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Leaving aside the duties of an ofa Yati,-a Jaina ascetic, Marici Muni now commenced the life of a qfare. Parivrajaka, a wandering religious mendicant with an apparel quite different from that of a Jaina ascetic, but invented by himself.
Marici Parivrājaka, however, having a special predilection in his heart for the uninterrupted hearing of Right Knowledge, used to move about to villages and towns in company with Bhagavān Śri Rişabha Swāmi.
Now, on seeing a garsa Parivrājaka, with an altogether different apparel, with an unabrella in his hand, with a long hanging tuft of hair on his head, with a triple staff in bis side careful about decorating his body, resplendent with garments coloured with ochure appearing like the setting Sun, with his body besmeared with sandal-wood-paste, and with shoes on his feet, in a congregation of Jaina ascetios, people requested Marici Parivrājaka for instruction on religious subjects, out of curiosity.
Marici being well-versed in Jaina Canonical Works and clever in explaining True Religion, began to preach on the duties of an ascetic as follows:
An ascetic should carefully avoid injuring or killing visible, as well as invisible li.ing beings tbroughout his life. He should never tell a lie regarding the life of a living being, out of anger, greed, ridicule, fear or sacrifice of life. He should never mentally verbally, or bodily, take away any object, animate or inanimate, small or big, that is not given by its possessor, either in a village, or a town, or in a forest. Avoiding celestial, human, or tiryanca females, however charming and beautiful they may be, as so many venomous snakes, an ascetic should not have any sexual intercourse with them even for a moment. He should never ask for cotton-beddings, or cotton-pillows which are pleasing to touch, except a car Saristára, a bed of blankets measuring two and a half arms. Although he may be distressed on account of food and drink without taste or of unpleasant food and drink, an
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