________________
132
( 120. 22.
the preaching of Jinas which forms the essence of the world of living beings. Then do follow it. Excepting it, there is no other remedy for the destruction of miseries. Then having heard him, they came to know
That is thus and not otherwise'; and bidding farewell to the king, they took to nunhood ( 120 ] in the vicinity of Vidyadhara nun, Gandharvadatta, on account of the force of Ananda and by the lack of desire for life.
On this side, the king who, in spite of maltreatment did not go under the sway of anger, took a vow Only this much is my life; now complete fasting is timely.' This was conveyed to Ananda. He became angry. He sent his courtier by the name of Devas’arman saying, • Go and make him eat; he should be spoken 'I will kill him if he does not eat out of a vow.'” Devas'arman went; he saw the king and said " O lord, the movement of actions of those living beings who are under the sway of fate is uneven. This fate indeed is difficult to be praised with civility; it does not appreciate merits of the meritorious; it does not know the time of the desired; it is merely the calamity of men; it is like an intoxicated elephant wandering self-willed; it is like the flow of the Ganges, straight as well as crooked; it is clever in attack like a big war; it is like a poison-knot which is not fitting to the tastes; it is opposite to the desired objects; it is amenable to the undesired. Therefore if it be so, still however a man should not give up human effort, even for a moment; for, O great king, fate is another name for the actions arising from the previous birth; and that is to be conquered by human efforts. Then let my lord adopt human
