anger; ii) māna, vanity; iii) māyā, deceit: iv) lobha, greed; and v) moha, infatuation will be narrated ending with the episode of the prince being carried away by the horse (Pages 27.2-31.2; *9.31-*11.6).
[iii. Dharmanandana: Biographies of Five Souls ]
MINISTER VĀSAVA TAKES KING PURANDARADATTA TO THE PARK, FULL OF VERNAL GLORY; THEY PAY RESPECTS TO DHARMANANDANA WHO DISCOURSES ON SAMSĀRA etc.: In the Vatsa country (described 31.3-18), in the town of
uśāmbi (described 8 68), there ruled a king Purandaradatta by name (described 31.33-32.8); and he had an able minister in Vāsava who was endowed with Samyaktva (described 32.9-15). One day, on his way to the temple of Arhat for worship, the minister Vāsava was presented with a bunch of mango-blossoms by the gardener Sthāvara who reported to him, first, the advent of spring, and secondly, the arrival of the preceptor Dharmanandana (with his disciples) in the garden; but received in return, firstly rebuke from his master for his unjustified sequence in reporting the events, and secondly, a good reward. Afterwards, Vāsava called on Purandaradatta, presented him with the same bunch of mangoblossoms, and requested him that they might personally witness the vernal glory of the park in the forest (described 33.5-13). In the park, they enjoyed the charming sight of trees, creepers and flowers attended by swarms of bees – all bathed in vernal beauty. Intending to pay respects to Dharmanandana, who was halting on a dry spot in the garden, the minister led the king there under the pretext of seeing the Asoka tree planted by the latter as a prince. There they saw a multitude of monks some of whom were studying different Angas (enumerated by names), logic with five or ten limbed syllogism (34.20) nimitta, Jonī-pāhuda etc., and some were very much emaciated on account of penances. In the midst sat the preceptor Dharmanandana gifted with fourfold knowledge ($ 73). On being inquired of, the minister duly introduced the monks and the Preceptor to the king, and as proposed by the minister, who offers a prayer (35.9.12), the king joined him in offering obeisance to them: both of them were
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