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156
RIŞABHA DEVA
ing a lenient view of their guilt, and' a pious king pardoning the unfortunate offender altogether. Probably there would be in such a case a general petition for mercy, in which the injured man, or his heirs, would not unlikely join!
The scheme of the rites which Bharata taught his subjects is grounded entirely on what is known to the moderns as the Law of Suggestion. From the very inception of life an endeavour is made to impress it on the mind of the individunl that he belongs to the noblest of all races, the Aryan, and that he is going to be a great man, and may even become a chakravarti, and a Tirthamkara! The mantras, too, which are uttered and recited on ceremonial occasions are intended to serve the same purpose, at the same time as they tend to inculcate a belief in the Divinity of the Soul, and the Principles of Dharma. There can be no doubting the fact that a child that has grown up under the influence of such powerful suggestions must, sooner or later, acquire and display something of that greatness which his Imagination has been impressed with. In the Aryan Culture samskāras (impressions, convictions) it were that counted the most ; they could make or mar a life, without a doubt ! Here again it must be said that the moderns have completely misunderstood the purpose of these rites, and of the
