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forest or in a burial ground or in deserted houses with scanty walls, or under trees frequented by ferocious animals. You shall have to suffer from the extremes of cold and heat, from hunger and thirst; and you shall have to endure patiently the agonies of various diseases caused by excess of wind, bile or cough. For vour food also, you shall have to wander from house to house for begging your food, and you shall have to take your food only once every day, out of the offal of house holders I have so many well furnished palaces and pleasure-houses, so many elephants, horses chariots etc, a large retinue and immense wealth. Without you, my dear child! all this paraphelia is useless. You are a royal prince bred up in luxury with all comforts of life. How will you be able to endure all these vicisitudes of ascetic life ?
Mégha Kumāra, undaunted by such intrepidating accounts, calmly replied--Mother ? What you say is quite right. But that anxiety of fear is meant for timid persons. Only those persons who are deeply submerged in worldly pleasures, and who have no care for para-loka (future existence) become disparaged by these imiaginary fears; and, then, they miss the rare opportunity. But that steady well-determined and energetic person, who has perfect faith in the Sayings of the Tirthankaras, who is firmly assured of the truth of these Sayings, and who has high respect for the Sayings, will not, in the least, be daunted by such imaginary fears, but he will be able to accomplish an object, which it is extremely difficult to attain. O Mother! therefore, please give me permission, with a fearless heart, to take Bhagavati Diksã at the lotus-like hands of Sramaņa Bhagavān Mahāvira.
When, however, Mégha Kumãra did not, in the least, swerve from his firm determination, after such strong persuation, Dhārıņi Mātā at last said :-My dear son! Apart from anything else, I an anxious to see you decked with royal authority'.
Now it was King Śréņika's turn to give permission to Mégha Kumāra for his Dissă. That intelligent monarch was made of a
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