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178
Lord Mahavira and His Times
mana. Somila was another hermit of Vārāṇasi who belonged to the same order and was a worshipper of the four disas.1 King Pasannachand also belonged to the same order which he joined along with his queen and the nurse.2
Vakavāsi: They put on a dress of bark. Ambuvasi: They lived in water.
Bilavasi: They lived in caves.
Jalavasi They remained submerged in water. Velavasi They lived on the sea-coast.
Rukkhamulia: They lived under trees.
Ambubhakkhi: They lived by drinking water only. - Vaubhakkhi: They lived by inhaling air only. Sevalabhakkhi: They lived by eating moss.
The Tavasas followed the rules of the Vanaprastha Aśrama. Like other ascetics, they also moved in a body. We hear of three hermits, Koḍinna, Dinna and Sevāli, who were followed by a body of five hundred disciples each. They lived on roots, bulbs, decayed leaves, and moss; they set out to pay a visit to Aṭṭhāvaya."
THE PARIVRĀJAKA OR GERUYA SAMANAS
Though they formed a distinct and separate group, the Parivrajakas belonged to the class of ascetics. According to T.W. RHYS DAVIDS," the Paribbājakas or the wandering mendicants were teachers or sophists who spent eight or nine months of every year wandering about, and they were often lodged in the public halls where conversational discussions were held on philosophical and religious questions. Besides, they lived on alms collected from door to door." B.M. BARUA" mentions that these Brahman wanderers were in a position to learn the
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1. Nirya, 3, pp. 39ff.
2. Aoa. chũ, p. 457.
3. The Rāmāyaṇa III, 11-13 mentions Mandakarni, a hermit who lived
on air.
4. Lalitavistara, p. 248.
5.
Uttară. Ţi, 10, 154.
6. RBI, p. 161. 7. BпгIP, p. 350.
