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INTRODUCTION
Next morning he took their bodies to the cremation ground. When he was about to jump into the flames, people held him back. The learned Brāhmanas assured him with inconsistent diagnosis and prescriptions that there was prāyascitta for purification from such sins. He was asked, at last, to quit the house, distribute the property among Brāhmaṇas, and go clean-shaved and abegging to various tīrthas. He was thus being misguided. He came here full of Vairāgya and wanted to know further how he could be free from sin. Dharmanandana told him that one must reap the fruits of one's Karmas: any way, he was advised to practise penance and adopt the code of virtues (49.15-18). When Candasoma's Karmas were sufficiently quieted, he was duly given dīkşā by the preceptor (Pages 45.6-49.21; *13.5-*15.2).
2. VANITY-BIOGRAPHY OF MĀNABHATA: Dharmanandana continued that māna (pride or vanity) brings mental torture and leads to all sorts of ruin. A vain person loses all sense of discriminination, and cannot save his parents and beloved from dying. This is seen from the career of this vain-looking person, seated here, which deserves to be heard.
To the north-east of the beautiful town of Ujjainī (described, 50,10-19), right in the heart of Mālava-desa, in the Avanti-janapada (described 50.3-7), there is a rich village Kūpavandra by name. There lived an old royal Thākura Kșetrabhața by name, who had fallen on evil days; and his son was Vīrabhata whom he loved more than his life. For their service, the king of Ujjainī, gave them the above village. Due to old age and exacting active war service Kşetrabhata remained at home; Vīrabhata attended the king; and in due course Śaktibhața (the son of Vīrabhata) continued the service. Saktibhata was highly vain, haughty and given to luxuries; so he came to be known as Mānabhata in the
cely order. One day, Mānabhata found that his seat in the Durbar of king Avantivardhana was occupied by a Pulinda prince, who apologetically explained that this would not be repeated. He took offence, gave wrecklessly a fatal stroke of his sword on the prince's chest, and ran from the Durbar to his village. His father advised him to quit the country for safety. He sent his father bag and baggage to the bank of Narmadā; and staying behind with vanity, he faced the Pulinda forces which he defeated. Though heavily wounded in the battle, he joined his father, camped in a fortified village and spent his time comfortably (described 51.29-34). One day, as a part of the spring sports, the village youths agreed among themselves to sing about one's beloved while playing on the swing. Mānabhata happened to praise a darkish beloved (52.13-15) wherefore his fair wife, who was present there, felt offended; and she was so much humiliated and irritated by her friends that she dashed homewards in the dark evening (described 52,27-30) with a decision to die. She entered her bed-room, prepared a noose for her neck, appealed to the Lokapālas (53.6-9) that her husband behaved like this despite her faithfulness to him, and hanged herself. In the meanwhile, Mānabhata came there and could rescue her before the breath was gone. After a little conversation with her, he realized that he was misunderstood by her. He tried to convince her about his innocence and, holding his vanity in abeyance, even fell at her feet, but without any effect on her who remained quite silent. His vanity surged up; and in sheer disgust of her frailty, he left home to see
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