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a flag, over his own head, he throw her on the ground and addressing Visakhănandi and his servants, he sald, "O wicked persons ! Destitute of strength and unworthy in every way! You are cracking jokes against me, but you do not know, that even thousands of jackals cannot transgress the limit of the manly vigour of a debllitated llon, that serpents are not ablo to endure the soft blows of the bill of a young eagle, and although you see me emaciated by severe austerities, thousands of persons like yourselves cannot equal me in valour. O people living on the morsel of food of other persons and sullied by their defects | What is the use of telling you more? Although I am within your sight, you are not able to do me the slightest Injury."
Having reproached them with harsh challenging words, Vlivabhūti Muni went to his own residence, and commenced thinking thus :~"Even now, these wicked persons do not, la the least, leave off the malice they previously bore towards me. Although I am adorned with mr Pravrajya, (Religious mendi. cancy), these vlle people have, by some reason or another, become unreasonably my enemies. Or, where is the fault of these ignorant individuals 1 It is the maturing of the fruit of Karmas of good or evil actions of previous existences. I will now do such a thing thing that I may not anywhere become the receptacle of such insults even in a dream in future existences."
Then, disregarding conventional usage and the excellent truth of the Śāstras, and without thinking about the multitudo of miseries of the Sarasära coming on one after another, he became ready to reject food and to make a firma determination with certain limitations, with the object of getting some worldly objects, and addressing the ascetics whe were near him, Visvabhūti Muni said, “If there be any inconceivably great reward for the fasting of two days, three days, or more days at a time with careful meditation, for the taking of perfectly pure food and drink after avoiding the forty-two dofécts of preparation and methods of taking them, for the time spent on reflection of the underlying priaciples of the True Religion and in the
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